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05.03.2010 Local Red Cross responding to local and national disasters
The local chapter of the American Red Cross has responded to a major fire each day in the Charlotte area since Friday, and on Sunday sent a volunteer with an Emergency Response Communications Vehicle to Nashville, Tenn., to assist with the response to flooding.
Locally:
- A two-alarm fire on Friday affected 20 apartment units on Gander Cove Lane in Matthews, and eight families needed emergency help from the Red Cross.
- On Saturday, a single-family house fire displaced 12 people living in a home on Meredith Avenue.
- On Sunday, an apartment fire on Barrymore Avenue affected three families.
- On Monday morning, a two-alarm fire on Nobles Avenue displaced two families.
In times of disaster, the Red Cross provides assistance for food, shelter, clothing and other critical items such as prescription medication or school supplies for children.
Ellen Bacon, a Red Cross nurse on-call who responded to the fire in Matthews, said she saw first-hand how the Red Cross helps people in their time of need.
“The volunteers really provide the families with what they need,” she said. “One young girl’s face lit up so brightly as a volunteer handed her a teddy bear. It was amazing to see.”
Local Red Cross officials estimate these responses could cost the chapter upward of $10,000. To date this fiscal year (ending June of this year), the Red Cross has spent nearly $150,000 of the $194,000 budgeted for emergency assistance.
“There is no question of ‘if’ we can be there – we need to be there when a disaster strikes,” said Pamela Jefsen, chief executive officer of the Greater Carolinas Chapter. “The only way we can help these displaced families in need is because our community donates to our organization.”
If you want to help:
Local chapter sends volunteers to Nashville
On Sunday, local Red Cross volunteer Jack Copeland, from Charlotte, drove the Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) to Nashville, Tenn., to assist in the Red Cross response to the flooding there. The ECRV acts as a communications hub for Red Cross response efforts.
About the American Red Cross
Help people affected by disasters like the four-alarm fire by donating to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. On those rare occasions when donations exceed Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for disasters and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to victims of all disasters.