The opinion piece below was published in the Courier News on Sunday, June 29 2008 and was written by Tri-County Red Cross CEO Nathan Rudy.
Red Cross volunteers lend support across U.S.
Right now the news is full of photos, stories and reports about the Midwestern floods. Just a few weeks into the hurricane season, the nation is already facing its worst disaster since the California wildfires of last fall.
The American Red Cross has responded to this disaster by establishing more than 74 shelters for 70,000 overnight stays. Red Cross volunteers and staff throughout the country have flown in to states from Kansas to West Virginia to provide 260,000 meals, distributed tens of thousands of clean-up kits, and assisted countless family members in locating loved ones displaced by the floods.
Many are unaware that the American Red Cross chapters right here in Central Jersey are raising money, training volunteers and working to enable the relief effort that is vitally important to the lives of so many Americans. It is a commitment every American Red Cross chapter makes, promising to provide support for other chapters in times of national disaster.
You can see some pictures of flooded areas and our response, and donate to the relief effort at tricountyredcross.org/midwest .
The American Red Cross is spending more than $15 million on this effort, and your $25 con- tribution adds up with many others to bring relief to thousands.
American Red Cross chapters nationwide provide the same support to our local chapters when disaster strikes our area. For our own disasters in the past couple of years, such as the Spring Street apartment fire in Elizabeth and the Nor’easter that flooded many of our towns, chapters across the United States raised money, distributed supplies and sent volunteers to take care of our residents.
Your local chapters also respond to local disasters that affect one, two, three or more families. Tri-County Red Cross volunteers — who serve half a million people in 22 Union, Somerset and Middlesex communities — responded to more than 65 house and apartment fires this fiscal year and provided more than 370 local residents with shelter, food and clothing after they were displaced from their homes.
To ensure our communities are ready for the next local major disaster or that we can support those catastrophes outside our area, we are always recruiting disaster volunteers. The American Red Cross provides training in disaster preparedness and response of all types at no cost to the volunteer. This training can be in mental health counseling, public relations, shelter management, disaster response, accident assessment or any number of other skills.
Volunteers can be activated at whatever level they desire. Folks with just a couple of hours a month to contribute can help inventory disaster supplies or ensure the emergency response vehicle is stocked and fully functioning. Others can be on call one night a week or more to respond to clients who lost their homes to fire or flood, mobilized only when needed. Still others who have the training can spend two or three weeks on a national assignment such as the current Midwest floods or Hurricane Katrina.
If you are interested in being an American Red Cross volunteer, during disaster responses or in any other capacity, you can find your local chapter at tricountyredcross.org/arcnj.html . You can also call Victor Webb, the Tri-County Red Cross Volunteer and Youth Director, at (908) 756-6414 and he will get you to your local chapter. Volunteering for the American Red Cross is very fulfilling, and helps to provide our local communities with the disaster preparedness, preparation and relief so many of our residents need every year. When a disaster strikes, things are always made better when Red Cross volunteers arrive.
You could be one of those volunteers.
Nathan Rudy is chief executive officer of the Tri-County Red Cross
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