Red Cross Helping Weary Southeast Families Recover from Hurricanes Milton & Helene

Early estimates indicate more than 7,800 homes destroyed or damaged as assessments continue

For weeks, weary families across the Southeast have been living with the inconceivable damage left behind after Hurricanes Milton and Helene. As families try to take their next steps, nearly 1,200 American Red Cross responders are with them, providing shelter, meals, relief supplies and a shoulder to lean to make sure no one faces this disaster alone.

WE NEED YOUR HELPPeople desperately need help. Thousands have seen their neighborhoods destroyed. Many have lost their homes, their belongings, their jobs and sadly, in some cases, loved ones. The Red Cross can't do this alone. Please help by making a financial donation, an appointment to give blood or platelets, or signing up to become a volunteer by visiting redcross.orgor calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). Financial donations to help people affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from these disasters. You can also text the word HURRICANES to 90999 to make a donation.

Thanks to the generosity of blood donors in unimpacted areas of the country, the Red Cross could ensure lifesaving blood products were available to patients ahead of these storms. Those outside of affected areas are encouraged to continue giving blood and platelets by scheduling a blood donation appointment here.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of others, consider becoming a Red Cross volunteer.

RED CROSS RESPONSEHundreds of people are still in emergency shelters across the affected states and the Red Cross is working with them to help make plans for the future, including temporary housing arrangements. These plans will look different for each individual and family. For example, some people may choose to live with friends or family while they rebuild. Other people will move into temporary lodgings or receive help through housing programs offered by government agencies or community organizations.

Disaster kitchens are up and running, and dozens of Red Cross response vehicles are on the roads delivering hot meals along with water and supplies to people in need.

In the mountains of western North Carolina, it's getting colder as power outages continue and many are choosing to stay close to their destroyed homes. We're supporting community care centers that provide amenities like showers, laundry, Wi-Fi, meals and water. And distribution sites are open where people can pick up things like camp stoves and fuel, generators, warm clothing and more.

With the help of partners, we've provided some 2.3 million meals and snacks, and more than 237,500 relief items like cleaning and hygiene supplies for thousands of affected families.

In many areas, Red Crossers are supporting residential damage assessment and preliminary reports so far indicate some 7,800 homes have been destroyed or received major damage. This critical information will be used to make plans for what support - including financial assistance - people may need as they recover.

CLIMATE CRISISThese back-to-back storms are examples of how the climate crisis is worsening and why communities are continually relying on the Red Cross for much needed support. Today, the Red Cross is responding to twice as many major disasters as a decade ago, and the number of massive billion-dollar disasters has increased 85% over the same time period.

We can't do this alone. Disasters this large require a team effort with communities and nonprofits coming together to coordinate recovery services to make sure people have the support they need. The Red Cross is working with dozens of partners - too many to name - across the affected states. A few examples include Children's Disaster Services, All Hands and Hearts, Hope Worldwide and the NAACP.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP)Through the generosity of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the American Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. ADGP and Disaster Responder members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables the Red Cross to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by

ADGP $1M Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; CMA CGM Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald's Corporation; Merck; Microsoft; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: ALDI; Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; DHL Supply Chain; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Albemarle Corporation; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Equitable; Fifth Third Foundation; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L'Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LKQ; Macy's, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Martin Marietta; Masco; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis; Old Dominion Freight Line; Pacific Life Foundation;; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Santander; Security Finance's Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Suburban Propane; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Yum! Brands; Zurich

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