Red Cross Seeking Donations

***Press Release***

A month has not yet passed since the violent string of tornadoes decimated communities in the South but on Sunday evening - three years to the date after the Northern Colorado tornado struck Windsor - tornadoes barreled through Minnesota, Missouri and parts of the Midwest.

The city of Joplin, Mo., was hardest hit with churches, schools, businesses and homes severely damaged including the local hospital. Houses were leveled. Trucks wrapped around trees. Power lines entangled in splintered wood and metal wreckage. A Midwest neighborhood that now more closely resembles a war zone.
Within hours, the American Red Cross was there, opening a shelter that served approximately 100 affected residents and mobilizing emergency response vehicles stocked with meals and snacks. In the immediate aftermath of such destruction, our top priority is to provide food, shelter and emotional support for those who have experienced this traumatic and life-changing event.

Sarah Bray, Fund Development Specialist for the Northern Colorado Chapter of the American Red Cross which Logan County is served by, says those wishing to make donations to help in the effort can “Text: RED CROSS to 90999 to donate $10 from cell phone; visit Redcross.org and donate online; call: 1-800-RED-CROSS (733-7677) or send donations directly to the American Red Cross in care of 444 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80203 or 120 Saturn Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525.”

The Red Cross estimates that it will spend as much as $41 million responding to the disasters which have occurred since March 31, and to date, about $33.6 million has been raised in donations for these responses.
Since March 31, the American Red Cross has:
• Opened more than 200 shelters providing 18,000 overnight stays;
• Served more than 1.8 million meals and snacks;
• Distributed more than 1 million relief items like comfort kits, tarps, rakes and coolers;
• Provided more than 45,000 health and mental health consultations; and
• Deployed more than 8,700 trained disaster relief workers.
Donations enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide this shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters.

For more information about the Northern Colorado Chapter, to make a donation, to get trained, or to learn more about volunteering, please visit www.coloradoredcross.org