San Carlos Resident Joins Team of Red Cross Volunteers Heading to NY, NJ

[Editor's Note: The following was provided by the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter.]

The American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter has sent 19 local volunteers to New York and New Jersey, in addition to the 29 previously deployed, to provide assistance to clients affected by Superstorm Sandy and last night’s Nor’Easter along the East Coast. A total of 128 volunteers have now been deployed from the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas.

Peninsula residents that have deployed are Rodney Lehr of San Carlos, Patti Styka of Foster City.

 They will be assisting clients in a wide range of activities including feeding, client casework, sheltering and mass care. Teams of two will be driving Emergency Response Vehicles across the country from the Burlingame, Fairfield and Oakland Red Cross offices. These vehicles provide hot meals, snacks, water and relief supplies to affected neighborhoods.

Last night’s Nor’Easter brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast prolonging power outages to the 810,000 customers who continue to stay without power and impact several areas already affected by Superstorm Sandy, causing additional power outages.

In advance of the cold temperatures, we handed out thousands of ready-to-eat meals and cold weather items for people in New York and New Jersey such as blankets, hand and foot warmers, hats and gloves, ponchos and socks. As weather conditions improve, the American Red Cross is ramping back up and expanding its large relief operations to provide shelter, hot meals, relief supplies and comfort to people in New Jersey and New York as weather and road conditions permit.

Since Superstorm Sandy has hit, the Red Cross has served more than 3.3 million meals and snacks, provided nearly 30,000 health services and emotional support contacts and handed out more than 124,000 relief items to clients. There have been over 117,000 overnight stays at Red Cross and partner shelters and this number continues to rise. Wednesday night about 7,600 people affected by Sandy stayed in more than 110 Red Cross and partner shelters.

FINANCIAL DONATIONS NEEDED The Red Cross has been helping people since before Sandy made landfall and will continue to help for weeks to come as families get back on their feet. This is likely to be the biggest Red Cross response in the U.S. in the past five years.  Those who want to help can make a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting www.redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). People can also text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. People can also use the “donate” feature on the free Red Cross Apps to support the Red Cross relief response. Contributions may also be sent to local American Red Cross chapters.

About American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter
As a community-based, humanitarian organization, the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter provides relief to those affected by disasters and empowers individuals in our community to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.  By helping people in the Bay Area learn how to take care of their families and neighbors, the Red Cross strengthens the community and makes it ready for all types of disasters, including home fires, earthquakes, wildfires and health emergencies. Call 1-888-4-HELP-BAY (1-888-443-5722) or visit www.redcrossbayarea.org to learn more. You may also find us on Facebook and Twitter.