KINGSPORT — Officials with the East Tennessee Region of the American Red Cross, which this week sent volunteers to help victims of Hurricane Isaac, say the organization needs financial help from the community.
"This is a very large relief response that will last a long time. The Red Cross will be there for weeks helping people recover, and after a difficult summer of responding to wildfires, power outages and floods, Red Cross resources are stretched," said Glenda Bobalik, executive director.
People can donate by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) or texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
The East Tennessee Region of the American Red Cross announced deployment of additional volunteers on Thursday, bringing the total to 37 with additional deployment expected through the holiday weekend.
Eight of those volunteers are based in the Northeast Tennessee area, with the others leaving from Knoxville and Chattanooga. Each volunteer expects to serve at least two weeks.
The Red Cross is responding across multiple states, providing thousands of people with a dry place to stay and something to eat. Wednesday night, more than 5,200 people stayed in 80 Red Cross or community shelters in six states.
The Red Cross has volunteers, equipment and supplies poised ready to help people in the affected areas after the storm passes.
About 2,700 trained Red Cross disaster workers from all over the United States have deployed to the Gulf region to help.
Red Cross officials said that at least 311,000 ready-to-eat meals and kitchen support trailers are in the area. In addition, the Southern Baptist Convention has mobile kitchens capable of producing thousands of meals a day pre-positioned alongside the Red Cross.
Across the Gulf Coast, 187 Red Cross emergency response vehicles are ready to move in to serve meals and distribute relief items once it's safe to do so.
The Red Cross already has trailers of relief supplies pre-positioned in the area and has sent thousands of additional supplies like cleanup and personal hygiene items, cots, blankets, coolers, shovels, rakes, tarps, gloves and masks.
The Red Cross is working closely with local, state and federal officials and community organizations to coordinate this multi-state relief response. Some of these partners include AmeriCorps, Islamic Relief USA, NAACP and the National Baptist Convention USA.
Those affected can let loved ones know they are safe by either downloading the Red Cross hurricane app and using the "I'm Safe" button to post a message to their social media accounts, or registering on the Red Cross Safe and Well Web site.
The hurricane app can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross.
The Red Cross Safe and Well Web site is secure, and people can register by visiting www.redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). This site also connects with the Twitter and Facebook accounts of users.