Utah Red Cross sends volunteers to Florida

Salt Lake City, Utah — This week, as the state of Florida braces itself for Hurricane Ian’s wrath, the American Red Cross of Utah dispatched trained disaster volunteers and personnel there.

They will join the more than 500 volunteers who are already present and prepared to help.

Prior to Wednesday’s landfall in Florida, parts of the Gulf Coast were already dealing with a hazardous storm surge and heavy rainfall on Tuesday.

“The American Red Cross and our partners are working to be ready when and if people need to evacuate the area,” said Heidi Ruster, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross Utah/Nevada Region. “We have supplies and workers in place to make sure everyone impacted by the storm has a safe place to stay, food to eat, critical relief supplies, emotional support, and comfort in the face of this potentially devastating storm.”

The Red Cross reported that the volunteers from Utah who left last weekend included Jim Erickson, manager of the Red Cross of Utah’s emergency services, volunteers Bonnie and David Kenison from Orem, and Roosevelt resident Haydee Tapia.

“They will join other Red Crossers who are coordinating with community and government partners to ensure residents have the help they may need if the storm hits the area,” Ruster said. “When the disaster call goes out, our dedicated Utah team members never hesitate. We should all be proud of them.”

According to Ruster, the volunteers were gathering pallets of water, meals, and disaster cleanup kits for the relief effort.

You can help by donating money to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.