A significant number of Iowans have reached out to the state’s chapter of the American Red Cross to volunteer in the wake of Hurricane Harvey; and with Hurricane Irma heading towards Florida the emergency assistance organization says there's certainly a need.
This week more than 70 people attended volunteer information sessions at the American Red Cross Serving Greater Iowa. Regional Communications Officer Mark Tauscheck says in a normal week only a few people reach out to the organization about volunteering.
"This is a quite a surplus of people for us, and we’re really happy that people are recognizing our need right now," he says. "So we decided, let’s just hold these volunteer information sessions so we can get people into the system and understanding what we’re all about."
Currently 50 Iowa volunteers are in Texas and another five are in Florida. The Red Cross is estimating that they’ll be feeding and sheltering people in the Houston area until late-November.
