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Red Cross Needs Shelter Volunteers

What About Asking the Evacuees to Help Out?

The Austin-area Red Cross is sending out messages that they are in desperate need of volunteers to staff their evacuation shelters.

Which makes me wonder…the Red Cross urgently needs 200-300 individuals?

Yet It has 5,000 people in emergency shelters doing nothing except eating, sleeping, and complaining about what they eat and where they sleep. It seems that there should be no shortage of people to chip in and get things done.

The people staying in these shelters should be more than willing to help the Red Cross to help themselves (I sound like Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry McGuire, “Help me to help you!”).

If none of them want to volunteer to help themselves, why should anybody else be expected to volunteer to help them?

I remember when thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees where taking shelter in the Houston Astrodome, and the Red Cross put out plea for volunteers to come and unload trucks full of cots. And I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why can’t the evacuees unload those trucks?”

I keep trying to put myself in their shoes…and I know that I would be so thankful for the shelter that I would be more than happy to work in exchange for that help.

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Monday, September 15th, 2008 | Trackback |

3 Responses to “Red Cross Needs Shelter Volunteers”

The best story of all this was the news stations putting out the call for donations for the National Guard troops needing stuff - they were running low on water and food.

Hundreds of folks showed up…quick. One guy w/ his bbq grill and a bunch of meat, I saw more water there than I saw at any of the other donations spots, it was great.

Taking care of the First Responders….

Left by Maggie on September 15th, 2008 at 8:57 pm

Robbie, We step up and help despite the seemingly inability of these evacuees to help themselves. The shelter I worked in had people who had no means of transportation and had to be bussed out of the danger area. There were also those who heeded the warnings and drove in. Not having any family and unable to find a hotel, they stayed in the shelter. We had people who asked if they could help us out - and did a bang-up job with translations, cleaning, handing out supplies, etc. We had people whose first words were “where’s the FEMA debit cards?”

All types are in our society and all types run from trouble.

We help them because we’re Texans and we take care of our own. I’m proud to say our shelter had a visit from some FEMA types and we told ‘em, rightly so, we’re doing alright and don’t need any of their help.

Left by Patrick on September 15th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

Of those who refused to evacuate Galveston, the death toll is rising. Not sure why anyone would refuse to leave the absolute worse place to be during Ike.

Left by Anonymous on September 16th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

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