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Red Cross Recognizes Volunteers at Event in Wheeling

Photo by Scott McCloskey Participating in a press conference at the American Red Cross offices in Wheeling Tuesday are from left: Red Cross Volunteer Gwen Thornburg, Sharon Kesselring, executive director of the American Red Cross of Northwest West Virginia, Jesse Holt, disaster program specialist, and volunteer Karen Grammar.

WHEELING — Whether it’s on a local level, nationally, or abroad, the American Red Cross has continued to provide necessary assistance and support to those recovering from disasters in 2018.

To honor the work the volunteers do locally and beyond the boundaries of West Virginia, Sharon Kesselring, executive director of the American Red Cross of Northwest West Virginia held a press conference at the organization’s 16th Street office in Wheeling.

Kesselring was joined Tuesday by recovery service case worker volunteers Karen Grammar and Gwen Thornburg, along with Jesse Holt, a disaster program specialist, who shared their experiences about emergency deployments around the country in 2018 and how the Red Cross is making a difference in people’s lives.

Kesselring said the Red Cross is there to provide immediate relief to those in need. This year, the Red Cross also provided recovery support for tens of thousands of households rebuilding their lives, whether it was connecting people to community resources, helping create recovery plans or providing emergency financial assistance.

“As the year comes to a close the Red Cross continues to help those affected by major disasters,” Kesselring explained. “In the face of large crisis this year, the Red Cross mobilized more than 14,000 disaster workers, 90 percent of those are volunteers who served more than 8.2 million meals and snacks with partners, distributed more than 2.2 million relief items, provided more than 290,000 overnight shelter stays with partners, and made more than 188,000 health and mental health contacts to provide support and care.”

“So basically, we are what’s next. People stand there in front of their home burning down in front of them and they are like, ‘What do I do next?’ … We are what’s next,” Kesselring explained, talking about assisting people in times of need.

Grammar spoke about three separate deployments this year, including one in Florida, where she assisted hurricane victims in shelters. She spoke about helping an 87-year-old woman who narrowly escaped being severely injured or killed, after her home was destroyed when a huge oak tree fell through the roof of her home.

“We couldn’t do enough to help her. … She was just very much in need,” Grammar commented. “It really is heart warming to do this work. … I get so many hugs. I love that,” she added.

In addition to providing recovery support for more than 73,000 households so far this year, the Red Cross continues to help keep families safe through their Home Fire Campaign. With generous support from local partners — Red Cross volunteers go door-to-door to install free smoke alarms and help families create home fire escape plans. Since the launch of the campaign in 2014, they’ve reached more than 1.6 million people across the country and have installed nearly 400,000 smoke alarms. Holt explained that locally, Red Cross volunteers joined personnel with the Bethlehem Fire Department last week to install 54 smoke detectors in 21 homes for village residents.

Kesselring said the holiday season is a great time for those who may be interested in making a monetary donation or signing up to be a volunteer, which comes with training.

Locally, donations can be made online at redcross wv.org or mailed to the American Red Cross at 193 29th Street, Wheeling, WV 26003. For more information, call 304-488-5279.

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