Red Cross Sends 9 new volunteers to Baton Rouge

Nine newly trained Red Cross disaster volunteers will leave for Baton Rouge today where they will be assigned to work in Red Cross shelters for the next three weeks. As a result of the enormous response by the Red Cross to assist the families affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Upstate SC Chapter of the American Red Cross held two large disaster training workshops with hundreds of people attending the workshops. Many of the trained volunteers have been working at the Palmetto Expo during the past week and nine more will leave today for Louisiana. More than 85,000 trained disaster relief workers from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have responded to help their neighbors in need.

To date, trained volunteers have assisted 1136 people providing assistance of food, clothes, prescriptions and other emergency supplies. The Upstate Chapter has provided direct assistance of over $371,000 to hurricane victims that have come to the Upstate. Trained Red Cross caseworkers are now working with each family to transition them out of the Palmetto Expo including helping them reach a final destination or if they are planning to stay in the area, helping them find temporary or permanent housing arrangements. The Red Cross is leading local efforts to integrate all evacuees into the community, providing stability and a platform for rebuilding lives and families.

Across the Mid-Atlantic, the American Red Cross has provided immediate emergency assistance for almost 7,000 families and now will continue to work within neighborhoods to help these families transition to services for their long term needs.

Since Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore, the Red Cross has provided survivors nearly 2 million overnight stays in 709 shelters across 24 states and the District of Columbia. Yesterday, the Red Cross housed more than 50,000 survivors in 268 shelters and served more than 365,000 hot meals. The American Red Cross is expanding the variety of its efforts to provide immediate financial assistance to upwards of three quarters of a million dollars to Hurricane Katrina victims who are dispersed across the nation. With an understanding that the process of getting assistance to victims will take weeks rather than days, the Red Cross continues to reach out to the thousands of people in need of help.

The Red Cross has been preparing for Tropical Storm Rita by assessing potential equipment, shelter and volunteer needs even while responding to Katrina. The first priority of the Red Cross before, during and after any disaster is to provide safe shelter, food and safe drinking water, as well as emotional support. The Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters every year - whether the situation is a single-family fire or a multi-state catastrophe.