September 14, 2005
Rolling relief effort
TC couple donates motorhome to assist Salvation Army hurricane workers
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
With outpourings of money, goods and services flowing to aid people affected by Hurricane Katrina, one local family chose to donate something to help relief workers.
Last week, Tom and Julie Bielman donated their 24-foot 1982 motorhome to the Salvation Army for use as a mobile shelter and command post. After watching the hurricane and its aftermath unfold on television, the couple decided to do more than give money.
"My wife and I were trying to figure out what we could do to help," said Tom Bielman, who co-owns Nawbin Beads in Traverse City. "I saw the motorhome sitting out in the yard - I'd been working on it that day - and I thought this is a self-contained unit: it has a generator, sewer system, microwave, television and everything they need."
"I thought, 'Heck, we've got a nice house and I think it would help somebody,'" he continued. "We didn't really need it, it was just more stuff."
Raised in a poor family and grateful for his adult success and prosperity, Bielman said he has always given to the Salvation Army. A stint in the Navy during the late 1950s, where he served on a generator ship that provided electricity during natural disasters, demonstrated that the Salvation Army brought help quickly, efficiently and without fanfare or overhead.
Bielman phoned Steve Perry, a family friend who works in community relations/development for the Salvation Army in northwest Michigan and the eastern Upper Peninsula. Perry was shocked and surprised by the offer of the motorhome, which Bielman had lovingly restored since buying it a year ago.
"He called me back and said, 'You don't realize what this is, there's only been a couple of these given to the Salvation Army throughout the country," Bielman said.
Turning over the keys and paperwork to Major Thomas Riggs, the local commander, the motorhome will head to Grand Rapids this week. From there, the organization's divisional headquarters will send it to assist with disaster recovery work in the south.
The Salvation Army division covering this half of the state has already sent three mobile canteens to Texas, one each from Petoskey, Grand Rapids and Lansing. These self-contained kitchens provide countless emergency meals but have no provision for volunteers to sleep or take a break.
"The motorhome will provide a respite place for those who are serving in the canteens to rest and be able to regain their strength so they can continue to serve people," said Major Riggs.
"I don't think this donation was necessarily typical, but it comes from the type of people who see a need and respond, from the depths of their heart," he added. "This is a fantastic gift."
Riggs, who was on the front lines in Missouri during the Salvation Army's aid to victims of the Mississippi flooding in the 1990s, said the organization will be in Katrina-affected areas for the long haul. So far the local organization has received $30,000 in cash gifts to help Katrina victims, with 100 percent of the funds going to disaster relief. They will also help evacuees who are brought to Michigan, he noted.
"The scale of this relief work parallels 9-11 because of the length of time that people will be serving," he said of the national Salvation Army effort. "We didn't leave Ground Zero until the final end, we had canteens and people serving meals until they said they were done."
"We'll be in these locations until the crisis subsides and that could be six, eight or ten months minimum," added Riggs of Katrina efforts.
Donations may be sent the local Salvation Army, 1239 Barlow, Traverse City, 49686. Checks should be marked "Disaster Relief." Donations may also be made online at the web site www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.