ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Relief efforts are underway to help victims impacted by Hurricane Idalia.
The American Red Cross and the non-profit Caring For Others are just two of the groups working to get resources to thousands of people now left without a place to call home.
Caring For Others President Eslene Shockley makes it her mission to give those in need a chance to live with dignity by restoring hope and providing the resources required to rebuild after natural disasters like Hurricane Idalia.
“We have things such as tents, cots, pads to sleep on, we have flashlights, we have lanterns,” Shockley said while walking through a warehouse full of relief resources.
Shockley and volunteers collected donations of essential items from the community and donors for months to be ready to respond.
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“We have everything right now that could help someone to get over the situation for the next two weeks or three weeks,” Shockley said.
Over the weekend they finally packed up their trucks and headed to the hardest hit areas.
“I’ll be going and I’ll probably have four others with me because I like to go and see for myself,” Shockley said.
Shockley is not the only Georgian heading to help.
Executive Director of the Georgia Regional Red Cross Kay Wilkins said local volunteers spent weeks making sure shelters were available for hurricane victims and then traveled to areas impacted to help.
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“Over a hundred Georgia responders are part of this effort and they join about 500 red crossers from across the country that are working in both Georgia and Florida,” Kay Wilkins said.
Wilkins said it’s always a team effort and they will always make sure victims have support as fast as possible.
“We moved our resources as close as we could to where we thought Idalia may make landfall and then today we’ve already been marshaling those resources, And now we know where the needs are and we’re really finding that savannah, Valdosta and all of those areas that were in that path of Idalia are going to need our help,” Wilkins said.
You can find out more about Caring For Others here.
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