Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Weather in the southeast United States can be fickle as witnessed by people living in Alabama. On Saturday December 16, 2000, tornados knocked out power and left hundreds homeless in the wake of their fury. One such tornado in Tuscaloosa was 750 yards wide with 60 mph winds. It was rated an F-4.

On Monday December 18th, Operation Sharing began to gather relief supplies for those areas hardest hit in Alabama. A tractor trailer load of medical supplies, juice and cleaning supplies was sent to the First Christian Church in Decatur for disbursement to those in need.

"We had a normal in-kind distribution already destined to depart for Decatur, Alabama, however, when we learned of the devastation and destruction that the tornadoes had produced, we wanted to tailor the donation to supplies that were going to be most beneficial, in more of a relief mode," stated Johnny Thompson, Assistant Director of Operation Sharing.

In addition, AmeriCares, an international relief agency, teamed with Operation Sharing to deliver much needed personal hygiene items, including soaps, toothbrushes and vinyl cleaning gloves to the First Christian Church in Tuscaloosa. Also included in the tractor trailer load of supplies were some toys.

"We had heard that many people had lost all of their Christmas presents in the storm and wouldn't be able to replace them. We included interactive toys, plush stuffed animals and Avon products. We were able to help them out in more of a direct way," continued Thompson.

Operation Sharing is the in-kind donation distribution program of the Christian Appalachian Project that supplies the thirteen Appalachian states with books, clothing, food, home repair materials and health and beauty aids. The program contributes to hundreds of community groups, churches, non-profit agencies and schools in the Appalachian region.

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