COLUMBUS – Thousands of people have been displaced by torrential rains and catastrophic flooding since Harvey slammed into Southeast Texas last Friday and Ohioans have been trying to help them recover.
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Seventy-six volunteers from the Buckeye Region of the Red Cross are already in Texas and Louisiana to assist in the recovery efforts and that number is expected to grow.
“They are so compassionate and dedicated to making people’s lives better. They leave their friends, their family, they leave their homes for a minimum of two weeks. And they’re working really hard, but they’re really making a difference,” says Jordan Tetting, director of communications and marketing.
The volunteers are lending a hand in a variety of ways, including working in shelters, providing meals to survivors and assisting with health-care needs, Tetting said.
Nationally, about 2,000 Red Cross volunteers are deployed to the area.
Those who sign up at the Red Cross website can begin the application process, and undergo a background check before being trained and sent to the region, Tetting said.