Hurricane Ike: World Vision Readies Supplies, Staff, Volunteers fo...( -- Aid agency preparing hygiene e...),Health

-- Aid agency preparing hygiene essentials, children's clothing and toys, cleaning supplies in Dallas and Mississippi

-- Agency's national disaster team working with staff in Dallas, Austin to mobilize regional church and community partners

-- World Vision calling for local volunteers in Dallas to assemble hygiene kits today

SEATTLE, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Hurricane Ike bears down on Texas and the Gulf Coast, World Vision has begun providing local church and community partners in Texas with emergency supplies. The Christian aid organization delivered two pallets of Hasbro toys and games to the Dallas Convention Center yesterday to help children and families occupy their time while in the shelter, and is calling for volunteers in Dallas to help assemble hygiene kits which staff plan to ship over the weekend to partners farther south.

"We hope to get as close to Houston as possible, since that's where we anticipate the greatest need will be," said Phyllis Freeman, World Vision's director of disaster field operations. "Highway access to the most affected coastal communities will be a challenge, so we plan to bring in supplies from Dallas, to the north, as well as from our Storehouse in Mississippi, to the east."

Essential items the organization is preparing to send include children's clothing, shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste and toothbrushes, body wash, children's books and cleaning supplies for recovery efforts. As soon as conditions allow, World Vision's assessment team from Dallas will travel south to assess the needs of the agency's partners in affected communities, including Hillsboro, Austin and Houston.

"As we talk with our church and community partners in Texas, we're urging them to prepare for the worst and be diligent about their own safety as well," said John Pettit, World Vision's national director for disaster response.

"Once the hurricane passes, we'll work with them to help suppl
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