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The Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross will close its Hurricane Gustav evacuee shelter at Victory Christian Center by noon today. No evacuees stayed at the shelter Wednesday night and the Red Cross is urging residents from the Gulf Coast area to return to their communities today. The shelter will remain on standby if needed as the chapter prepares for Hanna. Several Charlotte-area arenas have also been placed on standby in case our region experiences an influx of evacuees. The Greater Carolinas Chapter has four employees supporting a statewide operation in preparation for Hurricane Hanna, which is expected to hit the Carolinas coast this weekend.
The chapter has also maintained a service center at The Parks (formerly known as the Merchandise Mart), at which residents affected by last week’s Tropical Storm Faye flooding were able to apply for financial assistance. The center will close at noon tomorrow as the chapter readies for Hurricane Hanna. If there are residents who need assistance after the service center closes, they may call the Red Cross at (704) 378.4620. As of Wednesday night, the Red Cross had provided nearly 350 people with more than $100,000 in financial assistance, which included aid for items such as clothing, shoes, baby items food, medications and relocation expenses.
Mecklenburg County officials have confirmed with the Red Cross that the county will be providing Cavalier Apartment residents with substantial financial assistance toward relocation and rent. American Red Cross standards are such that the organization cannot utilize our donated dollars to duplicate assistance. Therefore, the Red Cross is not providing Cavalier Apartment residents with financial assistance toward relocation expenses. However, the Greater Carolinas Chapter continues to provide assistance to those residents for other emergency needs, such as clothing replacement and food costs.
“Our chapter has been working diligently to provide help for those residents affected by the massive flooding last week as well as the hurricane evacuees who have sought shelter with us,” said Pamela Jefsen, CEO of the Greater Carolinas Chapter. “We will continue to provide assistance as we prepare for Hurricane Hanna.”
The Red Cross has launched a fundraising effort to support relief for the recent flooding, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Hanna.
Donations can be made online at http://www.redcrosshelps.org. If you’re interested in volunteering, send an e-mail to .
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All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Hurricanes of 2008, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-RED CROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting http://www.redcross.org.