Volunteers needed for Hurricane Helene relief

GREEN BAY, WI – (WGBW & WISS) – The American Red Cross has sent over 35 Wisconsin volunteers to help with Hurricane Helene relief efforts. And they need more volunteers.

Rebecca Rockhill, Executive Director of the American Red Cross in Green Bay said volunteers do need training before they can go out to a disaster.

“We are continually recruiting volunteers and getting them disaster-prepared,” said Rockhill. “So they can go through the disaster training on several different levels. So they’re prepared to volunteer as a shelter worker, as an ERV driver.”

Last week, the American Red Cross of Wisconsin issued an urgent appeal for volunteers who are willing to travel to support emergency shelters for major national disaster relief efforts. Rockhill said people need to be ready to go when disaster strikes.

“This is the time where we really want people to recognize those needs for people to be prepared and ready to go,” said Rockhill. 

The Red Cross urges interested volunteers to sign up today at redcross.org/volunteer. 

All candidates must complete the necessary training and be able to commit to a two-week deployment. Officials ask applicants without disaster experience to apply. They especially want to hear from applicants with supervision, management, or organization skills. They encourage candidates with a strong desire to help others and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment to apply.

“It never stops as far as continuing to be prepared and ready for the next disaster,” Rockhill said. “Unfortunately with climate change, we are seeing those numbers of large scale disasters increase exponentially.” 

How to help with Hurricane Helene efforts

Donate Financially: The Red Cross says financial donations are the quickest and fastest way to get help to people who need it. Visit redcross.org or text the word HELENE to 90999 to make a donation to help people affected by Hurricane Helene. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.

“At this point in time, we just don’t have the logistics to take in-kind donations. And our community is so incredibly generous and want to look at how they can help,” said Rockhill. “Right now the greatest way to help is to look at financial donations.”

Give Blood: Hurricane Helene has caused more than 1,500 blood donations to go uncollected in the Southeast — yet the need for blood remains constant for patients in need. The Red Cross encourages people who live outside the affected areas to schedule a blood donation appointment now by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or using the Blood Donor App to help restock the shelves.

More ways to help

Find additional ways you can help with relief efforts by visiting https://civicmedia.us/help.