Alabama - The American Red Cross will provide additional services for people with significant damage from the recent tornadoes, starting Friday at Clearview Baptist Church, 5271 Old Springville Road, Pinson. During the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. they can meet one-on-one with caseworkers, health and mental health professionals. The Red Cross workers will offer local resources and referrals, help with prescriptions and other emergency medical needs, and assist those who need help registering for other relief programs. Anyone who cannot come during those hours is urged to call the Red Cross at (205) 439-7800 and push Option 6 to set up an appointment. They can also leave a message for a call-back.

Ongoing Red Cross disaster relief services include bulk distribution of supplies such as tarps, rakes, shovels, trash bags, gloves, comfort kits of toiletry items and clean-up kits. A distribution site for these items is also located at Clearview Baptist Church, where people should look for the Red Cross truck.

Two Red Cross shelters remain open:

· First Baptist Church of Center Point – 1945 Center Point Parkway, Center Point

· Clay Community Center – 6415 Clay-Palmerdale Road, Clay

Emergency Response Vehicles also are continuing to bring meals to the affected areas.

Red Cross Assisting Union City Families Affected by Bergenline Avenue Fire

UNION CITY, NJ, January 21, 2012 – The American Red Cross continues to shelter the Union City families forced to flee their homes late Wednesday when a massive fire burned through at least five attached buildings on Bergenline Avenue in Union City. Last night, 40 people spent the night in the Red Cross shelter at the Jose Marti School on Summit Avenue in Union City. The shelter was opened late Wednesday evening.

Red Cross volunteers from the North Jersey Region are manning the shelter around the clock. Meals are being served and assistance has been provided to families to purchase items such as coats and boots for the cold, snowy weather conditions.

The Red Cross is working together with the Union City Mayor’s Office to help the displaced families move toward the recovery process. The families have been provided referrals and access to additional resources available. Several community groups are also working with the Mayor’s Office to help the affected families.

Red Cross Teams Reaching Out to Help

FINDLAY, OH, NOVEMBER 30, 2011 – Members of the American Red Cross Hancock County Chapter’s Disaster Action Team will be visiting area affected by this week’s flooding today, to offer assistance where needed. The teams will be carrying clean up kits to help families whose homes have been affected by flood waters and will also do assessments of flooded homes to see if further assistance can be provided.

“We are fortunate the river crested at a level that didn’t require a shelter to be opened” says Executive Director Todd James. “But we know from previous floods that there are many homes that will have flooded basements, garages and other areas. We want to give help where we can, by providing clean up kits to help families restore their homes as quick as possible.”

James says the clean up kits, which contain mops, brooms, gloves, brushes, cleaning solution and other supplies, can also be picked up at the Hancock County Red Cross, 125 Fair Street in Findlay. There is no charge for the cleanup kits. Anyone who has questions about getting a cleanup kit or other disaster relief should call Ron Rooker, Emergency Services Director, at 419-422-9322 ext 1503.

Meals and snacks served: 489

Volunteers: 45

Clean-up and comfort kits distributed: 20

Shelter overnight stays: 3

·         NC: 40 homes affected, 11 destroyed

·         SC: 15 affected, 10 destroyed or with major damage

·         AL: 230 affected, more than 100 with major damage or destroyed

Red Cross volunteers are on the ground in all three states distributing clean-up kits. We are also distributing snacks and water in these hard-hit areas.

One shelter was opened in Lexington, NC, where three people stayed the night.

We are continuing damage assessment – which will likely wrap up today in NC and SC.

Red Cross workers assess tornado damage with a resident of the Ogden community in Rock Hill

On Wednesday, November 16, 2011, when most families were sitting down to eat their dinner, a storm roared through York and Chester Counties leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Unconfirmed reports of at least three possible tornadoes and numerous straight-line winds hit the York County area directly impacting the quiet Ogden community located at Williamson Road and Highway 324 in York County.

The initial assessment indicates three to eight homes have been completely destroyed and numerous others damaged. There have been three confirmed deaths and five on-scene evacuations to local hospitals as a result of this severe storm. The condition of those transported to the hospital is at present unknown.

York County Emergency Management Division (EMD) manager, Cotton Howell, confirmed that they have the area sealed off and that detailed assessment is currently being conducted by members of the EMD and the American Red Cross.

Disaster workers deliver meals to first responders and residents affected in the Ogden community in Rock Hill, SC.

The Red Cross has been on the scene since the initial reports were received feeding the first responders and residents affected by this disaster. Your American Red Cross will continue to work with the families and first responders until the situation is resolved.

A resident of the Ogden community thanks Red Cross workers for being there for her and her neighbors. 

Please help us provide relief by making a financial donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. We can’t do this without your help. American Red Cross Disaster Relief not only supports the costs associated with a disaster response, like food and volunteers deployment, but also supports year-round readiness and maintenance costs. It pays for the vehicle fleet, warehouses, IT systems and volunteer training that must be maintained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep us ready to respond.

As the Red Cross offers comfort and relief to residents, we are grateful to individuals like you who guarantee that we will be there, every step of the way. Together, we can face the challenges today, and those that lie ahead.

With our mission in mind,
Scott R. Salemme
Regional CEO
American Red Cross, Columbia Region

P.S. The Red Cross is able to be a comfort in times of need for thousands of people every year. But we need your help to ensure we will continue to be there for our neighbors in the future. Please consider a donation today.

You can help people affected by disasters like tornadoes, as well as countless crises at home and around the world, by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters. Visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., November 17, 2011 – Volunteers with the American Red Cross Alabama Region are assessing the damage to homes throughout the state. So far they have found that over 230 homes throughout Alabama were affected in some way by the severe weather.

A Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle is on the ground in Macon County. Volunteers are using it to distribute comfort kits, clean up kits, and snacks to families whose homes were affected by the weather. A shelter was on standby but was not opened, although a few people were provided shelter at a local hotel last night. The Red Cross is working in conjunction with the Salvation Army to provide feeding.

Here are the initial damage assessment numbers for the affected areas:

• Homes Destroyed 16
• Homes with Major Damage 95
• Homes with Minor Damage 86
• Affected Homes 34

In the coming days we will be meeting with the families affected and will assist them with their immediate emergency needs based on the extent of the damage to their homes. Affected families should call their local Red Cross office for more information about Red Cross assistance.

Red Cross emergency assistance can include food, clothing, shelter, emotional support, and referrals; the level of assistance given is determined by caseworkers who meet with each family to assess their immediate emergency needs and provides assistance according to the extent of the damage to their home.

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About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Shelter Locations Changing as Needs Evolve
New Locations Opening in Communities Where Schools Try to Reopen for Classes, Polling

FARMINGTON, CONN., November 7, 2011 – Power is coming on in more communities, but many thousands of people remain without light or heat and face the prospect of another night in a shelter as communities deal with the aftermath of a crippling fall snowstorm.

The Red Cross and several affected communities are responding to shelter needs and to the necessity of getting schools back online for classes to resume and to serve as polling places in the Tuesday elections.

Shelters are expected to remain open in Avon, Bloomfield, Canton, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Harwinton, Meriden, Simsbury, Southington, Suffield and West Hartford. In some communities, the Red Cross is stepping in to provide new or additional support, said Red Cross spokesperson Paul Shipman.

In some cases, shelter locations in these towns have changed to accommodate school and polling place schedules. Many shelters are accepting residents from nearby towns where shelters with low populations have closed. The best thing to do if you need shelter tonight, Shipman said, is to call 211 or visit www.211ct.org.

“Red Cross volunteers have been working in many shelters, but with the need so great in the last week, many communities have stepped up to provide for needs in their towns. Many workers in these communities are Red Cross trained for disaster response. We are glad that advance training has helped to ready people for operating shelters.”

The response in Connecticut is especially notable, Shipman said, because volunteers in many cases have been coping with the same issues facing their shelter clients. “They come into work while their own homes lack power or have suffered damage from the storm. Despite difficult travel and communications conditions, they have worked to help their neighbors.”

Some important reminders for people in need of shelter:
Call 211 or visit www.211ct.org
If going to a shelter, bring pillows, bedding, sleeping bag or mat
Bring any prescriptions or maintenance medications you need on a regular basis
Bring toiletries and a change of clothes

If you are still without power, continue reporting the outage to CL&P at 1-800-286-2000, especially if you see lights in surrounding houses. There may be other issues affecting restoration of your service.

She lives the Red Cross philosophy every day. On September 08 as Hurricane Irene continued her angry trip up the east coast it was clear to all that Pennsylvania would not escape her wrath. As the waters of the proud yet gentle Susquehana River began to rise, Marita received a call to open a shelter at Tunkhannock High School. As the waters continued to rise and more and more people were forced to evacuate their homes it became clear more shelters were needed and Marita received the call to open a second shelter at Falls Senior Citizens Center a few miles away. Making every moment count she had the shelter up and running in a matter of hours. As the mighty Susquehana overflowed her banks and reached higher and higher (43 feet above normal) destroying everything in her path, Marita received the call, a third shelter was needed. Not one to rattle easily, and with her customary “can do” attitude she was receiving evacuees a few short hours later at the Emanna Country ‘Club.

As clients began to arrive she realized more food was needed and she remembered a ham in the refrigerator at home she had purchased the day before. It was on the way home that she came face to face with the stark reality that her own home was in danger. The waters had risen so rapidly the roads were flooded and she could not get home. She knew immediately that all was lost so she calmly returned to the shelter to help her neighbors cope with their loss.

As the waters receded and Marita was able to return to her home of 30 years it was apparent she would never live there again. Everything in the house was lost and the violent storm had left a foot of muddy silt everywhere. Facing this loss as she has everything in life she applied and was accepted to Lake Winola Senior Housing…when something becomes available. Til then she will continue to stay at the home of a friend.

“I can handle the big things that life throws at me. It’s the little things that upset me.” This dynamic woman of 83 years of age is a 20 year volunteer with the American Red Cross and has responded to 22 national disasters.

When Judy Nicholson, a Red Cross Disaster Mental Health worker from Maryland, was asked to come to New Jersey to assist victims of the flooding that has devastated the area following Hurricane Irene, she did so without hesitation.

Nicholson, working out of New Jersey, was one of the first Red Cross workers to respond following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Initially serving at the Port Authority Family Assistance Center at Newark Airport, lending aid to the flight crews of the two airlines, she later served at the Family Assistance Center at Liberty State Park. That location served as a site for distribution of material, for collecting DNA samples, and was also a launching point to take families, in groups, over to Ground Zero. “It was a multi-agency site,” she said, recalling the experience. “New Jersey, the state, did a fine job of arranging all that, it was seamless. It was an experience like none other.”

When the Red Cross asked her to return again to New Jersey Nicholson responded “ Yea! I had really enjoyed working in New Jersey, though years ago, and I felt like I was going home in a way.” Knowing that she would be in New Jersey, around the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, she also was aware that this trip had nothing to do with that tragic time. Then, on a scheduled day off, she received a call, asking, “Do you want to help with the canteen that goes down to Liberty State Park?” Fighting back tears she said “it was my site… and I jumped at the chance.” The return trip a decade later had a strangely comforting familiarity. “Gosh, driving down those cobblestones…seeing the Statue of Liberty on my right, she recounts, “it was absolutely the only place I would have wanted to be. You wouldn’t believe it but I actually saw three people that I worked with ten years ago. It was a reunion but it wasn’t about that, it was about serving one more time.”

That moment, a special moment in time, was, as Nicholson describes, “just a pause moment. Now I’m here, in the northern New Jersey area of the flood relief, back to helping people who have had flooding and are displaced, and assisting people in shelters who are just trying to get back to their normal life.”

HAZLETON, PA (September 17, 2011) – Thanks to a partnership with The Clorox Company, 12,000 gallons of bleach are being distributed across Pennsylvania to those who are beginning the long recovery process following flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee.

“While Red Cross volunteers bring food and supplies to flooded neighborhoods, bleach has been one of the first things the residents ask for,” said Steve Cassel mass care chief for the relief operation. “It is one of the most vital tools for disinfecting walls, floors and household items as people return home to start rebuilding their lives.”

Two Clorox trucks – one from Atlanta, the other from Chicago – delivered the much-needed cleaning liquid to the Red Cross Distribution Warehouse in Hazleton. Pallets of boxed product, each 4 feet wide by 6 feet high, were stacked in 52-foot rows in preparation for distribution throughout the impacted communities.

This weekend local volunteers, including 50 students from Penn State University Hazleton Campus and 100 local Boy Scouts, stepped in to help the Red Cross disaster workers unpack the boxes and assemble “clean-up buckets” filled with a bottle of Clorox, work gloves, trash bags and insect repellent. These are being distributed along with the standard Red Cross clean-up kits that contain a mop, broom, disinfectant and other cleaning supplies. To date, more than 7,625 Red Cross clean-up kits have been distributed.

“For generations, Clorox has been a proud supporter of the American Red Cross, donating products and financial support when we need it most,” said Michael Windle, senior associate of In-Kind Donations at Red Cross national headquarters. “This donation, in particular, is a cost savings to us as we help residents clean up their homes.”

“This is it,” said Shirley Ellett. “This is all that’s left of ‘Nana’s Garden.’”

The Texas grandmother of two points to the only stone on her scorched land that appears to be untouched by recent wildfires.

“My granddaughters painted this rock for me,” explained Ellett as she struggled to lift the heavy stone. “And when we came home we saw we had lost everything. Everything, but this.”

Ellett is surrounded by family, including her grandkids, and she’s covered in a blanket she received from the American Red Cross. She’s using the blanket to keep herself dry from an afternoon storm that rolled into Bastrop County this weekend.

“The rain would have been nice a week ago,” she said. Thankfully I had this blanket inside my kit.” Also in the Red Cross backpack is a flashlight that can also charge a cell phone, a first aid kit and gloves.

“This has been wonderful,” said Ellett standing next to her daughter. “Yesterday we were able to get a sifter, trash bags and snacks at the Red Cross station down the street. Thank you so much.”

Wildfires across Texas have destroyed more than 1,500 homes and left many wondering where they’ll go from here. That’s why more than 340 volunteers and staff with the American Red Cross have spread across the Lone Star State handing out comfort kits, feeding affected families and supporting overnight shelters.

In addition to providing counseling to those who have been affected by the fires, Red Cross volunteers have teamed up with the Southern Baptist Convention to serve more than 6,000 meals in Bastrop County alone.

Ellett says this is home and she plans to rebuild on her land here in the Paige community.

“I have my family. We’re strong. We’ll be fine”, she said

Mike Blair, Clarendon resident, was fortunate that his home escaped damage from the widespread flooding that followed in the wake of Hurricane Irene. As he watched news coverage of the destruction, he decided to take action. “I felt awful for the state of Vermont and for my neighbors. I wanted to help out.”

Working near the Red Cross chapter office in Rutland, he had driven past and seen a lot of activity as Red Cross workers and vehicles mobilized to open shelters, deliver meals and distribute clean up materials and other needed supplies. He was on his way to the Vermont State Fair in Rutland but instead made a right turn into the chapter office parking lot. “I was on vacation and had some free time, so I stopped by Red Cross because I know it is a fantastic organization.”

That day Mike was signed in, and the next day he joined a team of Red Cross workers traveling roads he had not known even existed to access the areas of flooding and offer assistance to weary residents in the process of clean up. The destruction to roads and property was sobering, but as Mike recalls, “The people were positive and upbeat. They welcomed us, happy to see the Red Cross and work with them.”

On Thursday, Mike is still in the Red Cross chapter office, now working with people who need temporary housing by connecting them with community resources. Mike’s biggest surprise as a volunteer, “I didn’t realize that you actually go out to see disaster victims. That was very eye opening.”

Responding to about 70,000 disasters a year nationwide, Red Cross maintains on-call vehicles, supplies and over 60,000 trained workers ready to be deployed for regional as well as local disasters. It’s not unusual for Red Cross to respond to simultaneous events as we are now, assisting people affected by Tropical Storm Irene as well as those whose homes have been destroyed by the fire in Texas. It is through caring and willing volunteers like Mike that the American Red Cross is able to deliver emergency disaster relief assistance to our friends and neighbors in their times of need.