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Thousands of volunteers fanned out across metro Birmingham and Alabama on Saturday to lend a hand to those devastated by tornadoes, part of an ongoing outpouring of support that has awed longtime aid workers.

At the Christian Service Mission on Third Avenue South in Birmingham, about 1,000 volunteers showed up on Saturday alone, collecting and sorting food, clothes, toiletries and other items that are being distributed to 40 sites across Alabama.

Since the April 27 storms, the mission has filled up and cleaned out 70,000 square feet of warehouse space at least 25 times, said Executive Director Tracy Hipps.

The effort has been supported by a melting pot of churches, from Baptists to Presbyterians to non-denominational congregations and others.

“This is about the body of Christ mobilizing,” Hipps said. “When this hit, the body did what the body does.”

Typically, the mission mobilizes about 5,000 volunteers a year, Hipps said, but he’s seen that many in the last 10 days.

Other nonprofits also are throwing their weight behind the recovery efforts.

Hands On Birmingham, which is coordinating a variety of projects, has added more than 12,000 volunteers to its database since the tornado outbreak, said Director Tree Gentle-Davidson.

“There’s a great network of people, nonprofits and churches all over town that are putting in tons of hours,” she said. “It’s just a great thing to see: Alabamians helping Alabamians.”

On Saturday, Hands On Birmingham had volunteers spread out in several areas that were hard-hit by the storms, including 250 people in Concord, 240 at Scott School in Pratt City, 200 to 300 in the northwest Alabama town of Hackleburg and 50 to 75 in North Smithfield.

In addition, there were 50 to 60 volunteers at the Salvation Army warehouse on Industrial Drive, as well as others helping at a fundraiser in McCalla, at the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency headquarters and at the United Way 211 call center.

At Scott School on Saturday, volunteers were crisscrossing the grounds, toting bins of toothpaste, dragging wagon loads of trash bags and pushing boxes of diapers stacked up on dollies.

The donated goods were being sorted into rooms, where residents lined up to receive them.

Pat and Leigh Sullivan of Crestline, who were volunteering inside a room stacked high with 24-packs of bottled water, said they feel fortunate that the storms didn’t destroy their neighborhood.

But they easily could have, the couple said.

“It could have been anybody,” Leigh Sullivan said. “I wanted to get my hands dirty and help people with all they’re going through.”

Trussville resident Lavell Galloway, along with his 15-year-old son Davonte, carried boxes and bins from a donation drop-off point behind the school to rooms along the hallways.

Galloway’s wife is from Pratt City, so the family feels a personal connection to the community.

But he said he and his son have volunteered with other projects, including helping Hurricane Katrina refugees who sought shelter in Birmingham in 2005, because the work teaches his son an important lesson.

“It’s so he can see and he can understand that serving and giving back is so important,” Galloway said.

‘Marathon . . . not a sprint’

Area aid workers say they hope the onslaught of volunteerism will continue in the coming weeks and months, because there’s a long road of recovery ahead for tornado victims.

In some hard-hit areas, big volunteer groups are not allowed in yet for safety reasons, Gentle-Davidson said. But that’s expected to change in the coming weeks, so more hands will be needed.

For those wishing to volunteer, it’s important to go through an organization, so authorities know how many people to expect and efforts are not duplicated, she added.

Some Birmingham area companies are giving employees a day to volunteer, and other helpers are traveling from far away.

“I met people from Canada to New Orleans today that have come out to help,” she said.

At the Christian Service Mission, Hipps said he’s been amazed at all of the new equipment, such as generators and grills, that has arrived on the organization’s doorstep.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint, and the community is in it for the long haul,” he said.

Others working across Alabama in storm relief duties include more than 6,300 state workers, including those in law enforcement, forestry and administration, according to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

Pratt City FEMA center

In other new developments related to the storms, the Federal Emergency Management Agency opened a disaster recovery center in Pratt City, at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church at 306 Ave. U. Hours at the center, where people can talk to FEMA representatives about disaster relief services, are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

The move brings the number of disaster recovery centers to 18 statewide, including four in Jefferson County. Besides Pratt City, others are at Union Hill Baptist in Bessemer, the National Guard Armory in Warrior and the Ashley Furniture store in Fultondale.

As of Saturday, more than 44,000 people and households had registered for disaster assistance, and more than $21 million in grants and other aid had been approved to help survivors.

The agency noted, however, that it is having trouble contacting some who have registered. Officials stressed the need for applicants to provide a good contact number and to update their information with the agency if it has changed.

Yasamie August, a spokeswoman for the state EMA, said some people also are reluctant to sign up, but they shouldn’t be.

“Sign up, get yourself in the system, and let the process work for you,” she said. “This is your opportunity to gain some of what you lost.”

In other news related to the storms:

*Monroe County was added to the disaster declaration list, bringing the total to 42 counties in Alabama.

*There were 10 shelters open Saturday, including one medical needs facility and nine for the general population, with a combined occupancy of 315 people. That’s down from 13 shelters and 352 people on Friday, according to the state EMA. The numbers are an indication that people affected by the storms are transitioning out, possibly moving in with family or friends until long-term housing needs are officially addressed.

*The Alabama Department of Human Resources has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to offer food benefits to people who might not ordinarily qualify for federal nutrition aid. The Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be available first in Jefferson, Walker, Tuscaloosa, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Lawrence and Marshall counties. Other counties that received a federal disaster declaration will begin the program in the coming weeks.

*Birmingham’s Parker High School announced a plan to help people who lost their homes in the storms. From Tuesday to Friday, the school’s career-technical education department will offer a variety of free services: cosmetology students will do hair care, culinary arts students will provide box lunches, business students will hand out personal care kits, auto mechanic students will do auto maintenance checks and health profession classes will offer health screenings.

Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Dawn Kent at dkent@bhamnews.com.

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