If you’re looking for a way to give back in the new year, the American Red Cross is making a call to action for more volunteers in Louisiana. Regional Volunteer Services Officer Rebecca Merritt says the need for more volunteers to help respond to disasters in the Bayou State has never been greater.
“To help our neighbors and to help our communities to prepare and respond to these emergencies and to help our neighbors recover from all these disasters that have been happening and will unfortunately keep happening.”
The American Red Cross has responded to nearly twice as many large disasters across the country as it did a decade ago.
Merritt says more than 900 people voluntarily give time to help the Louisiana Red Cross. In the last year, she says volunteers responded to more than 16 hundred local disasters.
“They are on the front line supporting our clients with their recovery and response. And they’re also helping out in the background and making sure that we have supplies. So they really keep the heartbeat of the Red Cross going.”
Volunteers have helped serve more than five thousand meals to Louisianans who were seeking shelter from severe weather, severe heat, and wildfires.
Merritt says 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce is made up of volunteers. She says there are lots of different disaster-related volunteer roles.
“You can work directly with clients by giving them a warm meal, giving them a hug, making sure they’re safe in one of our shelters. But if you’re someone who would rather be behind the scenes we’ve got lots of opportunities for that as well.”
Take action by lending a hand to the Louisiana Red Cross by visiting www dot redcross dot org forward slash Louisiana.
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