FedEx donates brand new Disaster Relief Unit to The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is prepared for almost anything, especially in Colorado where we see the dangers of wildfires and blizzards. Now, thanks to a new donation, the Salvation Army is becoming even more capable of saving lives.

Friday, FedEx donated a brand new $114,000 disaster response vehicle to the Salvation Army.

Because of its smaller size and four-wheel drive capabilities, this will allow the Salvation Army to respond to areas they cannot reach with their larger mobile feeding units. This disaster relief vehicle has its own generator, a charging center for phones, and a hand-washing station.

And because of its efficiency, this vehicle will actually save the Salvation Army about $5,000 to $8,000 a year.

“With the cost of maintenance being lower and the fuel being lower on this, we can use this vehicle and save the bigger canteens for larger-scale disasters,” said Melissa McKewen with the Salvation Army. “Which means we are then spending less on maintenance and care for those and we can take those funds and do other disaster relief efforts.”

As for FedEx, they have a long history of supporting disaster relief, for example, during wildfires and last month’s bomb cyclone.

Patricia Sarmiento who works with FedEx said, “The goal is really for us to deliver good to the world, especially through the communities that we live and where we work.”

Last year, the Salvation Army served 21,000 people in Colorado, and with this new van, that number will only grow.

“If needed, we could deploy the three canteens that we already have and this one. So, four locations can help a lot more people,” said McKewen.

The Salvation Army says they are incredibly grateful for this donation and are ready to put it to use.