Two McKean County residents were among the Pennsylvania volunteers traveling to help with the Hurricane Florence Relief Effort.
According to the American Red Cross, Paula Pierce of Kane and Tony Varone of Lewis Run are making their way to South Carolina to serve as a shelter associates.
So far, 18 total volunteers from the 50-county American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region — 13 from western Pennsylvania — are making the trip south to help.
As Red Cross volunteers continue to assist those who have been impacted by localized flooding due to this past weekend’s storm, the Red Cross has been preparing to help with the Hurricane Florence Relief Effort. In addition to preparing the local team to respond to any storm-related damage the remnants of Florence will have in Pennsylvania, the agency has also been deploying people down south.
Hurricane Florence is predicted to make landfall at some point late Thursday into Friday. While the southern states will take the brunt of the storm, the impact it will have here in western Pennsylvania is still unknown.
So far, more than 700 Red Cross disaster workers nationwide have been deployed to South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. More deployments are expected in the coming days and into next week as the impact and track of the storm becomes known. Those who deploy will remain in the area for two to three weeks.
People in Western Pennsylvania looking to help can do so in one of three ways: become a Red Cross volunteer, make a monetary donation or donate blood.
Anyone who volunteers for the Red Cross today will most likely not be deployed, but they will be trained and will start to serve in the local community. They will then be eligible to deploy during future relief operations.
The best way to support the relief effort is by making a monetary donation to the Red Cross. People can donate online at redcross.org, send a check to the local Red Cross office or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
There is a constant need for blood. Hurricane Florence will most-likely result in the cancellation of blood drives in the storm area, meaning a loss of donations that are already in short supply. Find a blood drive nearby by visiting redcross.org.
