Local American Red Cross chapter officials will hold several
training session this week for volunteers interested in helping out
victims of Hurricane Katrina and will be accepting monetary
donations to send to the Gulf Coast.
Hollister – Local American Red Cross chapter officials will hold several training session this week for volunteers interested in helping out victims of Hurricane Katrina and will be accepting monetary donations to send to the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Katrina, the deadly storm that battered the Gulf Coast this weekend, prompted the American Red Cross to launch the largest mobilization of resources in its history for a single natural disaster, local officials said.
The hurricane, which battered Gulf Coast shores with 140 mph winds, has left a trail of death and destruction in the area. So far, somewhere between 50 to 80 people have died and more than 2 million Gulf Coast residents are without power, the Associated Press reported.
“This is a substantial relief effort for the Red Cross,” Monterey–San Benito Counties Red Cross Spokesperson Laura Kershner said. “We’re are pulling out all the stops.”
The Monterey–San Benito Counties Red Cross Chapter held a volunteer training session last night in Salinas, and will hold another this Thursday, however a time and place for that session have not yet been finalized, Kershner said.
One volunteer, Doug Johnson of Salinas, has already departed for the devastated Gulf Coast Region. Johnson will be driving an Emergency Response Vehicle to a Red Cross staging area in Little Rock, Ark. More than a dozen additional area volunteers – including one Hollister resident – are preparing to leave for a similar staging area in Houston, Texas during the next several months. And more help is needed, Kershner said.
However, she warned that volunteer service in the Big Easy or surrounding areas would be no Mardi Gras–like vacation.
“Volunteers will work 12 to 15 hours each day in very hot weather,” Kershner said.
Most volunteers would work with Red Cross officials in order to provide services for hurricane victims such as making sure they have adequate shelter and food. Volunteers would be expected to spend two weeks in the area, Kershner said.
As always, the Monterey–San Benito Counties Chapter will accept monetary donations. Those who would like to donate money specifically to the victims of Hurricane Katrina are asked to write that on their checks. People can also donate directly to the organization’s Disaster Relief Fund, which goes to help disasters throughout the world.
The Monterey–San Benito Chapter has already received several donations from residents in both counties, Kershner said, but the total amount of money donated has not been calculated yet.
The Red Cross only accepts monetary donations. Donations can be made by calling 1–800–HELP–NOW or online at www.redcross.org. Checks can also be dropped of at the local Red Cross office in Hollister or Salinas.
The organization is also holding an open house in at its Hollister office today. The event is open to all and will be held from 5 to 7:30pm at 357 Fifth Street, near the City Hall building.
In the coming weeks and months, Kershner expects to send many more volunteers, which she said are always needed.
“We anticipate this relief effort to continue long after the attention fades,” she said.
