How to help
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer with the Palmetto region of the American Red Cross can call 764-2323×321 or visit Redcross.org/Lowcountrysc.
Training is free and orientation dates in Charleston for new volunteers is Jan. 13 and 24.
The organization is also in need of monetary donations, which it relies solely on for its programs and assistance to victims. Donations can be made online by visiting Redcross.org/quickdonate.
Joyce Gambrell said her father was always a major advocate for helping others, and she is continuing his legacy.
585 – the number of Lowcountry residents affected by house fires who were assisted from July 1 through Dec. 31.
1,600 – about the number of Lowcountry volunteers, ranging from administrative to disaster response and mental health counselors
96 – the percentage of the Red Cross workforce that is made up of volunteers
190 – the number of times each day Red Cross relief workers help a family affected by fire
20 – the number of fire calls Red Cross volunteers responded to in the month of December in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley Counties
25 – the percentage a “smoke alarm blitz” campaign aims to reduce fire fatalities and injuries by in the next five years in the state
2/3 – of all fire-related deaths occur in homes without functioning smoke alarms
91 – cents of every dollar donated to the Red Cross is used for its services and programs
The 73-year-old North Charleston resident has been a volunteer with Palmetto chapter of the American Red Cross since 2002. She is part of a disaster response team and is often the first face victims see on what is usually the worse day of their lives.
“I do what I do because I get satisfaction out of trying to help somebody,” Gambrell said. “It feels good to give someone help when they need it immediately.”
The local organization is in desperate need of more people like Gambrell to respond to disasters.
“There is a need for volunteers who are ready to respond 24 hours a day,” she said.
Red Cross responders provide victims with financial assistance for food, clothing and lodging, and access to mental health counselors, but the organization’s regional CEO said that just as importantly, volunteers offer a shoulder for victims to lean on.
“A lot of what they do is comfort them,” said Louise Welch Williams. “You hug them and tell them it’s going to be OK.”
She became teary-eyed recalling a time when a young boy held her Red Cross vest at the scene of a house fire.
“He didn’t say anything, he just walked up and grabbed the bottom of my vest,” she said. “To many, the vest is a sign of hope.”
Williams was passionate when describing the work her volunteers perform. She said more than 97 percent of the Red Cross workforce is volunteer. There are about 4,000 volunteers in the state and about 1,600 in the Lowcountry in varying positions, not just disaster response.
The organization, which used to be separated into different chapters to cover the state but is now under one umbrella known as the Palmetto SC region, assisted 585 people affected by home fires in the Lowcountry from July 1 to Dec. 31.
The American Red Cross responds to a fire in South Carolina every 4.5 hours, and in 2014, two North Charleston zip codes were in the Top 10 list for most house fires involving injuries, according to the organization’s data.
Jim Strohm, another local disaster-response volunteer, said in December alone, volunteers responded to 13 fire calls in Charleston County, three in Dorchester County and four in Berkeley County.
Of the December calls, he said, seven were in the two zip codes that made the Top 10 list for most house fires involving injury, 29405 and 29406.
In an effort to reduce those numbers, the organization started a “smoke alarm blitz” campaign in the fall that aims to reduce fire fatalities and injuries across the state by 25 percent in the next five years.
As part of the campaign, volunteers visit local homes with members of area fire departments to check smoke alarms and hand out educational material. Williams said they recently went to a neighborhood in North Charleston and she was surprised at how many people either had nonfunctioning smoke alarms or no alarms at all.
“These people need smoke alarms,” she said. “One woman told us, ‘I didn’t know anybody cared.'”
Williams said a big concern statewide is fire fatalities. As of Dec. 16, there have been 82 fire-related fatalities in South Carolina, compared to 71 for all of 2013, 73 in 2012, and 57 in 2011.
According to statistics released by the organization, working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in home fires by half. Estimates also suggest that only 77 percent of U.S. homes have at least one functioning smoke alarm.
Williams said the campaign also allows volunteers to discuss disaster preparedness with residents, such as planning a route of escape in the event of a fire.
Strohm, 65, of North Charleston, encouraged individuals interested in volunteering to talk to people at the Red Cross and to observe them at a disaster scene. He described the work as challenging and rewarding.
“The best thing to do is to go out and see what we do – I’ve brought people along who see what we do and decide it’s not for them, and others have gone and wanted to do the same work,” he said. “Just come and see what it’s all about.”
Leave a Reply