Greenwich Red Cross Volunteers Head to US Disaster Sites

Volunteers from the Greenwich Chapter AmeriCorps have been deployed to help with the disasters in the Midwest and Springfield, MA.

Over the weekend, members and a trained volunteer from the American Red Cross Greenwich Chapter left for Springfield, to support Red Cross work there after the city and surrounding towns were struck by a tornado last week.

AmeriCorps members Jocindee Sancho-Kromah and Melissa Ortiz, and volunteer Barbara Hindman, who are all assigned to the Mass Care and Sheltering Operations were deployed. And according to Tim Wall, American Red Cross Greenwich Chapter Director of Emergency Services, additional personnel may be sent, depending upon their availability for deployment and needs of relief efforts there.

And the Greenwich Red Cross deployed long-time volunteer Adele McDowell, Ph.D., a trained psychotherapist and author of “Balancing Act – Reflection, Meditations, and Coping Strategies for Today’s Fast-Paced Whirl” to Joplin, MO, to support ongoing disaster relief operations. McDowell will be working in a mental health roll, assisting those affected by the recent tornados that wiped out nearly the entire town.

Originally, from Dallas, TX, McDowell spent three weeks volunteering with the Red Cross in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. In response to her recently deployment, McDowell says she is “so excited” to join the core of volunteers who, since April 1, have supported 33 large-scale disaster operations affecting 22 states.

“It’s an honor and a privilege,” McDowell says. “You never know how things are going to unfold, but to witness the bonding of the human spirit is something that hugely enriches your life.”

In the meantime, the Greenwich Red Cross chapter is planning blood drives to replenish supplies. On June 14, a drive will be held at Christ Church Greenwich on East Putnam Avenue from 1 to 6 p.m., and on June 18 at 1st Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Lafayette and East Putnam Avenue from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

To learn how to prepare for disasters and emergencies,  how to support disaster preparedness in the community,  to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts, or to participate in the blood drives, visit the website www.greenwichredcross.org.