Parole Board partners with Convoy of Care

ATLANTA, February 6, 2017 – The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is again partnering with law enforcement agencies throughout the state, Channel 2 WSB-TV, the Georgia Motor Trucking Association, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) and Caring for Others, Inc., to help raise funds for South Georgia residents who survived the historic tornado outbreak last month.

“The communities in South Georgia need money to be able to fund specific needs of each individual resident, whether it’s to cut down trees or to restore homes,” said Tim McVay, WSB-TV Vice President and General Manager. “That’s why we are urging our viewers to make cash donations now.”

The Convoy of Care will take a load of supplies to South Georgia on Sunday, February 12th.  Mt Zion Baptist Church in Albany will be accepting the donations and distributing supplies on site. Volunteers from Caring for Others and the law firm Stewart, Seay and Felton will load up the tractor trailer truck donated by Holland, Inc. which was part of the first Convoy of Care that saw five tractor trailer trucks go to flood ravaged Baton Rouge, Louisiana in August last year.

Law enforcement organizations including the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, along with state agencies; Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles, Georgia State Patrol, and Georgia Bureau of Investigation, have pledged to use their network to raise the awareness of the Convoy of Care online fundraising effort.

“We’re all One Georgia, and we want to continue to demonstrate how law enforcement serves the very communities we are sworn to protect,” said Clarence Cox, National Vice President of NOBLE.

Funds being collected through Caring for Others will be disbursed directly to Long Term Recovery Committees being established in the Berrien, Cook, Crisp, Dougherty, Thomas, Turner, Wilcox, and Worth counties in coordination with G.E.M.A. Caring for Others is accepting online cash donations at http://caring4others.org – click on “South Georgia Disaster Relief” at the top of the page or checks may be mailed to Caring for Others, Inc., 3537 Browns Mill Road, SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30354. Please indicate that you are donating to South Georgia Tornado Relief.

Braxton Cotton, a Parole Board Member and an officer for the Georgia chapter of NOBLE says the effort is a great opportunity to work with other law enforcement in order to assist others.

"Public safety of course is our mission and we care for others. It's a blessing to be able to help where there's a deep need such as this," stated Cotton.

Executive Director of Parole Chris Barnett says the Board will continue to look for opportunities to assist Georgians in need. 

"We are heartbroken by the devastation and loss of life left behind by the tornadoes in South Georgia. As soon as we began seeing the reports, we put out a call to action to our staff for every day essentials that those harmed by the storm would need in the days to come. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles remains committed to those impacted by these storms and will continue to work with our partners in the area to ensure as needs are identified, we are there to assist," Barnett stated.

Seventeen Georgians were killed by tornadoes that blew through South Georgia in January and caused more than $100 million worth of damage. State Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens says much of the damage was to structures and properties that were uninsured.