WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross remains on the ground, with volunteers across nearly half of the state of Louisiana helping the thousands of people who have lost everything they own in the devastating flooding last week. But the relief organization reports a significant gap in funds raised.
To date, the Red Cross has received approximately $7.8 million in donations and pledges designated to support Louisiana – not nearly enough to cover the estimate of at least $30 million in costs.
"This intense storm wasn't given a name, but it affected as many as 110,000 homes in Louisiana and has changed countless lives forever," said Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Services Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. "The situation in Louisiana remains critical. People need help, and they need it now. The Red Cross is providing for immediate needs like food and shelter, and will be there during the clean-up and recovery."
"The last time this country saw a disaster this devastating was Superstorm Sandy in 2012," Kieserman said. "Today, we are sounding the alarm to urge people to make a financial donation to help our friends and neighbors in Louisiana."
Learn more here how the Red Cross is giving people a place to go when there is no place to go through the words of one woman who has lost everything.
More than 1,900 Red Cross workers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are supporting the relief effort, along with hundreds of local residents. In addition to providing food and shelter, Red Cross volunteers are providing emotional support to help people cope. Health services volunteers are monitoring the health needs of people in shelters and replacing things like lost wheelchairs, eyeglasses and medications.
It's been more than a week since the floodwaters destroyed and damaged thousands of homes and together with local, state and national partners, the Red Cross has already:
- Served more than 260,000 meals and snacks.
- Distributed more than 60,000 relief items.
- Provided more than 40,000 overnight stays in emergency shelters. Sunday night almost 3,000 people were still seeking refuge in 19 Red Cross and community shelters.
- Handled more than 17,000 calls from people seeking information and help.
HOW TO HELP Help people affected by the Louisiana Floods by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from these disasters.
CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process.
ADGP $1 Million members are: American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Boise Paper; Caterpillar Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Disney; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx Corporation; The Home Depot Foundation; Humble Bundle; LDS Charities; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Merck Foundation; Nationwide Foundation; State Farm; Target; UPS; VSP℠ Vision care for life; and Walmart and the Walmart Foundation.
ADGP $500,000 members are: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bank of America; Capital One; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Farmers Insurance; Ford Motor Company; Grainger; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; Medtronic; Meijer; Mondelēz International Foundation; National Grid; PepsiCo Foundation; Prudential Foundation; Ryder; Southwest Airlines; Sprint; Sunoco; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; United Technologies Corporation; Visa; Wawa; and Wells Fargo.
Disaster Responder Program members are: Alcoa; Almost Family; Astellas USA Foundation; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; AXA; Ball Foundation; BNY Mellon; CarMax; The Clorox Company; Cox Automotive; DTE Energy Foundation; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; General Motors Foundation; Harbor Freight Tools; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; Hi-Rez Studios; HP Foundation; IBM Corporation; IKEA; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; Interstate All Battery Center; Land O'Lakes, Inc.; MetLife Foundation; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Procter & Gamble Company; PSEG Foundation; PuroClean Disaster Recovery; Red Heart Yarns; ScriptRelief; Sealed Air; SERVPRO; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; T O Y O T A; U.S. Bank; and U-Haul International.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
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SOURCE American Red Cross
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