The Tri-County Chapter of the American Red Cross held its first Disaster College in Schuylkill County.
The chapter covers Schuylkill, Berks and Chester counties. The approximate two-hour meeting was held Tuesday at the Pottsville Free Public Library to give prospective volunteers a chance to learn more about what the organization does. About 12 people attended out of the 16 registered.
“We are in desperate need of volunteers,” Kara Mowbray, disaster program manager with the Tri-County Chapter of the American Red Cross, said.
The organization has four volunteers for Schuylkill County, two of which respond to a lot of the incidents in the county. Another person is available occasionally and another is in training. Those who responded to the call for volunteers learned about what the Red Cross responds to and what they can do to help. Along with Mowbray, Heather Bowman, disaster program specialist, and Adrian Grieve, executive director both of the Tri-County Chapter of the American Red Cross, were there.
Leo Pratte, Red Cross regional disaster officer for Eastern Pennsylvania, talked about the how the people sitting at the table can do their part to help those in the community when disaster strikes. Grieve said the organization has a lot of ways people can help in the county or in the nation. Volunteering for blood drives is one way.
Pratte asked those in attendance what types of natural disasters happen in Schuylkill County. The first answer some said was flooding. Bowman wrote the answers on the board. Fires, snowstorms, mudslides, sinkholes and straight line winds were some of the others written down. He asked what are some of the needs people have when disaster strikes. Answers included shelter, food, clothing, medicine, water, emotional care and information.
The local Red Cross responded by assisting about 50 families in 2015 for services such as emergency assistance and other much-needed services, the organization said.
Charlotteann Petlansky, 78, of Lake Wynonah, said she wants to help people in the community. She said more people of all ages should get involved.
“It’s a situation where all people need to be volunteering,” she said.
Tara Barlow, 26, of Shenandoah, came to learn more because she wanted to be proactive in volunteering.
“I always wanted to volunteer. I just never knew how to go about it,” she said.
The session Tuesday was the first of four sessions held for those who want to give back. The other sessions include Thursday, March 8 and March 10. All are scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the library, 215 W. Market St. Thursday’s session will deal with the disaster action team, and March 8 is client casework. At the last session, those attending will be discussing shelter-related training. Mowbray said those who want to attend the sessions are encouraged to call 570-922-6550 or visit www.redcross.org.