ROCHESTER, N.Y., Wednesday, March, 25, 2009—Deployment has expanded beyond the Greater Rochester Chapter to the Finger Lakes Region of the American Red Cross; which collaborates with five other Red Cross Chapters. As North Dakota residents prepare to fight potentially record flooding, the American Red Cross is digging in with them and getting ready for what could be a long disaster relief operation.
Barbara Harper, volunteer and Board Chair of the Wayne County Red Cross will deploy at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, Thursday, March 26 from the Greater Rochester International Airport to help with sheltering. Harper is the fourth Red Cross volunteer to deploy from our area.
Barbara Harper will be available for interviews tomorrow morning.
Four Red Cross Volunteers Deployed from the Finger Lakes Region of the American Red Cross:
- Barbara Harper, Sheltering volunteer, Savannah resident—deployed 3/26
- Deveda Schleyer, Sheltering volunteer, Pittsford resident—deployed 3/25
- Donna Demay, Sheltering volunteer, Greece resident—deployed 3/25
- Sarah Perkins, Damage Assessment volunteer, Pittsford resident—deployed 3/25
“The Finger Lakes Region Red Cross volunteers will join the other 100 Red Cross workers who are already on the scene in the Red River Valley to offer care and comfort,” said Leighton Jones, Director of Disaster & Emergency Services for the Finger Lakes Region of the American Red Cross.
The Finger Lakes Region of the American Red Cross consists of the following chapters: Greater Rochester, Finger Lakes, Northern Livingston, Wayne County, Yates County and the Clara Barton No. 1 located in Dansville, NY. The Greater Rochester Chapter is the lead regional Chapter to the five outer-lying Chapters.
All of the Chapters operate independently, providing services to their respective territories and responding to fires and other disasters. In the event of a national disaster, such as the developing flooding in North Dakota, the Red Cross is able to increase its response efforts as more resources are available to deploy as a region opposed to an individual Chapter.
For updates, including photos and video footage, visit the American Red Cross Disaster Online Newsroom. If you would like to help, please visit www.redcross.org, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.
About the American Red Cross
Help people affected by disasters like the floods in North Dakota by donating to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. On those rare occasions when donations exceed Red Cross expenses for a specific disaster, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other disasters. Your gift enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of all disasters. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter; American Red Cross, Greater Rochester Chapter, P.O. Box 14390, Rochester, NY 14614-0390; or American Red Cross Wayne County Chapter, 400 South Main Street, Newark, NY 14513, or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.