By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — American Red Cross volunteers from the northwest Missouri and greater Kansas City area are responding to national emergencies.
And Red Cross officials hope more area residents respond to the need and volunteer with the Red Cross.
Red Cross spokeswoman Angie Springs calls this a crazy, busy season.
“We are working on the West Coast with wildfires there to flooding in the Midwest,” Springs says. “We have local volunteers from this area that are in Tennessee right now, responding to flooding to, of course, the hurricane that came in over weekend with Ida, impacting an already devastated area that’s still picking up the pieces from hurricanes last year.”
The Red Cross has sent 11 people from the northwest Missouri and Kansas City region to respond to various national disasters, including to New Orleans in wake of Hurricane Ida.
All volunteers are trained by the Red Cross before being deployed to disaster zones. More than 90% of the Red Cross workforce is made up of volunteers.
Springs says a group of volunteers from this region spent the last couple of weeks in California, assisting in wildfire relief.
“I had a gentleman this morning from this area that had spent 14 days in California, got back a couple of days ago and he just raised his hand to go again. And he’s driving an emergency response vehicle down, right as we speak, to go provide assistance to those impacted by Hurricane Ida,” Springs tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.
Springs says all volunteers go through extensive training before being sent out.
“So, we want to ensure that you are as equipped and comfortable as possible before you hit the ground running,” Springs says. “Whether that is being a local volunteer here responding to that home fire or, let’s say, responding to that national disaster and going across the country to provide help.”
The Red Cross anticipates needing more volunteers than normal this fall, because there are predictions for active hurricane and wildfire seasons.
Click here if interested in volunteering with the American Red Cross.