Some of Central New York’s 600 American Red Cross volunteers could be heading to Tennessee to help with the recovery from tornadoes that tore through the state earlier this week. The death toll stands at 24 after the storms destroyed neighborhoods in Nashville and points east.
Western and CNY region CEO Alan Turner II says shelters were set up the same night.
“We’re responding to the needs they have. We already have some volunteers that have stepped up and said they’d be willing to go down and assist with that and we’re assessing the efforts being done right now and I’m positive that we’ll be sending volunteers from the Central New York region when we’re called upon.”
Of course, the Red Cross responds to disasters here. Last year, volunteers assisted more than 250 families, most of them displaced by house fires.
“A house fire is the number one disaster that affects people especially right here in Central New York when we respond to that. If you lose your house, you’ve lost everything you own and you’re in shock. Our Red Cross volunteers are there that day to help those people start rebuilding their lives,” Turner II says.
Red Cross volunteers work with the Syracuse Fire Department to try and prevent fires through their “Sound the Alarm” program by installing free smoke detectors. Turner says they always need volunteers to either help with relief efforts and to donate blood. The Syracuse-area Red Cross chapter was just the third in the US when it was established in the late 1800’s. Mayor Ben Walsh proclaimed March “Red Cross Month” Thursday with a ceremony and flag raising.
