The Do Gooders Podcast Christin Thieme

We’ve said it before: The Salvation Army’s disaster relief operation never sleeps. Perhaps that could not be more true than in the case of Envoy Kevin Nagasaki who is in-charge of the Lahaina Lighthouse Corps in Maui, Hawaii.
You’ll remember last August, the Lahaina Lighthouse Corps burned along with historic Lahaina town in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. For Envoy Nagasaki, this disaster was personal: The corps complex contained spaces for worship, social services and a thrift store, along with the home he shared with his wife as ministry leaders in the community for nearly 30 years. 
So not only was the community he loves leveled, and he himself directly impacted by the fires, he was on the frontlines of service responding to them too. Less than 24 hours after the fires, he was delivering food across shelter sites and serving first responders as part of The Salvation Army’s coordinated effort on the island of Maui that is still ongoing.
In this episode, guest hosted by Managing Editor Hillary Jackson, Envoy Kevin Nagasaki shares a glimpse of what it’s like to respond to a disaster when you’re truly in it yourself. He shares the hope he has for his community, and how it’s finding renewal.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

Building resilience is a lengthy process, but it's an investment that pays off. By focusing on preparedness, mitigation and adaptation, more communities can ensure that they too build and sustain resilience after a natural disaster.
Todd De Voe is a true authority on all things resilience and emergency management.
Todd is the Editor in Chief of The Emergency Management Network newsletter, a published author in the reference book "Campus Crisis Management," and has penned numerous whitepapers and studies.  He hosts The EMN Newsletter Podcast and The Leader's Cafe. He even delivered a TED talk on building and sustaining resilience. Todd holds a Masters in Public Administration and another in Emergency Management, and he's a graduate of the National Emergency Management Executive Academy.
Today, we're diving into what resilience truly means in emergency management, the the role of community organizations and programs in building a culture of preparedness, along with strategies communities can use to strengthen their bonds and resources in the face of adversity. Most importantly, Todd will share insights into the common challenges communities face during recovery and how they should be approached.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

Every disaster scenario creates its own unique circumstances and special needs. In each case, The Salvation Army is there with other agencies to offer relief in the form of food services, emergency communications, donations management, social services and more.
Perhaps most uniquely, The Salvation Army deploys specially trained individuals to offer emotional and spiritual care to rescue workers and disaster survivors alike.
That ministry of presence is all we do and say—a collective action of words, touch, listening and presence. Collectively, those actions work together to express the love and compassion of God.
Major Tammy Ray, who currently serves as the corps officer in Redding, California, has a long history of responding to disasters as part of The Salvation Army's disaster relief team. And she helps prepare people to serve in this emotional and spiritual care role—to discern and offer what someone might need, even if they can't state for themselves—to create the "transforming place."
As she says, It's more being than doing.
It's a quiet servanthood, a calm presence.
It's not about fixing but it is a gift of connection with another person at a critical time in their life.
It might be exactly what St. Francis of Assisi meant when he said, "Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.”
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

A good start to disaster preparedness is knowing the risks you should be prepared for based on where you live. That’s a big part of Jonathan Sury’s work.
Jonathan is the Project Director for Communications and Field Operations at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.  
Jonathan leads a project called the Natural Hazards Index, which maps local vulnerability to various disasters at the sub-county level. Everything including extreme heat, earthquakes, landslides, tornadoes, and floods. The project's interactive map allows users to zoom in and assess climate, weather and geological hazards in their vicinity. That way, people can learn to take proactive measures to safeguard themselves and their families. 
Today we’re talking with Jonathan about the Natural Hazards Index, the importance of preparedness, how data can help individual households and communities alike, and what we should be paying attention to amid the changing disaster landscape.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

Where would you go if you could live anywhere you wanted?
For a lot of Americans, the answer is Phoenix. In fact, Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, has held the title of "fastest growing county in the U.S. by numeric growth" for much of the past decade.
But, Maricopa isn’t just one of the hottest places in terms of popularity. It’s also the literal hottest metropolitan area in the U.S.
Summertime, in particular, is dangerously hot in Maricopa County, and getting hotter every passing year. Last year, in 2023, Maricopa County identified a total of 645 heat-related deaths—a 52 percent increase from the previous year and the most heat-related deaths ever recorded. 
The Salvation Army runs a network of heat relief stations throughout Maricopa County to help residents stay safe and hydrated, and out of the record-breaking temperatures. 
Lt. Colonel Ivan Wild, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army Southwest Division, is on the show to talk about The Salvation Army's heat-related disaster response efforts and how the organization plans to better serve its communities amid more extreme weather events.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.

The U.S. experienced a record number of billion-dollar weather disasters in 2023, and it’s not a one-year fluke but the new trend.
In the face of this changing disaster landscape, there's one organization consistently on the frontlines, bringing aid and hope to those in need: The Salvation Army, whose disaster relief operation never sleeps.
Last year alone, The Salvation Army served nearly 600,000 people across a staggering 4,300 disaster events. Thanks to the generosity of donors and corporate partners, The Salvation Army was able to provide these survivors with a warm meal, a safe haven for the night, and in some cases, something just as essential: a listening ear and a moment of prayer.
John Berglund, The Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services Director in the West, is helping us set the stage for our ongoing conversation about the current state of disaster relief.  
He's sharing more on the dynamics of serving throughout another record-breaking disaster year, the importance of cleverly adapting to meet needs, and some of the common misconceptions around disaster relief.
EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more.
BE AFFIRMED. Get the Good Words email series.
WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz.
STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection.
BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram.
FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.