Posted on June 27, 2006

print  e-mail

Number of Red Cross Disaster Volunteers Nationwide Has Swelled

In the nine months since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, the number of volunteers trained by the Red Cross to mobilize in response to disasters in other parts of the country has increased by almost 50 percent, the Washington Post reports.

According to Red Cross spokeswoman Renita Hosler, the organization recruited nearly 76,000 volunteers on top of the 160,000 already on its rolls after Katrina made landfall on August 29. In metropolitan Atlanta, for example, the South's largest Red Cross chapter recruited 8,000 new volunteers to help the 35,000 Gulf Coast evacuee families that arrived in the area shortly after Katrina struck. But the effort was not limited to the South. In Michigan, for example, half of the 600 volunteers attending certification classes in first aid through the Grand Rapids chapter signed up post-Katrina.

Although the Red Cross mobilized more than two hundred thousand volunteers after the storm, it was criticized by many — including some within its own ranks — for relying too heavily on inexperienced staff. According to Red Cross officials, having more volunteers with hurricane-response experience should alleviate similar problems from occurring this year. To prevent a repeat of last year's mistakes, the organization is also offering introductory volunteer courses over the Internet, which could lessen the strain some chapters felt as they were pulled between aiding Katrina victims and training the army of volunteers that responded to the disaster.

"We've got people now that we had a chance to work with over the course of the last year, and we know they're good leaders and they work well under pressure," said John Wright, emergency services director for the Savannah Red Cross on the Georgia coast. "They had their trial by fire...."

Bynum, Russ. “Red Cross Gets Surge in Katrina Volunteers.” Associated Press 6/23/06.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Secondary Subject(s): Hurricane Relief
Location(s): National, United States

FC009195