Story by: Barbara Weber, American Red Cross Volunteer
When Karin Krauss moved to Conway, South
Carolina three years ago she had no idea she would one day be in the midst of a
major American Red Cross disaster relief effort right in her home town.
After Krauss moved to Conway, she became
friends with her neighbor, Karen Williams. Williams and her husband have been
volunteering with the Red Cross for several years. They told Krauss how much
they enjoyed the adventures they had traveling around the country providing
food, supplies and comfort to people in dire circumstances due to disasters.
Karin Krauss, event-based volunteer, helps unload meals from an emergency response vehicle. |
So when Hurricane Florence hit the
Carolinas, dumping over 10 trillion gallons of rain and flooding the town of
Conway, Krauss decided it was time to get involved. She was inspired to join
the Red Cross efforts in helping the local residents impacted by the
devastating flooding, just as volunteers from across the country arrived to
help.
“I thought of a lot of people and how
lucky we were at the other end of Conway that we didn’t get any of the flooding.
I wanted to really see how I could go help out some of these people who didn’t
have what they needed,” said Krauss.
Turns out, her help was needed, too. Williams
told Krauss that the Red Cross was inviting volunteers to join the team, so she
signed up to become an event-based volunteer. To date, more than 450 Red Cross
disaster workers from all over the country have been in South Carolina helping
shelter, feed and comfort people affected.
“When it really struck close to home I
thought this is the time for me to really jump into this, so it just made
sense,” said Krauss.
Krauss hands out a free, hot meal to a resident in need after Hurricane Florence. |
Krauss hit the ground running by
supporting the Red Cross mobile feeding efforts in Horry County. She tirelessly
loaded supplies on and off Emergency Response Vehicles, working with Williams
and her husband to deliver hot meals, snacks and water to fire stations, community
centers, and neighborhoods where people had been unable to get out for days due
to the extreme flooding. So far the Red Cross and its partners have served
nearly 200,000 meals and snacks in South Carolina.
“Karen and her husband are wonderful
helpful people, and to be part of this with them has been a real joy,” said
Krauss.
Krauss is now an official Red Cross
volunteer and is planning on moving forward playing an active role as a local
volunteer. She said she didn’t realize all that the Red Cross does in addition
to the major disaster relief efforts and is excited to learn more about the
different services the Red Cross offers.
If you are interested in helping others by
volunteering with the Red Cross please visit www.redcross.org/volunteer to find
out more and to sign up.
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