September is not even two weeks old and the Tri-County Red Cross has been very active providing disaster preparedness and relief.
Over the Labor Day weekend two Tri-County Red Cross volunteers -- Terri Esposito and Chuck Sweetman -- were dispatched to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to support shelters and relief efforts in expectation of Hurrican Gustav. Fortunately the damage was much less than expected, but there was still significant need.
Rather than turn around and return to New Jersey after most people were able to return home, Terri and Chuck stayed on to assist in preparations for Hurricane Ike, which beat up parts of Florida and currently is buffetting the Texas Coast. Chuck, a mental health specialist, is in Florida for the cleanup and Terri is in Texas helping people through the worst of the storm.
On Wednesday the chapter responded to
a major apartment fire in Scotch Plains which displaced four families and resulted in significant injuries to three Plainfield residents who were employed at the complex where the fire broke out. The 12 family members were provided with hotel rooms and enough funding to purchase food for a week and two changes of clothing. More residents are receiving assistance as the damage is assessed.
More coverage of the fire and the Red Cross response is in the
Star Ledger and
Courier News.
In order to be able to respond to disasters like these the Tri-County Red Cross engages in preparedness efforts, training volunteers well in advance of disasters and taking part in exercises with other disaster relief entities to ensure we are all ready should the worst occur.
Today more than three dozen Red Cross volunteers and staff are participating in a disaster drill at the Newark Liberty Airport. The Tri-County Red Cross is providing volunteers, materials and food for the exercise which is intended to test our plans for responding to a catastrophe at the regions largest airport. The airport is situated in both Newark and Elizabeth, NJ, and is in both the Northern New Jersey Red Cross and the Tri-County Red Cross.
You can support all these efforts -- national disaster response, local disaster relief and regional preparedness -- by donating $25 or more using one of the buttons below. We receive no government funding, yet are required by both the federal and state government to provide disaster relief. We are able to do so only though the gifts of our fantastic volunteers and donors.
Please consider making a gift of $25 or more to the American Red Cross, Tri-County Red Cross, or both.
Donate to the Tri-County Red Cross Disaster Fund for local disaster response |
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Donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Fund for national disaster response |
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Split your gift equally between American and Tri-County Red Cross disaster response funds |
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