Red Cross Volunteers Honored at Capitol

WASHINGTON – Today, on the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy hitting our shores, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, thanked American Red Cross Delmarva Region volunteers who were deployed during the storm at a reception in his office. He also delivered a floor speech, which can be viewed here.

“Sandy’s impact up and down the east coast was devastating and heartbreaking,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Carper.  “New York, New Jersey, and parts of New England were hit particularly hard. In Delaware, we did not experience the level of devastation that was inflicted on our neighbors to the north, but our state did receive significant damage. This morning, I met a handful of Delawareans who were called to action by the Red Cross to volunteer in the shelters and communities in Delaware, New Jersey and New York. The extraordinary efforts of these volunteers who left their homes to help those they never met are commendable. In the days and weeks following Sandy, they stopped their lives to help others, and for that, we are truly grateful.”

The storm was one of the worst in memory and prompted evacuations in each county in Delaware and tens of millions of dollars’ worth of damage to communities up and down the East Coast. The Red Cross deployed more than 17,000 trained workers from all over the country – most of them volunteers – to run shelters, provide food, relief supplies and support for months after the storm hit, and the organization is continuing to help people recover and rebuild. These workers were responsible for serving more than 17.5 million meals and snacks, handing out more than 7 million relief items such as cold weather items and clean-up supplies, helping with nearly 113,000 health services and emotional support contacts, and providing nearly half of the 163,000 overall shelter stays for Sandy. 

Caption: Sen. Carper met volunteers from the American Red Cross Delmarva Region today and thanked them for their service during Superstorm Sandy, which hit our shores one year ago today. (From left) Joe Miller of Hockessin, Richard and Charlotte Duffy of Rehoboth Beach, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, and Glenn Sholley of Lincoln.