Dozens of disaster workers from the American Red Cross of South Carolina have deployed to support disaster relief operations along the Gulf Coast, where the American Red Cross is working around the clock to provide help to people struggling with the heartbreaking damage left behind by Hurricane Ida.

Some 580 trained Red Cross workers are on the ground now, including 27 volunteers from the South Carolina region, and hundreds more volunteers are on the way to support relief efforts. Volunteers from South Carolina are primarily helping with staffing shelters and distributing supplies. A team of volunteers drove an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) from the Eastern Chapter to the Gulf Coast. The Red Cross of South Carolina stands ready to send additional disaster workers as requested.  

Tuesday night, more than 2,100 people sought refuge at 35 Red Cross and community shelters across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. With the help of partners, the Red Cross has already provided more than 17,000 meals and snacks and distributed more than 770 relief items. 

Trained Red Cross volunteers have already made more than 600 contacts providing emotional support, health services and spiritual care for people who’ve been evacuated. Additionally, while we don’t typically serve hospitals in Louisiana, the Red Cross has provided 95 blood products to a hospital in Baton Rouge in the aftermath of Ida.

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.

About the American Red Cross: 
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.  The Red Cross is a charitable organization – not a government agency – and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org/SC or @RedCrossSC 

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