Uncasville resident helping Red Cross respond to Hurricane Harvey
An Uncasville resident is among five American Red Cross volunteers from Connecticut who have headed to Texas, where Hurricane Harvey is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm.
It won’t be the first out-of-state trip for Donna Hathaway. In September 2013, she traveled to Colorado, where she worked in health assessment and referral services for people affected by large-scale flooding, according to an article in The Day.
At the time, a Red Cross spokesman described Hathaway as a “seasoned volunteer.”
Hathaway also has volunteered locally. In 2011, she was on hand as a volunteer nurse at a shelter set up in Groton for those evacuated in the wake of Hurricane Irene. She also donated her time at a shelter set up in East Lyme when a blizzard struck the region in January 2015.
Hathaway couldn’t be reached Friday to speak about her most recent assignment.
According to a news release, the Red Cross is preparing a large response as Harvey looms off the coast. It’s also urging everyone in the path of the hurricane, which will be the first to strike Texas in almost nine years, to prepare.
More than 17 shelters have been stocked with cots, blankets and other supplies and staffers are ready to open them if necessary, according to the release. The shelters have the capacity to help thousands of people. The humanitarian organization also has activated more than 30 Red Cross emergency vehicles, with about 20 more on alert.
Other Connecticut volunteers heading to Texas include: Stefanie Arcangelo of Cheshire, Neil Brockway of Hartford, David Kemp of Vernon and Warren Saloman of North Haven.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross, visit redcross.org, call 1 (800) RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
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