Wiregrass residents roll up their sleeves for disaster relief

By Jeffery L. Biggs

American Red Cross

Residents from throughout the Wiregrass region of Alabama have provided 286 units of blood to the tornado relief efforts in Enterprise, Ala., following a devastating tornado that roared through this south Alabama town on March 1, 2007.

 

“The response has been overwhelming,” said W.B. Stewart, account manager for Gulf Coast Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross. “We’ve had 286 productive units presented, and many more that wanted to donate blood, but were unable to.”

The blood drive lasted four days and was held in the Wal-Mart SuperCenter parking lot in
Enterprise. It was the debut of the region’s brand new self-contained collection trailer.

“The self-contained unit got initiated in a big way,” Stewart said.

 

The blood drive officially concluded on Monday, March 5; but potential donors don’t need to worry.

“We are re-opening the Dothan, Ala. Donor Center with its regular hours, (Thursday’s 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.); and we are adding a Friday operating time from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” Stewart added.Potential donors are reminded that all blood types are needed.

Media Contact changes

The American Red Cross has established a disaster relief operation for Alabama. There are now public affairs staff members on site who can assist with information and interview requests.

Please check the Media Contacts page for changes, and use that as your first point of contact for Red Cross inquiries.

Media Backgrounder: Phone Numbers

(The following is not for publication or re-distribution)
Thanks for you interest in the American Red Cross response to the tornadoes in Alabama, and again for your willingness to help spread valuable information to storm survivors, those who want to help, and the public at large.

Over the next few days, we’ll be asking you to help us publish Red Cross contact information. Here are the guidelines we ask you to follow:

National Media:
Please use the 1-800-RED CROSS number for all purposes. This number applies for:

• Those affected, and seeking information about services
• Those seeking to make a donation
• Those interested in giving blood

All of those functions used to have different numbers attached. They are now consolidated into a single phone bank, and operators are ready to help with any of those tasks.

Local and Regional Media:
Please use the 1-800-RED CROSS number for:

• Those seeking to make a donation
• Those interested in giving blood

Please use 1-866-GET-INFO for:

• Those in a disaster zone wanting information about services

The 866-GET-INFO line rolls into a priority bank, and we really need to focus its use in the zones where people need information the most. Please help us keep these numbers straight. (And note that it is 8-6-6 GET-INFO, and not 8-0-0.)

Of course, those wishing to donate or seek information about what Red Cross is doing in disasters can find that at http://redcross.org.

Comments are open for the media on this post; please give any feedback you’d like about what we can do to make this site more useful to you.

Thanks for your cooperation, and if you have any questions about Red Cross numbers or public information lines, you can send me and e-mail and I will reply promptly.

Photos

We’ll soon be posting photos from the Red Cross disaster workers in the affected region. You can access the list by clicking “Photos” in the Categories menu on the right.

They are available for your use, as long as you please credit them appropriately.

If you have a need for a higher-resolution picture, please contact Ike Pigott about your use and requirement.

Night contact

Ike Pigott is out of the office for the evening.

Media on deadline can reach him by e-mail.

How People Can Help

There are a number of people who are moved by what they see in the news coverage out of these deadly storms.  Here are some guidelines for those who would like to help:

The American Red Cross can provide disaster assistance with a premium on speed, thanks to those volunteers who have specific training to help in key areas.  Those trained personnel can be dropped immediately into a recovery effort, unlike “spontaneous” volunteers.

Those who are interested in “plugging in” to disaster relief with the American Red Cross are encouraged to get in touch with their local chapter and find out about disaster classes.

Those who are unable to get directly involved can support the efforts of other volunteers through a donation to the Disaster Relief Fund.  Those financial gifts can be made through our secure website portal at www.redcross.org — or over the phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.

Please do not start gathering and collecting items without first confirming the need with your local chapter.  In many cases, those donated items cost the Red Cross more to store, sort, and deliver than their actual value.

How to use this site

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the American Red Cross response. We’re particularly pleased to see those from the news media. You play such an important role in helping us reach those in need.

We want you to be able to get the most from this resource, so here’s a brief rundown of the highlights:

• Items in the left hand column are in chronological order, with the newest bulletins on top. Those of you with fast-moving deadlines are free to pick the information as quickly as you find it, and help us spread the word.
• Items in the right hand column are in “summary” style. If you are on a deadline and just need a quick list of statistics or services, you can grab them from the links on the right. These include links to other resources, like the redcross.org page, local chapter websites, or FEMA.
• “Announcements” are essentially housekeeping messages to the media. If we add a section of information, or want to designate an after-hours on-call contact, that will fall under “Announcements.”
• “Alerts” are items that we’d like shared with the public as quickly as you can. Broadcasters, or even newspapers with websites can pull this information as often as they’d like (and we’d be pleased if you did!)
• “News Releases” are traditional news releases, ready for you to clip and run with as much or little editing as you’d like.

Additionally, you can make use of the syndication feeds from this page, and catch the content without opening your browser. Both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox allow for “live bookmarks,” which create folders with changing content. You can also subscribe using Google Reader, Bloglines, Newsgator, Newsplorer, or any other reader of your choice.