Shortly after the winter storms began on Dec. 2, hundreds of American Red Cross volunteers from around the country came to Oregon to help with flood relief efforts. Nearly three weeks later, a handful of dedicated volunteers still remain in town, far away from home during the holidays.
Joe Land of Buffalo, S.C., served for 20 years in the Army and got used to spending the holidays in places such as the Middle East, where he served during Operation Desert Storm. This year, he'll be serving in Oregon, working as a facilities manager and closing down Red Cross operations. Land also launched the relief efforts, finding places to store supplies and directing the opening of shelter facilities.
"When you're a facilities manager, you're the first one in and the last one out," Land said. "I knew when I came out that it was possible I wouldn't be home for Christmas."
As facilities manager, Land's goal sounds simple: "All the stuff that's gone out has to come back." However, making sure that's done correctly takes patience and an eye for detail. Land and his staff of volunteers visit sites in the outlying communities and restore them to their original condition, bringing back food and working with distributors to return supplies that can be used elsewhere. Most importantly, they replenish Red Cross supplies, making sure that everything is where it should be when another emergency arises.
Land had been working out of the Red Cross disaster operations headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. since he arrived in early December. Back home in Buffalo, Land's sister has promised to take care of his mother for Christmas.
Red Cross Final Stats:
* Provided 1,917 overnight shelter stays
* Served 22,434 meals and 65,687 snacks
* Distributed 15,835 bulk items, including drinking water, tarps, boots and raingear
* Provided health services to 2,296 people
* Provided mental health support to 1,462 people
* Served 881 clients (323 different families) with individualized client casework
The services above have been coordinated and delivered by a team of 485 American Red Crossers – 88 percent of whom were volunteers. Of that team, more than 200 were from Oregon. The remainder, like Joe Land, came to Portland from across the nation.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Northwest floods, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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