Third Lehigh Valley Red Cross Volunteer Headed to Iowa
News Release: June 25, 2008
Contact: Janice Osborne, Director-Communications and Marketing; American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley (610) 865-4400, ext. 262; pager (610) 508-4378

Lisa Taylor of Allentown is the third local disaster volunteer to head to Iowa this week. Taylor, a disaster mental health volunteer, leaves early tomorrow to supervise the mental health services function that provides crises intervention, mental health screening and assessment, emotional care and support.

She has traveled all over the country and aided families and emergency workers in the most devastating of situations: the Mississippi River flood, the Los Angeles earthquake, the 1994 USAir crash in Pittsburgh, TWA Flight 800 crash off Long Island, the ValuJet crash in Florida and the EgyptAir Flight 900 near Rhode Island.

Earlier this week Irv Burmil of Easton and Patty Daugherty of Nazareth flew to Iowa to assist.

The American Red Cross is appealing to the general public to contribute to the national Disaster Relief Fund to help pay for the relief efforts. Current funding is lagging behind the costs of providing assistance. The Disaster Relief Fund allows the Red Cross to provide desperately needed immediate emergency assistance to victims of all disasters, small and large.

The fund provides for free assistance not only to victims of major disasters like the recent floods, but also to smaller local disasters, like house fires. Since the American Red Cross is not a government agency, it relies on the donations of private individuals and organizations to provide assistance to those affected by disasters.

Donors can contribute via the internet at www.redcross.org, by phone at 1-800-HELP-NOW (1-800-435-7669) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or by mail: American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. The Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation.

Visit www.redcross.org to find out the latest information and learn how you can help.

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley serves more than 690,000 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 23,000 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.