CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Some much-needed help for those on the West Coast impacted by wildfires is coming from the Carolinas.
Nine disaster-trained volunteers from the American Red Cross of North Carolina are headed to California to help with relief operations from the deadly wildfires.
Gene Pavone, a volunteer for over a decade with the Wilmington Chapter, is now making his fourth trip to California for wildfire recovery.
“How can anyone sit home and just watch it?” Pavone says. “I couldn’t do that. That’s why I got involved with the Red Cross. I wanted to help people who were in trouble, and this is one way of doing it.”
The American Red Cross is already on the ground in California and is prepared to send more disaster-trained workers as needed.
The organization says its goal is “to make sure no one faces these intense and fast-moving wildfires alone.” Kaye Lynn Hall, a Red Cross Disaster Spiritual Chair volunteer with the Asheville chapter, stressed the importance of being present.
“I listen, I sit with them and it’s a pleasure to be in that suffering with them – to reach them where they are and their needs [are],” said Hall. “When everything is lost, and you see your entire livelihood go up. And especially for the family who have lost loved ones. When you have nothing, people go to the spiritual strength, they turn inward for the strength that the spiritual connection brings them.”
If you are interested in becoming a Red Cross volunteer, visit their website for more information.
The Red Cross relies on support. To donate to the Disaster Relief team, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
