Staff Reports

The Indiana Region of the American Red Cross seeks volunteers to help address the many disaster response activities across the United States.

It has been two weeks since Hurricane Laura devastated east Texas and Louisiana, and people are still suffering. Thousands of people are still staying in emergency lodging because they cannot return home.

Historic deadly wildfires continue to consume millions of acres in the west, especially in California, Oregon and Washington, where tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate.

The Red Cross is working closely with partners to provide emergency lodging, food, water, relief supplies and other support to individuals and families affected in the hardest hit areas.

To further ramp up support for those reeling from disasters, the Indiana Region of the American Red Cross has fast-tracked its Disaster Action Team training and set up virtual delivery capabilities so new volunteers can learn basic response and recovery skills and quickly deploy to a disaster location.

Before committing to training, disaster response volunteers should be willing and able to accept a two-week deployment, live in a communal space (i.e., a shelter) and work 12 hours per day six or seven days each week.

“People depend on the Red Cross in times of need, and currently, the needs are great. We’re strengthening our cadre of disaster responders so it is trained and ready to go,” said Chad Priest, regional chief executive officer of the Indiana Region of the American Red Cross. “Kindness and compassion are the main job requirements for most of these roles. We can quickly teach everything else.”

To join the Red Cross mission and receive expedited training to provide essential services to those in need, visit redcross.org/volunteertoday or call 888-684-1441.

The Indiana Region serves 104 counties across Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois through its six chapter areas: Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest and Greater Indianapolis (regional headquarters).

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For information on the Indiana Region of the American Red Cross, visit redcross.org/indiana or facebook.com/inredcross or follow on Twitter at @INRedCross or Instagram at @indianaredcross.

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