Red Cross volunteers respond to a local disaster - most often a house or apartment fire - every 18 hours. Our volunteers are on call 24 hours a day to assist local children and families who have lost their home to a house fire, flood, or other devastation. Children and families left homeless from disasters seek the Red Cross in their time of need. We've found that the majority of people affected by local disasters are children.

They come to us, often with only the clothes on their backs seeking a caring person. In return, our Disaster Action Teams (DAT), made up entirely of volunteers, provide comfort kits for personal hygiene, emergency shelter, food, clothing, and appropriate financial assistance. We also link children and parents to housing assistance, social services, and mental health services to help assist with the devastating loss of their homes, belongings, pets, loved ones, and often their "old lives." In essence, we help them begin anew.

Your $700 gift covers the cost of local disaster response and includes dispatching an ERV or other Red Cross vehicle, deploying 2 volunteers, providing immediate relief and comfort kits. and providing financial
assistance to 1 affected family.

Red Cross Disaster Action Teams (DAT) respond every day in their communities to support families impacted by local disasters, like home fires.