Shelter Closes; Red Cross Begins Outreach in Flooded Neighborhoods
News Release: April 6, 2005
Contact: Janice Osborne, Director-Communications and Marketing
(610) 865-4400, ext. 262
The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley closed its shelter at St. Anthony’s Youth Center in Easton at 3:30 p.m. today (4/6) after temporary housing was found for 15 residents of Safe Harbor Easton.
Today, teams of Red Cross volunteers began canvassing neighborhoods along the Delaware River as far north as Slateford (north of Portland) and continuing south to Easton. The Red Cross is providing supplies for families to clean and disinfect their homes, bottled water, snacks and informational material. Cleanup kits generally consist of sponges, mops, disinfectant, bleach, and other necessary supplies. This assistance will continue for some time to come, as families slowly begin their return to normalcy.
Cleanup kits are also available at the Red Cross office, 2200 Avenue A, Bethlehem. Kits may be picked up between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Each household is allowed one free kit. For more information, call (610) 865-4400.
Since the flooding began on April 3, the Red Cross provided more than 200 meals and 300 snacks to residents who took refuge at the Red Cross shelters in Easton and Lower Mount Bethel. Red Cross also provided hotel lodging and meals for two Easton families and one Lower Mount Bethel family displaced by the flooding. Five adults and nine children were displaced.
Anyone affected by flooding in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, should call the local Red Cross at (610) 865-4400.
To assist victims of this flooding, residents are encouraged to make a financial gift or volunteer their time.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this flooding and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley, 2200 Avenue A, Bethlehem, PA 18017 or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org or www.redcross.org.
Anyone interested in volunteering, should call Bob Duld, director of volunteer and community services, at (610) 865-4400, ext. 229.
The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley serves more than 660,000 residents of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross provided health and safety education training; Lifeline, a personal response service for seniors; and emergency relief to more than 20,000 Greater Lehigh Valley residents. For more information about the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley or volunteer opportunities, call (610) 865-4400 or visit www.redcrosslv.org.
