Holiday Home Fires Leave 80 People In Need

Since December 14th, 25 families in the Western Carolinas* have been devastated by home fires. The Red Cross swiftly responded to each incident - offering food, clothing, emotional support, cash assistance and hotel lodging to 80 adults and children.

Here are just a few of the stories:

• December 23rd. Family of 3 loses their home to a fire. The excitement surrounding the coming holiday was dampened by an electrical fire which destroyed the mobile home of a family of two adults and one child. Two Red Cross volunteers assisted the family during this crisis with food, clothing, shelter at a nearby hotel and seasonal garments.
• Christmas Morning. Fire Destroys family home. The family was uninjured; however, they lost their cherished dogs and the home and Christmas presents were destroyed. Red Cross volunteer caseworker Victoria King, along with 3 other Red Cross volunteers, assisted the family with lodging, food and clothing.
• Christmas Day. Family of 5 loses their home to a fire. Thankfully, no one was injured but the home was destroyed. Volunteers met with the family of 5, provided hotel, emergency clothing, food, stuffed animals for the children and a shoulder to lean on.

Each year, the American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters in the United States every 9 minutes. Our dedicated disaster action team members respond to disasters, mostly house fires, two to three times a day in the Western Carolinas region. They courageously and selflessly sacrifice their own holidays to assist those in need. They are able to do this because of generous donations from individuals like you that provide for the relief items, their training and practice.

I hope we can count on your support again this year. Simply put, your gift allows our disaster volunteers to bring hope and comfort to those in need. Resolve to lend a helping hand to those who have lost so much in recent fires. Please inquire about becoming trained as a disaster volunteer or make a financial contribution to the American Red Cross to support our relief efforts. Visit www.redcross.org for more information.