News

Red Cross volunteers helping Sandy victims

Hendersonville Red Cross volunteers Yolanda Nedwed, Jo Ann Forbes, Maggie Kant, Doug Owens and Terry Buettner are helping Sandy victims in New Jersey.

By Bill Moss, Published: November 5, 2012

Six volunteers from Henderson County's disaster response team have deployed to New Jersey for post-Sandy disaster relief in one of the biggest local relief efforts in five years.

The volunteers are working in emergency shelter as staff and leaders and in medical aid. Five volunteers left Wednesday for the 10-hour drive to Princeton, N.J. and a sixth, a registered nurse, was able to catch a flight to the region.
"I communicated with our Henderson County team today," Hendersonville Red Cross director Mike Williams said in an email Sunday. "They have moved to a high school-based shelter in Hopatacong, NJ (Sussex County)," he said. "They report that there is still no power anywhere in the area — the shelter is operating on generator power, the landline phones are still down and (the region has) only spotty cell coverage."
The shelter currently had been accommodating 150 people overnight and 500 during the day to warm up, eat and bathe. Sunday night the overnight users grew to 235 people as power outages and cold persisted.

"The shelter they’re working has a 6-week-old baby, a 90 plus woman, and 'everyone between,'" Williams said.

About 40 volunteers from the Asheville-SC Upstate area are part of a force of more than 5,000 Red Cross workers from across the country supporting the relief operation, he said.
"We have had many local people contact our office in an effort to locate family and friends who were in the storm's path. The best resource that we have is the Red Cross 'Safe and Well' website that allows people in the affected area to register (shelters have access even if an individual does not at their home) and local people to search for those who have registered," he said. Find it by going to www.hcredcross.org.

"We have also advised people to send emails, contact other family members who may have had contact, access social media, send a letter and to keep on trying."
Individuals who wish to support the Red Cross relief efforts can contribute at the local Red Cross office, go to www.redcross.org, call 800-REDCROSS, or text the word "RedCross" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.