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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO NATIONAL EDITORS:
Red Cross Helps Arkansas Tornado Survivors With Shelter, Food and
Relief Supplies
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Red
Cross is helping people in Arkansas and several other states affected
by Sunday's devastating tornadoes.
More than 200 people spent Sunday night in shelters in Arkansas that
were opened or supported by Red Cross workers. The Red Cross is also
providing health and mental health services and Red Cross emergency
vehicles will be distributing food throughout the affected areas.
"Our thoughts and sympathy are with all those impacted by these
horrific tornadoes," said Richard Reed, senior vice president,
Disaster Cycle Services for the Red Cross. "Red Cross disaster teams
are helping now and will continue to help for weeks to come."
RED CROSS SENDS BLOOD The Red Cross provided several units of type O
negative blood to two hospitals in Arkansas before the storm and
supplied 40 units of plasma this morning to help treat those who were
injured. The hospitals say they have a sufficient blood supply to
handle the situation at this point. The Red Cross stands ready to
assist with any additional blood needs. Anyone interested in donating
blood should call 1-800-RED CROSS or your local blood bank to schedule
an appointment in the weeks ahead.
The Red Cross also has shelters open in Oklahoma and is responding in
northern Louisiana where flooding occurred after yesterday's storms.
Shelter and services also are being provided in North Carolina, which
was hit Friday night by tornadoes.
SEVERE WEATHER NOT OVER The chance of severe storms is moving eastward
today and could impact people in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
Red Cross chapters in those areas are preparing to respond by readying
shelters, supplies and volunteers.
DOWNLOAD TORNADO APP People should download the Red Cross tornado app
onto their mobile devices. They can use the app's "I'm Safe" button to
let loved ones know they are okay and find the location of Red Cross
shelters. The app also includes a high-pitched siren and warning alert
that signals when a tornado warning has been issued, as well as also
an all-clear alert that lets users know when a tornado warning has
expired or has been cancelled. The Red Cross sent out 2.1 million
severe weather notifications over the weekend through its tornado app
for tornado and thunderstorm watches and warnings.
If someone needs to find a shelter, they can contact their local Red
Cross chapter or access the Red Cross shelter map which is updated
every 30 minutes with shelter locations by address, city, state and/or
zip code.
HOW TO HELP Those who would like to help people affected by disasters
like tornadoes, floods and other crises can make a donation to
American Red Cross Disaster Relief. People can donate by visiting
www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS
to 90999 to make a $10 donation. These donations enable the Red Cross
to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big
and small.
About the Annual Disaster Giving Program: The Red Cross is able to
respond immediately to help those affected by this and other disasters
through the support of the corporate members of the Annual Disaster
Giving Program (ADGP). Their generous investments enable the Red Cross
to be ready to provide assistance whenever and wherever disasters
occur. ADGP members include:
3M; Altria Group; American Express; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Aon;
AT&T; Bank of America; BNY Mellon; Caterpillar Inc.; CHS Foundation;
Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Community
Safety Foundation, funded by CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer;
ConAgra Foods Foundation; Costco Wholesale Corporation; Darden
Restaurants Foundation; Dell Inc.; Discover; Disney; Dr Pepper Snapple
Group; eBay Inc.; Edison International; FedEx Corporation; GE
Foundation; Grainger; H-E-B; Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation; The
Home Depot Foundation; Humble Bundle; John Deere Foundation; Johnson
Controls; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Kraft Foods Group Foundation;
Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Medtronic;
Meijer; Merck & Co., Inc.; Mondelez International Foundation; National
Grid; Nationwide Insurance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Corporation;
PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation; Samsung; Southwest Airlines;
Sprint; State Farm; Target; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.;
United; United Technologies Corporation; University of Phoenix; UPS;
US Airways; VSP? Vision care for life; Walmart; WellPoint Foundation
and Wells Fargo.
About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds
and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about
40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives;
provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members
and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization
that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public
to perform its mission. For more information, please visit
redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090108/RedCrossLOGO
SOURCE American Red Cross
-0- 04/28/2014
/CONTACT: Public Affairs Desk, (202) 303-5551
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090108/RedCrossLOGO
PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com
/Web Site: http://www.redcross.org
CO: American Red Cross
ST: District of Columbia Arkansas
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-- DC14406 --
0000 04/28/2014 15:39:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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