Volunteer resources are wearing thin for the American Red Cross of Southern Missouri.
A press release from the Red Cross says ongoing deployments for natural disasters have limited the amount of volunteers available if disaster strikes again.
Beginning Friday, more than 20 people are assisting survivors of Hurricane Matthew in the southern states of Florida and the Carolinas.
“We have sent our volunteer leaders from across the chapter, Red Cross employees as well as some new volunteers to meet the needs of those communities impacted by Hurricane Matthew,” said Stacy Burks, executive director for southern Missouri.
“These deployments are leaving us shorthanded when we are called upon to respond locally to home fires or other emergency situations.”
The southern Missouri chapter, which serves 29 counties, is accepting new volunteers seeking to help their local community.
The chapter has just more than 100 volunteers serving on the Disaster Action Teams, which are deployed to areas affected by natural disasters such as flooding, tornadoes and the most common disaster, house fires.
“Cold weather often brings an increase in house fires and then a need for more help from the Red Cross,” says Jenny Solomon, a disaster program specialist for the chapter.
The Red Cross is seeking multiple positions such as those who wish to join the Disaster Action Team, drivers and office workers with a background in health services.
Local volunteers have assisted a number of national disasters this year including the floodings in Texas and Louisiana and, most recently, the impact from Hurricane Matthew.
“In some counties, we have only a few volunteers so national deployments may leave us shorthanded,” according to Solomon.”We have all kinds of jobs locally and we can find a task that will it a person’s desire to serve.”
Volunteers will take a Red Cross introductory course. Specific classes are then later available online or in the classroom.
To find out about volunteering, visit www.redcross.org or call the Springfield headquarters at 417-832-0256.