Back-to-back massive disasters have kept thousands of Red Cross volunteers working tirelessly for weeks across the country to provide food, shelter and comfort to tens of thousands of people in need, after multiple major hurricanes and tropical storms torn through the south and devastating wildfires in much of the west, including Oregon.
Celena Roldán, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Illinois is traveling to Oregon today to join hundreds of Red Cross workers who are helping right now both on the ground and virtually.
Roldán will be leading Latino Outreach teams with the objective to ensure members of the Latino/Latinx community who have been affected by these wildfires have access to Red Cross services to help them during this time of need. She has deployed to assist with disaster relief several times including Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Maria, and the California wildfires.
Interview Availability: Celena Roldán is available for virtual interviews during her deployment. Please contact Isis Chaverri (312) 533-5052 or Hannah Allton (312) 533-8366 to coordinate.
B-Roll: Access Oregon Wildfires b-roll here.
The American Red Cross is there to help those affected by these massive and widespread fires and will continue to assist residents as they figure out next steps in their recovery.
HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help people affected by disasters like wildfires by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 800-RED-CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
About the American Red Cross of Illinois
The American Red Cross of Illinois serves 12.4 million people in 88 counties in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri including Adams, Bond, Boone, Brown, Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cook, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeKalb, De Witt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Fulton, Green, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jasper, Jefferson, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Marion, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, McLean, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Peoria, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Richland, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Vermillion, Warren, Washington, Whiteside, Will, Williamson Winnebago, Woodford. Iowa: Lee, Muscatine, Scott and Van Buren. Missouri: Clark, Lewis, Marion and Ralls. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit us at Redcross.org/Illinois or visit us on Twitter @RedCrossIL.