The Northern New England Region of the American Red Cross continues to deploy people to major disaster relief efforts. As of Friday, Oct. 30, Red Cross volunteers and employees from Cape Elizabeth, Old Town and Portland, Maine were among the most recent assigned to serve respectively in Louisiana and the California wildfire operation.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta, Dr. John Devlin, from Cape Elizabeth, will report to Louisiana as a Disaster Health Services Supervisor. Dr. Devlin is a Red Cross volunteer in the Southern Maine Territory.
Old Town resident, Holly Garrett, a new volunteer with the American Red Cross, is also on her way to Louisiana to serve as a Shelter Worker.
Kerri Foley, Red Cross of Northern New England Disaster program manager for the Mid Coast Maine Region, was to report to Sacramento, California, last month to provide sheltering support to victims of the western wildfires.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to return to New Orleans to help out in a small way a region that has been hammered mercilessly this hurricane season,” said Dr. Devlin. “The folks that I helped care for in non-congregate shelters during my last deployment were already terribly stressed prior to hurricanes Beta and Zeta. It’s a privilege to represent the Red Cross at times like this.”
These volunteers will join an operation that already involves more than 1000 trained Red Cross disaster workers who are on the ground or supporting the effort virtually.
From multiple major hurricanes and tropical storms in the south to devastating wildfires in much of the west, back-to-back massive disasters have kept thousands of Red Cross volunteers working tirelessly for weeks across the country to provide food, shelter and comfort to tens of thousands in need. Through this time, the Red Cross and our partners provided some 1.2 million people with safe refuge from the wildfires in emergency lodgings, served more than 2.8 million meals and snacks and distributed 331,400 relief items including sifters, trash bags, and masks.
For more just-in-time videos, photos and content of American Red Cross of Northern New England staff and volunteer support in times of disaster, we have created a new social source. This is for media access only. To request access, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/redcrossnnenewsfeed
How to help:
• Donate — You can make a difference in the lives of people impacted by Hurricane Laura. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS or text the word LAURA to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster. This includes providing food, shelter, relief supplies, emotional support and other assistance.
• Volunteer — If you have the time, you can make a significant impact as a Red Cross volunteer. Review our most urgently needed volunteer positions here: http://redcross.org/volunteertoday.
• Give blood — We encourage eligible blood donors in parts of the country unaffected by the storm to give blood or platelets to help ensure a sufficient blood supply. Through our national inventory system, the Red Cross has the ability to move blood around the country to wherever and whenever it is needed most. To schedule an appointment to donate, you may use the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.
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