Area volunteers and agencies have been quick to respond to the needs of communities in Texas following the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey.
At the American Red Cross Western New York Chapter in Buffalo, Jay Bonafede, regional communications officer, said he hasn’t had a chance to break down information on volunteers from Cattaraugus and Allegany counties who may have been deployed to Texas.
“What I can tell you is we have 41 volunteers from Western-Central New York, and from the eight counties of the Western New York region we have nine volunteers,” Bonafede noted. “This is going to be a very long and ongoing response so I think there will be a number of additional deployments (from the local area) in the days and weeks to come.”
At the Red Cross in Bradford, Pa., Jason Bange, disaster program manager, said the organization is deploying some volunteers for trips to communities in Texas that are experiencing hurricane or flood damage.
“We have one person down there from our Kane area, Paula Pierce, who is on scene now,” Bange said. “She’s going down to help with sheltering. They had to fly her into San Antonio (Saturday) to get her in.”
Bange said that in addition to Pierce, there are seven other volunteers from the Northwestern Pennsylvania chapter who are helping with the devastation in Texas.
“I think we have around 26 to 28 people (on site), but we’re still actively recruiting,” Bange continued. “We may be looking at (emergency) training in the next week or two because it’s going to be a pretty large operation for quite a while.”
Dan Tobin, director of marketing and communications for the Red Cross in Pittsburgh, said the agency is always seeking volunteers, especially during disasters.
“But if you do volunteer today, it doesn’t mean you’re going to make it down to Texas,” Tobin added. “You can help the local community right now (through volunteer work) … and at some point there could be opportunities to deploy for something such as this.”
To make a donation call (800) 733-2767, visit redcross.org and click on an option provided for hurricane relief online; or text HARVEY to 90999, which will charge $10 to the individual’s cell phone bill.
Bange said donations can also be mailed to the Red Cross in Bradford at 125 Main St., Suite 505, Bradford, Pa., 16701. Designate the donation is for the disaster relief or hurricane fund.
Financial donations to support the Salvation Army’s Hurricane Harvey relief efforts can be made online at www.helpsalvationarmy.org or by calling (800) 725-2769.
Additionally, a press release issued by the Better Business Bureau and BBB Wise Giving Alliance advised people who want to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey to do so with caution.
“The devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey prompts us to do what we can to help as soon as possible,” said H. Art Taylor, president and CEO of BBB Wise Giving Alliance, “but donors need to be aware of some key cautions so that their generosity will get to those in need quickly.”
Consumers can report suspected scams to BBB Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker or the Texas Attorney General’s hotline (800) 621-0508, or consumeremergency@nag.texas.gov).
(Contact reporter Kate Day Sager at kates_th@yahoo.com. Follow her on Twitter, @OTHKate)
