ANAHEIM : Salvation Army Site Handles Quake Relief

The Salvation Army has received tens of thousands of tons of clothing, toys, food and water from contributors all over the world in the 17 days since the Northridge earthquake.

And a good chunk of it has come through the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center in Anaheim, where it is being processed for shipment to Los Angeles.

“Initially, we were the prime warehouse for receiving the material because we had extra space,” said Maj. Oliver Stenvick, the administrator of the 100,000-square-foot facility. He said the warehouse had about 40,000 square feet available before the Jan. 17 quake. “But we quickly ran out of that. Five other (Salvation Army) warehouses have had to help us out.”

To process the donations, workers at the warehouse first sort the goods separating clothes by sex and age group. The clothing and toys are then packed and sent to Salvation Army thrift stores in the earthquake area. Those who lost their belongings in the quake are given vouchers by the Salvation Army to receive clothing. The food and water is distributed at army relief stations.

Stenvick said that while donations have come in from throughout the world, most are from elsewhere in California.

“A couple of Saturdays ago we had 40 semis pull up stuffed with clothes from San Diego,” Stenvick said. “Even people who can’t afford to share much always seem to be able to share some of their clothing.”

On Wednesday afternoon, a three-ton shipment of clothing arrived from Hong Kong, where it had been collected by the American Women’s Assn. The letter accompanying the shipment said donations were received from all of that city’s many ethnic communities, which made a special effort to collect children’s clothing and blankets.

“As Americans, we always think about how we send donations to the Far East,” said James E. Thompson, chief executive officer of Crown Pacific, the Hong Kong-based shipping firm that donated the transportation for the clothing. He was in Southern California on Tuesday and accompanied the shipment to the warehouse. “It’s nice to see some of that coming back.”