GREEN BAY (WTAQ-WLUK) – Help is headed to the Carolinas from throughout the country and that includes Northeast Wisconsin.
“I’ve had a good life and this is a chance to give something back,” said Craig Holmes, a nine-year volunteer for the American Red Cross.
Holmes is one of two men taking Green Bay’s Emergency Response Vehicle to help those in the path of Florence.
“Red Cross has always been there and it’s very fulfilling for me to provide a service to people facing this type of loss,” said Holmes.
The vehicle is filled with water and snacks to hand out to those displaced and to emergency responders.
First, the duo will head to a staging area in Macon, Georgia. That’s about 400 miles from Wilmington, North Carolina.
“As things unfold, the Red Cross will send us in where we’re needed,” said Holmes.
Other Red Cross volunteers are at home, on standby in case they’re needed as well.
“We have the capacity at the American Red Cross to scale up rather quickly, depending upon the size of these disasters and we’ve been doing that now for a week or two, preparing for this one, knowing it’s coming,” said Steve Hansen, the executive director of American Red Cross of Northeast Wisconsin.
If you’re at home and want to help out, it’s recommended heading to RedCross.org and either providing a financial contribution or filling out an application to volunteer.
“We might not be able to send people out for this disaster, but often times its disasters like this that make people think about well I could do that and this would be a great opportunity and a way for me to give back,” said Hansen.
The crew out of Green Bay is expected to be in the disaster region for two to three weeks.
The two volunteers in the Emergency Response Vehicle are trained in food handling, driving and maintaining the vehicle, CPR, first aid, and dealing with people displaced in a disaster.
