Volunteer disaster responders with the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois responded to 12 fires from Monday, September 30 to today across the region including fires in Monee, Ottawa, Schaumburg, Oswego, Rockford, Cicero and more with 4 of these fires taking place in Chicago.
The Red Cross helped 68 individuals, including 46 adults and 22 children with temporary housing, food, clothing and comfort kits with toiletry items, information about recovery services and health and mental health services and, depending on the circumstances, financial assistance.
The Red Cross responds to 3 to 4 home fires every day in Northern Illinois. The Red Cross recommends two easy steps to help protect your home and loved ones from a fire: get a smoke alarm and create a fire escape plan. For more Red Cross fire safety and preparedness information visit www.redcross.org/prepare.
Also, in the past week, volunteers with the American Red Cross assisted 21 individuals affected by flooding across the region including Freeport, Lansing, Markham, Serena and Chicago. Our volunteers provided mental health services, comfort kits with toiletry items, information about recovery services and, depending on the circumstances, financial assistance to those impacted that included 12 adults and 9 children.
HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by making a gift to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Call, click, or text to give: visit redcross.org, call 1-800 RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. To donate by check or to a specific cause, please complete this donation form by printing and mailing to your local Red Cross chapter.
About the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois:
The American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois serves 9.5 million people in 21 counties including Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Jo Daviess, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Whiteside, Will and Winnebago. 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/il/chicago or visit us on Twitter @ChicagoRedCross.