The American Red Cross maintains a wide footprint of aid. news

When you hear the word deployment, you probably think of a soldier being sent overseas.

Thousands of volunteers and staff were deployed through the American Red Cross to Fort Myers, Florida, to assist those who lost their homes after Hurricane Ian passed through the area on September 29.

She said Red Cross regional communications director Sherri McKinney was among 2,000 people representing the organization in Florida, most of whom were volunteers.

McKinney, who works for the Tennessee area (which oversees the blood program in North Alabama and Huntsville), served as the organization’s national spokesperson during the disaster response in Fort Myers.

The Red Cross is known for aiding victims of blood drives and fires, but McKinney wants to promote its many other services, including its “Services to the Armed Forces” program, which all but personals for soldiers. provides support. military installations in the United States, and more than 35 foreign installations.

“People see the Red Cross simply as a blood donation (organization) or disaster response organization,” McKinney said.

He said responding to domestic fires is actually a big part of its services.

Whether it’s a single home fire or one affecting multiple families, the Red Cross provides case workers to help victims recover from disasters and connects clients to resources available to them, such as homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. .

The organization also provides customers with temporary shelter and food, eyeglasses, prescription drug replacement, and medical equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs lost in the disaster.

“All the things you don’t necessarily think about,” McKinney said, adding that the Red Cross also provides spiritual and mental health support and disaster financial assistance for those who are deserving.

The organization’s goal is to “bring them back to normal life as much as possible,” she said.

McKinney is one of about 17,000 Red Cross employees, but he said the organization couldn’t function without its 300,000-member volunteer workforce and is always on the lookout for more.

“There are so many jobs,” she said, from shelter and health care to volunteering to food and logistics in disaster response.

The 141-year-old Red Cross relies on three things: time, talent and treasure, McKinney said, with volunteers providing time and talent, and donors providing treasure.

“We are in dire need of volunteers,” McKinney said, noting that volunteers from all 50 states were on hand at Fort Myers last month.

The Red Cross supports seven principles: Humanity, Fairness, Neutrality, Liberty, Voluntary Service, Solidarity and Universality, which it says are “in accordance with its approach to helping people during armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies.” are in the original.”

To learn more about the Red Cross, to donate or to learn about voluntary organizations, visit redcross.org,