Did you realize that the Red Cross is supporting disasters from coast-to-coast? For nearly three weeks, thousands of Red Cross volunteers have been helping thousands of people affected by the devastating and historic flooding in Louisiana, meanwhile we prepared to respond to the multiple storms which threatened much of the East Coast and Hawaii.

Red Cross workers in Florida and Georgia opened 46 shelters where almost 550 people spent Thursday night. The Red Cross is helping officials with damage assessment in those states to determine what additional help is needed. Hundreds of thousands of people are without power and many schools closed due to heavy rain and downed trees.

Two Pacific hurricanes – Madeline and Lester – were expected to hit Hawaii over the last several days, bringing as much as 15 inches of rain and 75 mph winds to the Aloha State. The Red Cross had disaster workers and supplies on alert to respond, and as many as 14 Red Cross and community evacuation shelters were opened.

Red Cross workers are also responding to wildfires out west, flooding in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and tornadoes in Indiana, along with numerous smaller emergencies that occur every day, such as home fires.

The last several weeks have kept Red Cross disaster volunteers busy. Red Cross Vice President of Disaster Operations and Logistics Brad Kieserman says, “To date, the Red Cross has deployed more than 6,300 volunteers in less than two months, two-and-half-times the number called upon by this point in 2015. Plus, last year saw 24,000 volunteers deployed, with 2015 requiring more than triple the number of volunteers to respond to disasters than in any of the past three years.” Read more here.

We will continue to do what we do – provide hope to those affected by disaster – but we can’t do it without the generosity of people like you. If you would like to join our team, get started at redcross.org/neo by clicking on volunteer. Or, you can contact our Volunteer Services Department directly at 216-431-3328 or NEOvolunteer@redcross.org.