Red Cross seeking volunteers in area

Submitted information

The American Red Cross of West Central Ohio is recruiting volunteers to join its workforce to help families affected by an increase in disasters caused by severe storms across the country.

In the past several days, the Ohio Buckeye Region of the Red Cross has sent numerous volunteers to respond to the devastating flooding in Louisiana, as well as other storm- and fire-related events across the country. Locally, volunteers are responding to daily emergencies close to home, including home fires and flooding. The Red Cross is training new volunteers to help with this upsurge of disaster relief efforts across the Ohio Buckeye Region and across the country.

Volunteers constitute about 90 percent of the American Red Cross workforce. Volunteers make it possible to respond to nearly 70,000 disasters every year, most of them home and apartment fires.

Those who would like to learn more about becoming a trained Red Cross Disaster Services volunteer can visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org or contact Regional Volunteer Specialist Diane S. Dixon, CVA, at 419.329.2741 or email diane.dixon@redcross.org.

“This year, more families throughout the country have found themselves standing outside their destroyed home and left wondering what to do next,” said Derek Stemen, executive director of the West Central Ohio Chapter of the American Red Cross. “That’s when the Red Cross steps in. We’re looking for strong volunteers who can make a difference for their neighbors and provide help and comfort on one of the worst days of their life.”

Across the 45-county region the Red Cross serves in the Ohio Buckeye Region, volunteers respond to home fires nearly every day, providing food, shelter and comfort to more than 1,200 families affected each year in our communities.