UPDATE: How Middletown Will Give Back to Oklahoma

Upon approval by the state and township for a license, The Port Monmouth Fire Company will donate proceeds of a Super 50-50 drawing on June 29 to the Southern Baptist Convention of Oklahoma, the organization who came to serve hot food in Middletown for the two monhts after Hurricane Sandy.

Port Monmouth Fire is holding a "Hurricane Sandy Thank You Party from noon-5 pm on that day. It is open to the public, with donated food from Middletown restaurants Outback and Sonic, as well as live entertainment. Super 50-50 tickets are $5 each and available in advance or at the day of the event.

Original story, May 21

In the days after Hurricane Sandy, members of the from a tent erected in the parking lot of Saint Mary Church.

As many as 140 of them stayed through November to keep the kitchen going, sleeping on cots in the New Monmouth Baptist Church gym across the street. 

With the memory still fresh of the service provided to Middletown by Oklahoma volunteers, township government leaders are working on a way to help out the victims of the devastating tornado that flattened Moore, Oklahoma yesterday. 

Middletown Township Committeeman Tony Fiore, who was the township mayor during the Oct. 29, 2012 storm and aftermath, said Tuesday morning he and Deputy Mayor Stephanie Murray, the leader of the township Volunteer Corps., have been in "constant contact" with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief coordinators in Oklahoma. 

"We are awaiting a response as to what efforts we can coordinate in terms of supplies or potential manpower to send to Oklahoma," said Fiore in an email. "Deputy Mayor Murray is also in talks with Disaster Relief Oklahoma to potentially have Middletown adopt affected families."  

"In the interim, we are aggressively using our contacts via social media to solicit donations to their efforts," he said. 

Fiore is also the chairman of the Middletown Township Disaster Relief Fund, a non-governmental organization. 

In 2012, Fiore gave the "key to Middletown" to volunteer Dave Carr and representatives of the Oklahoma-based Southern Baptist Convention. 

New Monmouth Baptist Church Deacon Chairman Gary Steidl said that the Southern Baptist Convention volunteers arrived in Moore late Monday afternoon -- the same people who served Middletown. 

"They will be getting back to us shortly as to what they need," said Steidl. "We have offered a team to go out and help, and they have said stand by for now."