|
At the Ready
by Prem Bhandari, Special to RedCross.org
Thursday, September 22, 2005 — A shelter at Washington, D.C.’s National Armory housed approximately 300 evacuees from the Katrina Hurricane region of the U.S. Gulf Coast. The invitation to the storm victims to shelter in Washington, D.C. was extended by Washington Mayor Tony Williams. During the Labor Day weekend Red Cross volunteers and employees readied the shelter.
A Red Cross worker entertains two children while their mother completes paperwork at a shelter.
|
With a notice that evacuees would begin arriving within 24 hours, the Red Cross and other members of the Washington Area Consortium of community organizations set to work. Cots stretched from wall to wall, food and water filled the storage areas, and a web of phone lines were installed. On every cot was a warm Red Cross blanket and a Red Cross comfort kit containing a toothbrush and toothpaste, a wash cloth, a comb, and other essential toiletries.
Nearly three weeks later, the Red Cross shelter is still in operation. More than 130 people remain in the shelter and the Red Cross continues to serve hot meals, provide a place to sleep, and counseling displaced hurricane victims so they can move forward with their torn lives.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, 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. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter 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.
Related Links:
Related Content:
|
