Sixteen Local Red Cross Volunteers Join National Relief Efforts Over Thanksgiving Holiday

Worcester, MA, November 20, 2001-- As disaster relief efforts continue in the wake of the September 11 tragedy, and the recent American Airlines crash, the need for volunteers on the scene is increasing at a fast pace. As a result, sixteen locally trained Red Cross volunteers and staff members from the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts have been called upon to offer assistance in New York and Washington, DC.

Six Disaster Health Nurses were deployed to New York on Thursday afternoon and will work on two or three-week national assignments providing healthcare to family members, emergency workers and survivors of the tower collapse. Their roles include one-on-one meetings at the Family Assistance Center located on Pier 94, integrated in-home healthcare visits and respite relief at Ground Zero. Nurses representing the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts include: Red Cross staff member Patricia Sposato, RN of Worcester; Julia Trombly, RN of Worcester; Loisann Langlois, RN of Liecester; Tara Bellefontaine, RN of Uxbridge; Darlene Baron, RN of Paxton; and Fay Macomber, RN of Westboro.

In addition to the Disaster Health Nurses, six local Red Cross Mental Health Workers have joined the relief efforts in New York and at National Headquarters in Washington. They include Dianne Protano of Worcester; Chris Newell-Loyko of Millbury; Karen Lilley of Boylston; Arnie Casareale of Rutland; Greg Byrnes and Cheryl Olivieri of Grafton and Beverly Waring of Marlboro.

Also on assignment are Karen Marzilli, Chair of the Disaster Action Team, who is serving as a Mass Care (feeding) Specialist; and Michael Miller and Randi Ford of Worcester who are serving as Family Service and Logistic Specialists at Ground Zero.

The American Red Cross of Massachusetts continues to train volunteers on a daily basis in anticipation of additional requests for local volunteers. To date, a total of 50,423 disaster workers have responded to the relief efforts in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Mental Health workers have contacted and assisted 172,612 individuals and volunteers have served a total of 11,549,338 meals and snacks.

"The American Red Cross is privileged to have such a great group of volunteers and paid staff who have willingly sacrificed their holiday to offer assistance to the hundreds-of -thousands of individuals who have been affected by the recent disasters," said Nicole Valentine, Spokesperson for the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts. "We extend our gratitude not only to our dedicated volunteers, but also to their employers who have allowed them to take time off from their jobs to join the Red Cross relief efforts."

To date a total of twenty-two local volunteers have served on National Assignment since the September 11 tragedy.

For more information, please contact Nicole Valentine at (508) 756-5711 x 328. Thank you.

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