Nearly 500 area volunteers respond to Hurricane Ian

The central and southern Ohio region of the American Red Cross has received nearly 500 new volunteer applications since Hurricane Ian struck Florida.

“That’s a testament to the people of this area who are so generous of spirit,” said Cincinnati’s Stephanie Byrd, CEO of the Red Cross operations across half of Ohio.

The local Red Cross operation has 43 staff and volunteers in Florida working on the recovery efforts. Hurricane Ian struck the Fort Myers area of southwest Florida Sept. 28 as a Category 4 storm with 150-mph winds, causing 119 deaths, the deadliest storm to hit Florida since 1935.

Many of the new volunteer applicants are still being processed, but could be on their way soon.

“It depends on a variety of factors including how responsive a prospective volunteer is to our calls and inquiries and how quickly a prospective volunteer takes the self-paced training,” said the Red Cross’ Marita Salkowski. “The process could be accomplished in a couple of weeks.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can go to www.redcross.org/volunteer.

To help people affected by Hurricane Ian, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the word IAN to 90999 to make a $10 donation.