American Red Cross Training, Sending Oklahomans To Hurricane-Torn Communities

The American Red Cross is deploying volunteers from Oklahoma to areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

With three free trainings taking place, no prior experience is required. “Your world just got turned upside down, so how can we be there to make that positive impact?” Loida Haffener Salmond, Executive Director for the American Red Cross of Central and Southwest Oklahoma, said.

The devastation spreads across 6 states with officials reporting over 100 deaths and hundreds of people still missing. “This is this is going to be a marathon, really getting in there and helping these folks,” Haffener Salmond said.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Florida panhandle last week, causing catastrophic flooding in several Southeastern states. “There are already over 1400 volunteers already in that area. From Oklahoma, we have 17 volunteers who have already gone,” Haffener Salmond said.

She wants to see the number of Oklahomans on the ground rise. “We know better than anyone else what it feels like to go through a disaster,” she said.

Long-time volunteers at the Red Cross are passionate about the impact they can make. “We can get food and water in their hands, we can get them to a shelter, so that they have a safe place to stay,” Red Cross volunteer Renee Beezley said. She's been deployed to over 80 natural disasters. “I’ve been to hurricanes. I’ve been to tornadoes. I’ve been to wildfires,” she said. The experiences have taught Beezley about what it means to give back. “When they've had a horrible day, and they don't know what to do to move forward. We're there to help them with that,” she said.

But in this case, a level of experience like Beezley’s isn’t required.

Volunteers who want to help with Helene recovery can attend one of three free trainings this week to learn how the Red Cross operates their shelters. “People can come to learn if they feel that urge. They really want to be able to help, learn, and get trained for the Red Cross, so they know how to open up a shelter,” Haffener Salmond.

Registration is encouraged on their website, but walk-ins are also welcome. After completing one of the Red Cross' free shelter trainings, volunteers can be deployed for two weeks at a time to help Helene survivors across the southeast.

One training took place Monday evening, and the next two are set for Thursday, October 3, at 12 p.m. and Saturday, October 5, at 9 a.m.

The training will be held at the American Red Cross in Oklahoma City.

You can follow this link to register for training: https://volunteerconnection.redcross.org/?nd=vms_public_form&form_id=14611