Relief charity that aids in worldwide catastrophes needs help

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- For years, a local organization has been able to help save lives around the world with something as simple as a shipping container. Now it is on life support and in need of aid.

The Christian Alliance gets recognized most often for its converted shipping containers, but it does a lot of food distribution work locally from its warehouse. They have lots of plans but not the people they need to make them happen.

Everyday, the Christian Alliance for Humanitarian Aid is able to move truckloads of food at home and during international catastrophes. Dozens of mobile clinics are created from converted shipping containers.

"It's a mobile doctor's office," said Jonathan Stokely, son of the group's founders Jess and Fran Stokely.

But despite the massive warehouse of goods, and the scope of the non-profit, it is all done with volunteers and they cant do it all.

"We support about 80 ministries," Jonathan said. "You have to have infrastructure for this, you have to have people who are paid and have the gifts and talents to carry out this mission."

Jess and Fran Stokely started the Christian Alliance with their own money 13 years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. With the help of the Methodist church and tons of donations, they sent two shiploads of aid to Honduras and never looked back. The non-profit has responded to almost every disaster since.

Last year, they sent 13 mobile medical clinics to Haiti after the earthquake.

"That's the story of this ministry, it's glory to God," Jonathan said.

But a massive fire at their warehouse in 2006 is finally catching up to them. They had to let go of all staff. The Stokelys, now in their 70s, work every day for free because it's their mission. They don't complain and didn't want to be interviewed, but it's killing their son.

"To be honest, I don't know if this will be around next year. I'm going to get in trouble for saying that but the truth is the truth. We're really hurting. My parents have one car, they reverse mortgaged their house, they've done just about all they can do to keep this thing going and we need somebody to step up," Jonathan said.

So, yes, their son Jonathan is asking for help, specifically someone to sponsor an employee who can help them write grants, update a website or run the office.

"We've done a lot with a little and we've done it for years," he said.

That way, all burden doesn't fall on his parents and the Christian Alliance can survive.

"I just hope that the people who are able to give and want to see their money well used for the kingdom of God and to help people, this is the place," Jonathan said.

The Christian Alliance has sent aid to more than 50 countries. It gives out food every Saturday and during the week when requested.

To contact the group, visit their website http://christian-alliance.org.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Houston Food Bank needs your help

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In this the holiday season the Houston Food Bank is hoping you will open your heart and give. The organization says donations are down but the number of people in need is up.

The Houston Food Bank has one million pounds of food less than it did last year.

In all, they distribute about 70 million pounds of food. So a million pounds may not seem like a lot when you hear that big number but the problem is the Food Bank isn't seeing as much of those nutritious foods they need.

Two years ago the Food Bank says it had 37 tractor trailers of peanut butter. This year nothing, that's in large part because food prices are higher and they aren't getting as much help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"USDA Food has come in at a much reduced rate. We have about 40 percent less USDA Food than we had last year. And that's the most nutritious stuff," said Betsy Ballard with the Houston Food Bank.

So, if you can donate, the best things to give are canned fruits and vegetables. Proteins like peanut butter, canned tuna or even beef stews.

If you can't donate items, keep in mind that just $1 provides three meals, to someone in need.

You can join us for the 31st annual Share your Holidays Food Drive. This will benefit the Houston Food Bank. It's this Friday from 6am to 6pm here at the ABC13 studios on Bissonnet. There are collections sites all over the area.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Community: dangerous intersection needs red light

 HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As churches prepare for one of the holiest days of the year, one Houston church is worried about the safety of its congregation.

The New Life Temple Church sits at the intersection of Almeda Genoa and Martin Luther King, and where those streets meet is what concerns church leaders. A little boy's funeral was interrupted Friday by an accident at the intersection. The senior pastor also says one of her church members was involved in a crash last year while driving to the church. She says she and her neighbors have repeatedly asked for help, but it hasn't happened so far. As Bishop Brenda Perry prepares for Easter Sunday and a full sanctuary, she's adding one more prayer to her list. "Lives depend on it, very much so," she said. She has renewed her call for a traffic signal at the corner of Almeda Genoa and Martin Luther King. Right now, there's just a stop sign and she believes that's not enough. "It's just an accident all the time," Perry said. In fact, hours earlier, one happened right before their eyes during a funeral at New Life Temple. A black SUV collided with a small sedan and flipped. Officers had to pull three people, including a child, out. "The Lord is looking over them," one officer said. We don't know who was at fault but Alphonse Simple, who's lived here for 31 years, believes a combination of not paying attention to the stop sign and driving faster than the posted 45 miles per hour on Almeda Genoa oftentimes makes for a dangerous result. "I can be at my house and I can hear a wreck," he said. "It's early now; later on it's like whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.". A quick check with Houston police showed between 10 and 15 accidents in the last year, roughly one a month. According to the city's public works department, which looked at this issue last September, it takes five or more accidents within a 12-month period to warrant one, but here's the catch; those accidents have to have been deemed correctable by a traffic signal. And at the time, officials say they weren't. "There wasn't enough evidence there to indicate there was an issue," said Jeff Weatherford, deputy director of the Houston Public Works and Engineering department. "I don't know how many accidents that has to happen before they put a light there," Simple said. So Simple will keep asking that question and Perry will keep praying. "We need something done," she said. The deputy director of public works says they will pull the number of accidents on Monday to see if anything has changed. Development also has an impact, he says. There is one major development just a couple of blocks away -- the New Frost Elementary will open up in the fall. The church pastor hopes something will happen before parents and their children travel down that stretch of road daily. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) 

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