EMPOWERED

 [Tampa] September 14, 2008 — American Red Cross workers are providing shelter, food and emotional support for tens of thousands affected by Hurricane Ike. From Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Houston, Texas, the Red Cross is there, on the ground, providing relief.As Hurricane Ike came ashore, the Red Cross sheltered more than 20,000 people across four states, providing cots, blankets, toiletries and emotional support.

 Although search and rescue is a mission for federal, state and local governments, the Red Cross is ready to accept those rescued into our evacuation shelters. The Red Cross has moved additional units of blood into Northern Texas to address possible medical needs resulting from the catastrophic storm.

 This massive relief effort will be lead by one of the Tampa Bay Chapter’s premier leadership volunteers, who spent the past few weeks leading recovery efforts for Tropical Storm Fay within our own state. Ian Campbell of Pinellas County rode out the storm in Texas and is now helping to mobilize more than 2,000 disaster workers who traveled to the Gulf Coast to help.

As the Red Cross continues helping individuals and families battered by the 2008 storms and hurricanes, a national fundraising campaign has been launched to raise an initial $100 million to fill a Disaster Relief Fund depleted after an active year of disasters. The Disaster Relief Fund allows the Red Cross to provide emergency assistance to help victims of disasters meet their immediate needs for food, shelter, counseling and other critical services. www.redcross.org  or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) to make a donation. You can also use your cell phone to donate $5 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by text messaging they keyword “GIVE” to “2HELP” (24357). You can send multiple donations depending on your carrier. Contributions will appear on monthly bills or be debited from a pre-paid account balance. All applicable text rates apply.

 Editors Note: The American Red Cross has launched an online newsroom, http://hurricaneike.wordpress.com/ , to keep your staff informed about current relief operations underway in communities affected by Hurricane Ike.

Audio from the field — http://hurricaneike.wordpress.com/category/audio/
Photographs from the field — http://hurricaneike.wordpress.com/category/photos/
Broadcast -quality video from the field — http://www.videobluemoon.com/default.php