When Hurricane Isaac slammed into the Gulf Coast in late August, residents hundreds of miles away in the Lower Hudson Valley were quick to pitch in.
Volunteers from the Westchester Red Cross chapter made their way south, battling through dangerous floods and powerful rains to deliver food, blankets and other forms of relief to victims from Texas to Florida.
Folks from New Rochelle, Armonk and Greenburgh joined with over 4,900 Red Cross disaster workers to serve more than half-a-million meals. Some 158 shelters were taking in affected people in five different states.
Westchester residents slept in shelters and talked with flood victims—many of whom experienced Hurricane Katrina firsthand in 2008.
Armonk resident and four-year volunteer Steven Buschel drove a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle, or ERV, 1,400 miles to bring supplies to the Gulf Coast.
Corinne Ganues traveled alongside Buschel, helping to pass out food to the hungry and blankets to the cold.
New Rochelle resident and 20-year Red Cross volunteer Ana Torres was on the ground in Louisiana, and said damaged property and ailing residents were commonplace.
Coverage in a storm zone means starting from scratch, said Abigail Adams of the Red Cross. And that's where tech doyen Stanley Wang comes in. Wang was stationed in Orlando, making sure satellite-powered Internet connection kept everyone in touch.
