More than 1,900 Red Cross volunteers have helped those devastated by Hurricane Ian after making landfall nearly three weeks ago. Locally, approximately 50 volunteers from the Greater Pennsylvania Region of the Red Cross have been deployed to Florida. Although the numbers may change, the Red Cross says they will stay there. “We’re going to be here as an organization for months to come. We don’t know when we are going to leave. There are still hundreds of people in shelters. I can see us being there until January,” said American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region CEO Jorge Martinez. Volunteer Bob Gurkweitz got emotional while talking about his deployment. It’s his tenth, and this time he spent two weeks in Fort Myers. “I’ll tell you this. People are friendly. They help each other. They are good people,” Gurkweitz said. Gurkweitz said he was driving an emergency response vehicle while helping the Red Cross with its search and supply process. While Gurkweitz went door-to-door, Adam Clark planned and gathered information behind the scenes about where the volunteers needed to go. We want people to live their lives as close to what they were before the hurricane, so the more help we can get, the better,” said Adam Clark, head of planning and preparedness at the Greater Pennsylvania Red Cross. As for Gurkweitz, although he’s now back home, he says he shouldn’t be expected to stop volunteering anytime soon. “I will definitely deploy again,” Gurkweitz said. , Click here.
More than 1,900 Red Cross volunteers have helped those devastated by Hurricane Ian after making landfall nearly three weeks ago.
Locally, approximately 50 volunteers from the Greater Pennsylvania Region of the Red Cross have been deployed to Florida. Although the numbers may change, the Red Cross says they will stay there.
“We’re going to be here as an organization for months to come. We don’t know when we are going to leave. There are still hundreds of people in shelters. I can see us being here until January,” said American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region CEO Jorge Martinez.
Volunteer Bob Gurkweitz got emotional while talking about his deployment. It’s his tenth, and this time he spent two weeks in Fort Myers.
“I’ll tell you this. People are friendly. They help each other. They are good people,” Gurkweitz said.
Gurkweitz said he was driving an emergency response vehicle while helping the Red Cross with its search and supply process.
“We would just go to a neighborhood and call anyone who wanted food,” Gurkweitz said.
While Gurkweitz went door-to-door, Adam Clark planned and gathered information behind the scenes about where the volunteers needed to go.
“It just increases the number of people so that we can get back to normal as soon as possible. We want people to live their lives as close to what they were before the hurricane, so the more help we can get, the better,” said Adam Clark, head of planning and preparedness at the Greater Pennsylvania Red Cross. .
As for Gurkweitz, although he is now back home, he says he doesn’t expect him to stop volunteering anytime soon.
“I will definitely be deployed again,” Gurkweitz said.
For more information on how you can help those affected by Hurricane Ian, click here.
