Southeast Louisiana Chapter Disaster Teams Head to Shreveport

Red Cross Workers Respond to Flooding and Tornadoes in Northwest Louisiana

New Orleans, LA, November 2, 2009 – Local disaster volunteers are traveling north to Shreveport, LA to assist with the recovery efforts caused by flooding and tornadoes in Northwest Louisiana late last week.

“The call came today for additional disaster workers who are needed to support relief efforts in Shreveport,” said Kay Wilkins, CEO of the Southeast Louisiana Chapter. “In response, our chapter is sending three local volunteers to support casework operations.”

Today Cheryl Cadigan (a local volunteer from Slidell), Tess Spinola and Daniel Wendover, are departing for Shreveport.  Tess and Daniel are National Preparedness Response Corp (NPRC) members who began their 10-month commitment with the Southeast Louisiana Chapter on Monday, August 3, 2009.  All three will be involved with casework operations to assist residents affected by flooding and tornadoes once they arrive at the disaster response operations.

“This is what makes volunteering special with the Red Cross,” explains Kay Wilkins “We’re a large family.  When a member is in need, you pack up and help them through their difficulty. Red Cross volunteers in other areas have provided us with the same generosity of their time and skills many times before.”

Chapter volunteers are trained to provide a variety of disaster relief services for the people they help.  “It is extremely rewarding work and the volunteers always say they get so much more from the people they help than vice versa” continues, Kay Wilkins. “Just as the Red Cross asks local Louisiana residents to be prepared for emergencies, volunteers must be ready prior to a disaster. The Chapter offers training classes for volunteers to be knowledgeable about what is involved in disaster response from the large scale hurricane responses to our number one and daily response to residential fires.”

For more information on being prepared and for information on upcoming training for disaster volunteers, go to www.arcno.org or call 504-620-3105.

For media interviews of the three volunteers deploying today (Monday, November 02, 2009), please contact Rebekah Cain at rcain@arcno.org or by cell at 504-606-9393.  The volunteers will deploy by 5:00pm and will be available to media before that time.  They will deploy from the Southeast Louisiana Chapter Headquarters located in the Robert W. Merrick Building at 2640 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA  70119

Help people affected by disasters like the recent flooding, 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. Call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

The Southeast Louisiana Chapter serves more than 1.2 million people throughout Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. John, Assumption, Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes.  The Southeast Louisiana Chapter also provides Disaster Action Team (DAT) assistance to the St. Bernard Community Chapter.

About the National Preparedness Response Corp:

The National Preparedness Response Corp (NPRC) is a national direct program sponsored by the American National Red Cross and funded by an AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The mission of the NPRC is to provide vital emergency assistance to communities affected by disaster and increase preparedness in the areas of greatest need before disasters strike by recruiting, training and supporting young adults who will provide integrated community outreach and education through Red Cross service activities focusing on homeland security.