Red Cross thanks volunteers

    Floods are always personal.  They’re personal for the people who wade through what’s left of their belongings or mourn what they’ve lost.  They’re personal for the volunteers who respond to those in need, and they’re personal for those on the sidelines who wonder why something so horrible could have happened to so many in our own communities. 

    As homes, businesses and towns were literally washed away, we have come to the realization that the face of many communities in Iowa and Illinois will never look the same.  However, there is one thing that remains unchanged: the Red Cross was there.  Since the flooding began, the Red Cross has opened 36 shelters, provided financial assistance to over 7,400 people, served over 756,000 meals and snacks and distributed over 176,000 bulk items such as gloves, masks, rakes and shovels. 

    We couldn’t do our work without the generosity of our donors – individuals, foundations and businesses who have turned their compassion into a collective call to action.  We would especially like to thank the following local businesses and organizations for their coordinated fundraisers and donations of $5,000 and up to the flood relief efforts:

    Alcoa Foundation, Bridgestone Bandag LLC, Cumulus Radio Stations, HSBC, IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union, John Deere Foundation, KWQC TV6, Lujack’s Northpark Auto Plaza, MH Equipment, Modern Woodmen of America, Moline Foundation, Muscatine Foods Corporation Charitable Foundation, Nestle Purina, Quad City Bank  and Trust, Quad City Radio Group, Quad-City Times, Rain and Hail, RSM McGladrey, Selective Insurance Co. of America, Stanley Foundation and SSAB of Iowa Charitable Foundation.

    Also, TransCanada Pipe?line, United Health Care, Valley Bank, Wells Fargo and WQAD Newschannel 8.

    We would also like to thank the thousands of Red Cross volunteers from our own communities – and communities across the United States – who touched so many lives in so many ways.  I encourage all of you to volunteer with the Red Cross and help transform the devastation a disaster wields.  When we step in and step up, we change lives, including our own.  Our communities have enabled us to take the everyday, practical, ordinary work of the American Red Cross and turn it into something truly extraordinary. 

Thank you!

Betsy Pratt, CEO, American Red Cross of the Quad Cities Area