Agricultural News
Farm Credit Organizations Serving Oklahoma Donate Mobile Disaster Relief Unit
Fri, 10 Apr 2015 12:00:15 CDT
The state of Oklahoma's leading agricultural lenders will unveil a new disaster relief resource at the Oklahoma City Farm Show a mobile unit that can provide shower and laundry facilities to victims and first responders following tornadoes, wildfires, floods and other rural disasters.
The $60,000 unit was donated by Denver-based CoBank and the five Farm Credit associations based in the state of Oklahoma to the Fellowship of Christian Farmers, a non-profit, nondenominational organization that promotes fellowship, mission work and relief efforts in agricultural communities. The unit will be based in Oklahoma and used for disaster response across the state as well as in Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado and New Mexico.
A ribbon cutting event will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 17, at the East entrance to the Cox Pavilion, State Fair Park.
"When disaster hits, access to fresh water for cleaning is often in short supply," said Dennis Schlagel, executive director of FCFI. "This new unit will make life easier for victims and relief workers, and help alleviate the human suffering that follows any disaster. We're deeply grateful for this generous contribution from Farm Credit."
FCFI has been providing aid for years to those impacted by natural disasters and already had one mobile shower unit based in Illinois and moved across the country in response to disaster events. Former CoBank board member Tony DeGiusti, an Oklahoma farmer who is also an FCFI member, spearheaded the fundraising effort for the new unit.
"FCFI members have generous hearts and a hard-work mentality that drives them to come to the aid of their neighbors in difficult times, but doing so requires resources," DeGiusti said. "CoBank and Farm Credit generously stepped up to provide the funds we needed to make this project a reality and its benefits will be felt in our communities for years to come."
Oklahoma's Farm Credit associations include AgPreference, Chisholm Trail Farm Credit, Farm Credit of Enid, Farm Credit Services of East Central Oklahoma and Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma. Together, they serve farmers and ranchers across the state. CoBank provides loans and financial services to farmer-owned agricultural cooperatives throughout Oklahoma as well as to rural electric cooperatives and other rural infrastructure providers.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
