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Tinton Falls, N.J., May 10, 2010 - Tennessee has seen a powerful weather system that has caused severe flooding and amounts of rain, totaling almost a foot. But what do the floods in Tennessee have to do with Monmouth and Ocean County? Your American Red Cross Jersey Coast Chapter has deployed two of our own volunteers in response to the floods in the South. American National Red Cross in Washington DC sent out a request on Monday evening, asking for aid from our region in sending people to Nashville who would be willing to clear their schedule for two weeks. Ready, willing and able to respond in a moment’s notice, Mary O’Donnell, a resident of Jackson, and Pam Slifer of Colts Neck are currently in Nashville bringing their individual expertise to the disaster operation. These women only had 24 hours to respond to the request, pack, organize their personal lives and prepare themselves to be away from home for two weeks.On vacation in Florida at the time, Jersey Coast Chapter disaster volunteer, Mary O’Donnell received word about the deployment to Tennessee and was on a flight to Nashville Tuesday morning. O’Donnell will be supervising staff services in the shelters and coordinating logistics of volunteer staffing based on each individual shelter’s needs. Nearly 1,000 people in Tennessee have been evacuated and are living in shelters. Mary O’Donnell is well versed when it comes to responding to national disasters. She has represented the Jersey Coast Chapter by volunteering during Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Wilma, and the recent New Jersey floods.
A request for shelter nurses was sent out on Tuesday morning. Pam Slifer responded and was on a flight to Nashville as of Thursday morning, where she will be supervising health services in Red Cross shelters. All nurses in Red Cross shelters must be certified RN or LPN’s with extensive training and experience. Slifer’s duties will include staffing, maintaining health and sanitary standards, monitoring care for shelter residents, and ensuring that shelter residents who need mental health services will receive the proper care. Pam is also a volunteer veteran when it comes to disaster response with her involvement in the 9/11 terror attacks, Hurricane Katrina, ice storms in south New Jersey and the recent New Jersey floods.
Both of these women encompass the American Red Cross humanitarian mission of providing relief to victims of disaster. They left their families in a moment’s notice and are also missing Mother’s Day to volunteer their services to a cause that they believe in. Both O’Donnell and Slifer will be dealing with the same obstacles that Tennessee disaster victims are undergoing such as water disruption, power outages, and transportation limitations.
It is crucial that the public become aware of what the Jersey Coast Chapter does on the local level. Your chapter deploying these women is a testament to the kind of organization the Red Cross is. We are helping people across the country and it starts in our own backyard. To find out how you can support your Jersey Coast Chapter with donations to our disaster relief fund or volunteering your time so that we can keep sending your own neighbors to assist across the country, please contact us www.jerseycoast-redcross.org, 1540 West Park Avenue, PO Box 131, Tinton Falls, NJ 07724 (732)493-9100 ext. 1245.
