The Mississippi Branch of the American Red Cross is helping with the relief effort in Texas and Louisiana as people are dealing with the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
Tamica Smith Jeuitt with the Mississippi branch of the American Red Cross says there are some things Mississippians can do to help with the effort.
Jeuitt said the number one thing Mississippians can do is to make a monetary donation.
“Mississippi can be helpful with financial donations to this relief effort because we do have our teams not just from Mississippi, but from all across the nation, that are responding to those areas that are impacted,” said Jeuitt. “The Red Cross is spending money right now, so as we are spending, but we need to be in a replenishing mode.”
Mississippians can donate to the American Red Cross by going online to Redcross.org to make a donation, they can also donate by calling 1-800 RED-CROSS, or by texting the word Harvey to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the relief effort.
Jeuitt said to also consider becoming a volunteer with the American Red Cross. A lot of times we have people who want to help out but they can’t be boots on the ground so to speak without the training, so please consider joining us because unfortunately, we know there will be some other disaster,” said Jeuitt. “Whether it is just a home fire, and those happen daily across Mississippi, we need volunteers to respond to those people in need, as well as, large disasters like Hurricane’s and tornadoes.”
“A lot of times we have people who want to help out but they can’t be boots on the ground so to speak without the training, so please consider joining us because unfortunately, we know there will be some other disaster,” said Jeuitt. “Whether it is just a home fire, and those happen daily across Mississippi, we need volunteers to respond to those people in need, as well as, large disasters like Hurricane’s and tornadoes.”
She continued, saying that anyone who wants to volunteer with the Red Cross can go to the Hattiesburg or Gulfport office on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for training and information on how to help.
Jeuitt said that Mississippians can also help by sharing shelter information from the Red Cross’s social media pages on their personal Facebook pages.
“We know that people from Mississippi have family in nearby states like Louisiana and Texas, so they may be able to provide them with some of our safety tips and where to go to find locations for sheltering, needs and food in those affected communities,” said Jeuitt. “In a nut shell, we are asking the public to use us as a resource to help their family members in some of those impacted areas.”
