Page 110 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2020

GIVING BACK
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of American Red Cross
When disasters strike, the American Red Cross is there. This year has been busy for the sta and volunteers of the Southeast Mississippi Chapter, reports Executive Director John McFarland.
“We began this year responding to multiple winter storms in central and north Mississippi in February. In April, strong tornadoes swept across central Mississippi and Alabama on Easter Sunday, followed by more tornadoes over the next 10 days” he said. “Beginning
in June, we’ve worked nonstop
with chapters in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Texas responding to ve hurricanes.”
With their partners, the Red Cross hosted more than 550,000 overnight stays in shelters and hotels, distributed more than 1.4 million meals and 250,000 emergency supplies, and millions of dollars in emergency nancial assistance.
“At the same time, the Red Cross has continued to support the nation’s blood supply by conducting blood drives and playing a critical role in the ght against COVID-19 by collecting convalescent
plasma from recovered victims for distribution to those trying to recover from the virus,” McFarland said. “Since June, we have been testing all blood donations for the COVID antibodies, which can make some donors eligible to donate their convalescent plasma.”
The pandemic forced the chapter
to postpone the annual Moonlight & Magnolias Gala, their largest fundraiser, until at least next March. “It has also added millions of dollars in unbudgeted expenses across the country to provide PPE to all sta , volunteers and clients; the use of non-congregate sheltering (mostly in hotels) whenever possible; collecting the plasma; and many other changes required to ensure safety,” McFarland said.
He says the biggest needs are donations of blood and money and volunteers who can be trained to support the disaster, biomedical, operational and service to the armed forces.
American Red Cross
612 E. Pass Road, Gulfport 228.896.4511 | www.RedCross.org
110 | December 2020
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