Canadian Red Cross: Helping After Sandy

Due to the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, the Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations on behalf of the American Red Cross to assist with recovery and relief efforts in affected areas.

One of dozens of boats tossed on the roadway in Rockaway. Photo credit: American Red Cross.

A few weeks ago I met Red Cross workers in Toronto including Karen Snider, who spearheaded the Canadian Red Cross Social Media Team, of which I am a part. She just returned from Washington, DC where she was when Sandy hit and sent the following to us by email:

“I’ve been here in Washington D.C. at American Red Cross headquarters since last Saturday, and I can tell you the team here and on the ground across the affected areas have been working around the clock to help those communities most affected. My work has focused on supporting the Digital Team, using social media to reach out to those affected and listen for messages of people who are in need of support from our disaster teams. The Red Cross has tracked nearly 1 million mentions of the disaster in social media.”

Red Cross in the Staten Island neighborhood of Oaklawn. Photo credit: Catherine Barde. American Red Cross.

Here are some stats that Karen provided:

• All funds raised through the Canadian Red Cross will support a massive Red Cross relief operation.
• The American Red Cross is in communities right now providing aid and comfort to thousands of people affected by Superstorm Sandy. Shelters are open in multiple states and a massive feeding operation is underway to get hot meals to residents in places like Long Island, Manhattan, Staten Island, New Jersey and West Virginia.
• Since last Saturday, the Red Cross has provided nearly 37,000 overnight shelter stays, served more than 215,000 meals and provided more than 5,000 health services and emotional support contacts to people affected by Sandy.
• The Red Cross has deployed more than 3,800 disaster workers and more than 240 response vehicles to the region to help those affected.
• Canadian Red Cross is deploying a team of shelter specialists and communicators to assist the American Red Cross/
• Logistics in New York have been difficult; roads are flooded, power is out, cell towers are down.
• Millions are still without power.

West Long Beach, New York. Photo credit: Carol Parkhurst. American Red Cross.

The Canadian Red Cross has been blogging about Sandy for over a week now and you can read their stories on the Red Cross Talks blog. Follow @RedCrossCanada on Twitter for more information and make your donations through the Canadian Red Cross.

The Red Cross is also still assisting in the hard-hit areas of the Caribbean and donations can be made to support those efforts as well.