Imagine shopping in a store where everything has been donated to help rebuild your life. That's the reality for thousands of residents across the Southeast affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An old Wal-Mart building in Pasadena was donated to the Salvation Army to use as a center to pass out donations to serve up to 500 families a day. "Every day, truckloads of donations have pulled up the building, and volunteers load the shelves department by department," explained Rolan Chamblis of the Pasadena office of the Salvation Army. Ritz Camera donated 5,000 Ritz Camera Photo Teddy Bears to the Salvation Army as gifts for children displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and they were transported to this facility. "The teddy bears were very popular among the children that came to the donation center. In fact, I've seen numerous teddy bears strapped to the front of shopping carts of families collecting needed supplies," said Chamblis, "This distribution operation has been a huge success, and it would not be possible without the generous donations from organizations such as Ritz Camera." "You cannot help but be struck by the magnitude of this disaster," said CEO David Ritz. "So many families with young children had to leave everything behind. We felt we had an opportunity to provide some relief to many youngsters with our Photo Teddy Bears, and we are grateful to the Salvation Army for distributing them to displaced children who came to the Pasadena center." The relief effort surrounding Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is the largest, most expensive disaster relief effort to date in the United States and in The Salvation Army's 125 years of disaster service. The Salvation Army has been serving survivors and first responders since the storm first struck and will continue to do so long-term. About Ritz Camera Centers Ritz Camera Centers is headquartered in Beltsville, MD. The complete chain of stores includes Ritz Camera, Wolf Camera, Kits Camera, Inkley's and The Camera Shop. It is the largest retail camera and photo chain in the United States with approximately 1,200 locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia. All stores have Big Print Central Departments offering both traditional and digital prints "in minutes." The Ritz Camera Centers, Inc. website, http://www.ritzpix.com offers customers a one-hour printing and in-store pick-up service. Ritz Camera Centers, Inc. also owns and operates Boater's World Marine Centers, a leading marine specialty retail chain with 115 stores nationwide. For further information or to obtain hi-res images, please contact Wolfbone Marketing at 678.332.2600, via email at jcarbone@wolfbone.com or mswader@wolfbone.com.

Source: PR Newswire