Idaho Red Cross volunteers respond to hurricane
Ten Idaho volunteers with the American Red Cross of Greater Idaho deployed to Hurricane Florence over the weekend.
The Red Cross said the group included two volunteers from the Idaho Falls area and others from Mountain Home, Stites, Boise, Lewiston, Jerome and Eagle. The Idaho Falls volunteers are LayLa Johnson and Cherie Stoddard.
The volunteers are assisting with sheltering and mass feeding operations in North and South Carolina.
Johnson was deployed to Columbia, South Carolina as an external relations government operations service associate. Stoddard will be doing mass care and sheltering work in Durham, North Carolina.
Idaho’s emergency response vehicle arrived in Columbia, South Carolina Saturday. It is among 130 responding from across the country, generally delivering food and supplies to families cut off from other services.
The disaster has created an immediate need for blood. 170 blood drives have been canceled because of the hurricane. The Red Cross said that resulted in 4,600 uncollected blood and platelet donations.
People can donate blood and make sure hospital shelves stay stocked by visiting www.redcross.org or calling 800-RED-CROSS to schedule an appointment or find a nearby blood drive.
