Local volunteers deploy ahead of Hurricane Ike

The metro chapters of the American Red Cross continue to support the hurricane relief efforts of 2008, with the current threat being Hurricane Ike. Seven more metro-area volunteers will be flying to Texas on Friday.

Six volunteers are leaving at 6 a.m. to fly to Dallas, Texas. The other person will fly out at 8:15 a.m. going to Fort Worth, Texas.

Thirty-seven volunteers have been deployed for the hurricane-relief effort, and the Red Cross continues to contact more as the extent of need may grow.

Some volunteers will begin to return home as early as Saturday, after two weeks of hard work caring for the needs of others before, during, and after Hurricane Gustav.

Metro chapters still have vehicles in the Gulf Coast, including a specialized communications truck, and two mobile feeding vehicles.

What You Can Do Locally:

Ask loved ones in affected area to register on Safe and Well

The Red Cross reminds anyone with family in the hurricane-affected areas to make sure that family is registered on the national Safe and Well Web site at www.redcross.org. The site allows those directly affected by a disaster to post messages to let their loved ones know of their well-being.

Concerned family members who know the person’s phone number (home, cell or work) or a complete home address can search for the messages posted by those who self-register

For those without internet access, call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767) to register yourself and your family. Follow the prompts for disaster information.

Make a Donation

The American Red Cross continues to mount a huge effort in Louisiana and surrounding states to feed, shelter and counsel the thousands impacted by Hurricane Gustav. The perception that we “dodged a bullet” and that the Gulf Coast region wasn’t heavily affected by Gustav simply is not true. The reality is the Red Cross is on the ground every day to feed and shelter those affected by the storm.

Hurricane Gustav is just one player in an especially active hurricane season that has seen the Red Cross respond to the U.S. landfalls of Hurricane Dolly, Tropical Storm Edouard, Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Hanna. All eyes are currently on Hurricane Ike, which is expected to make landfall in Central Texas. These storms, in addition to a record number of tornadoes this year, the worst flooding in the Midwest in 15 years and early wildfire season have drained the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), which allows the Red Cross to respond to thousands of disasters across the country each year. The Red Cross must launch a national fund-raising campaign to raise $100 million to meet the expected costs of responding to the hurricanes of 2008.

You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster.

Call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). You can also click here to make a donation online, or mail your donation to:

American Red Cross
Greater Kansas City Chapter
211 W. Armour Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64111

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American Red Cross Greater Kansas City Chapter 211 W. Armour Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64111 USA		Phone 816-931-8400 Fax 816-531-7306
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