LEWISTON, Maine — As wildfires rage out West and the with the hurricane season getting underway, the Red Cross is under more pressure not only for volunteers but for blood donations as well.
Phyliss Rand who has deployed 12 different times to disaster zones across the country as a Red Cross volunteer, is urging Mainers to answer the call.
"You can find your niche…it becomes a passion, just do it, the support is there not only from the volunteers but from disaster headquarters," Rand said.
Rand just returned from Oregon's Bootleg fire, where she ran daily Red Cross briefings at two different command posts for first responders and other government agencies. That blaze has burned nearly half a million acres and displaced residents. Other fires are raging in California and Montana.
A very active and destructive wildfire season means the agency needs more volunteers to run disaster shelters, food distribution centers and provide medical services.
Rand said volunteers need to be 18 and older and commit to a 14-day deployment. The Red Cross will provide training, transportation, and other accommodations.
12 different times, Rand has left behind her family and a full-time job with only a 24-hour notice to help those affected by natural disasters.
From Superstorm Sandy in New Jersey to flooding in Missouri—Illinois and then—back here in her own hometown during an outbreak of fires in the downtown area.
With the breadth of the disasters happening this year, especially wildfires in California and other parts of the west, more Mainers are needed to answer the call to support disaster relief efforts.
"Entire neighborhoods are being flattened," Paula Coyle, Senior Recruitment Specialist at American Red Cross Northern New England, said.
Coyle says on top of that, there is another desperate need.
"Often in the summer, blood is urgently needed, nothing can take the place for human blood," Coyle added.
Eligible donors can help overcome the critical need for blood and ensure blood is readily available by making an appointment to give by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, go to RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.
If you want to make a difference and are interested in helping your community should a disaster occur here at home or across the country, please contact our Volunteer Recruitment team in Northern New England at 207-523-5107 or email: VolunteerNNE@redcross.org or click here.