This weekend, I received an update from our Disaster Action Teams that almost brought me to tears.

It didn’t initially sound like an unusual situation — a house fire, one of the most common disasters. But when our volunteers arrived, they found a home completely destroyed and residents standing outside who were caught so off guard that they left the house with nothing. Literally no clothes on their backs.

With frigid temperatures outside, our volunteers had to step in quickly to help the clients, which meant an emergency trip over to Wal-Mart to purchase clothing. After this, they went on to help with lodging, meals and other assistance.

Imagine for a moment the trauma of losing everything. The trauma of watching your home burn to the ground. The trauma of standing outside in freezing weather, naked. And then imagine the relief you’d feel if someone brought you warm clothes, a hot meal and arranged a safe place for you to spend the night.

That’s what we do for our clients, free of charge, every day. Want to be a part of making this happen? Consider becoming a Red Cross volunteer…or make a donation to help clients just like these all across our area.

Photo (not of the house in question) courtesy of ncpttmedia