Red Cross Provides Meals, Shelter To Sandy Victims

The American Red Cross is continuing to provide meals, shelter and comfort to families who have been impacted by Superstorm Sandy. Over the weekend, the Red Cross mobilized a large cadre of volunteers to hand out thousands of bags filled with relief supplies like cleaning, hygiene and comfort items in all five New York boroughs and New Jersey. 

The Red Cross has mobilized the full resources of the organization to help those who have been affected.

“Every day Red Cross volunteers are loading trucks and traveling to affected neighborhoods with food and supplies. Our disaster workers are carrying these relief items up multiple flights of stairs in high rises, doing whatever we can to reach more people who need help,” said Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of Disaster Services for the Red Cross. “We understand that people are living in very tough conditions and we are doing everything possible to assist them during this difficult time.”

More than 5,700 Red Cross workers from all 50 states are supporting shelters, providing food and water at fixed sites, and driving through neighborhoods to distribute meals and supplies. About 90 percent of these workers are volunteers. To date over 4.8 million meals and snacks have been served.

A total of 66 volunteers have been deployed from the Western Carolinas region since October 26.  22 of those volunteers have been deployed since November 5, with 10 being brand new volunteers trained in the last two weeks.

Public interest in volunteering has increased since Sandy hit and the Red Cross in the Western Carolinas has conducted a series of training workshops over the last two weeks. Through those workshops, 95 new potential volunteers have been trained to become disaster responders.