Red Cross Seeks Valley’s Help For Florida The Organization Is Raising Money To Aid Victims Of Hurricane Charley. Local Volunteers Are On The Ground.

By KEVIN OWEN KEARNEY

Sunday, August 22, 2004 Page: 3A

As volunteers from Luzerne County continue to work tirelessly toward the
recovery in sections of Florida ravaged by Hurricane Charley, donations are
being sought.

The Wyoming Valley chapter of the American Red Cross has about $5,000 so
far, and hopes to collect $21,000 more, said emergency services director Amy
Gabriel.
The $26,000 goal was set by the organization’s national headquarters, which
came to the number by using a formula based on the area’s population and
income, said Michael Zimmerman, executive director of the Wyoming Valley
chapter.

The money will go toward clothing and food vouchers for the victims of the
hurricane, which devastated much of the Sunshine State earlier this month. The
funds also will help emergency officials provide shelter, a major commodity
since the disaster.

“Many people have lost their homes completely; others were severely
damaged,” volunteer Karen Blum, 39, of Kingston, said by phone from Winter
Haven, Fla., north of Tampa.

She arrived Thursday and will remain for three weeks. “You immediately
become aware of the scope and magnitude of this kind of disaster.”

Blum, one of six volunteers in Florida from the Wyoming Valley chapter,
said many of the homes still standing are without power. Schools, normally
open this time of year, are shut down, as are numerous businesses, she said.

“This disaster did not discriminate,” Blum said. “Their lives have been
turned upside down. They need a place to turn.”

A volunteer with the Red Cross since 1995, Blum knows firsthand what the
victims are going through. In 1972 she and her family had to stay in a shelter
for more than a week due to massive flooding in the Valley caused by Tropical
Storm Agnes.

“(Volunteering) is important to everyone who is here,” she said.

Gabriel said the county has had its share of natural disasters, and had
been helped in each recovery by donations from outside the area. Now it’s time
to reciprocate, she said.

“We need the community to come forward and help.”

Kevin Kearney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.



HOW TO HELP

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Wyoming Valley chapter of the Red
Cross may call 1-800-HELP-NOW.