"The things you might need': To prep for severe storms, Salvation Army volunteers assemble clean-up kits
CHICAGO (CBS) -- They do it every year, but Salvation Army volunteers putting together clean-up kits say they're work was made even more important by the threat of storms and tornados in our area.
CBS 2's Sara Machi joined volunteers and has the story.
They've got a few more days of work ahead, but after arriving, the storms were on everyone's mind. They're hoping the kits they made today wouldn't be needed tonight.
Inside the Elk Grove Village Salvation Army warehouse, there's preparation because forecasts for severe weather top of mind with volunteers like Tom Miers.
"It definitely literally crossed my mind this morning," said Miers.
They're creating severe weather kits with the supplies for someone would need to clean up their home.
"We've got mops, various sanitizers and gloves and masks and all the things you might need," Miers said.
An assembly line cranking out hundreds each hour, just a part of the way they're preparing.
"We are trying to monitor the weather, have stuff on standby, volunteers on standby, watching the weather, to keep watching the weather as it moves in," said Karen Hanton, a manager with the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army came into the day with 1,000 buckets. The overall total they're looking for is 2,500 and any buckets that don't get use here will be sent to other locations.
"We are in the 11 central states, and so our counterparts in Indiana have already requested some cleanup kits. They want to pre-position them before their season starts," Hanton said.
The Salvation Army said they recently sent a batch of buckets sent to the eastern side of the country. They make so many here because they have the space for supplies and for storage.
