When the path of Hurricane Harvey became more apparent, our Red Cross volunteers got ready to help. It was clear that local volunteers and resources will be completely overwhelmed even before the rain began and Red Cross rallied national resources knowing that the need would be tremendous. Similarly, when Hurricanes Irma, Nate and Maria threatened, resources were mobilized and deployments began. Then came the Las Vegas shooting followed by the disastrous California wildfires.
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| Two Northern Colorado volunteers prepare to leave for Florida. |
Volunteers from across the country, including 37 from northern Colorado, stepped up to support the communities that were impacted. As conditions deteriorated, thousands of volunteers rearranged their lives, said good bye to families and travelled long distances to provide comfort and hope to the people impacted by these storms. More than 18,500 trained Red Cross disaster workers, 91 percent of them volunteers, mobilized to support disaster relief operations including the hurricanes in the southeast, wildfires in the west and, of course, the mass casualty shooting in Las Vegas.
In three months, our responders provided more overnight stays than the Red Cross had provided in the previous 5 years combines. We served more than 10 million meals and delivered 6 million relief items.
One volunteer from northern Colorado deployed as a driver for our Emergency Response Vehicle and quickly acknowledged that, while the work was hard and the days were long, he was happy that he could help people get their lives back together.
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| Northern Colorado volunteers load the Emergency response vehicle before heading to Florida. Don’t forget the rubber waders. |
Meanwhile, thousands more remained at home to carry on the day-to-day work of the local chapters. They continued to install free smoke alarms, taught CPR/First aid class, brought The Pillowcase Project to local schools, helped military members, their families and veterans and supported families devastated by home fires.
It is the volunteer that makes the Red Cross mission doable. Without them our humanitarian work could not be done. Likewise, were it not for the generosity of donors, the mission of the Red Cross could not be met. As Gino Greco, CEO for the Colorado and Wyoming once said, “Volunteers are the engine of the Red Cross mission and donors provide the fuel that keeps the engine running.”
With that in mind we want to thank our Northern Colorado volunteers, those who deployed to the disaster areas and those who remained at home to carry on the local mission. We also want to thank our donors, like Noble Energy, who saw the need and stepped up to support our humanitarian effort with a donation of $500,000. Without their support we could not have accomplished all that we did.
About Noble Energy
Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with a diversified high-quality portfolio of both U.S. unconventional and global offshore conventional assets spanning three continents. Founded 85 years ago, the company is committed to safely and responsibly delivering our purpose: Energizing the World, Bettering People’s Lives®. For more information, visit http://www.nblenergy.com.
