Lipscomb hosts Red Cross Town Hall Meeting for Volunteers
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Red Cross notes tremendous local volunteer response
The Nashville Area Red Cross is holding two town hall meetings at Lipscomb University's Allen Arena on Saturday, Sept. 10. The first is from 10 a.m. to noon and the second is 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Red Cross has received a huge response from Tennesseans wanting to volunteer with the local relief effort. In the last five days, the agency has trained 300 specialized volunteers to meet the immediate medical, emotional and psychological needs of evacuees, and more will be trained in the coming days.
Rather than call or drop by the Nashville Area Red Cross, the agency is asking interested volunteers to register online at www.nashvilleredcross.org. Additionally, prospective volunteers may attend two town hall meetings this Saturday at Lipscomb.
"We've received an overwhelming response from the public, truly a testament to Tennessee's nickname - the Volunteer State," said Nashville Area Red Cross CEO Colleen Zakrewsky. "We've already begun training more volunteers."
More than 3,000 evacuees have received vouchers totaling $110,000 through the Nashville Area Red Cross Resource Center, and 75 evacuees have received shelter through the Nashville Area Red Cross. Zakrewsky says the agency expects to receive more evacuees by the end of the week, and is prepared to open additional shelters as needed.
Financial assistance is made possible by the generous donations of the American people. To date, Nashville companies and citizens have donated more than $2.3 million toward Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.