Red Cross does not need item donations for Joplin tornado victims

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The American Red Cross’ job has gotten a little bit harder this week.

Their Southeast Missouri volunteers are already working closely with those displaced from their homes due to flooding. But as Cheryl Klueppel, the chapter’s Executive Director explains, the group is also reaching out to Joplin area residents affected by the recent tornado.

“Our Red Cross has mobilized volunteers to help families, to be of support, to shelter, provide mental health, health services to families in the Joplin area,” Klueppel said.

Klueppel says the Red Cross is not currently in need of item donations. But those interested in giving other types of aid can make a monetary donation at redcross.org or call 211 to volunteer their time with partnering organizations.

Cara Wilson, KRCU

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Red Cross lends flood victims a helping hand

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Southeast Chapter of the Missouri Red Cross has been providing food and shelter for families that have been displaced due the flooding in Southeast Missouri and Illinois.

The Red Cross has partnered with other local shelters in order to meet as many people’s immediate needs as possible. This has kept the Red Cross from completely tapping out all their disaster funds.

Sara Gerau handles public affairs for the Southeast Chapter and she remarked at how much help these other shelters have been.

"With Southeast Missouri I think it shows what a tight knit community we have down in this area because a lot of people are with family and friends, church family members that type of thing," Gerau said. "Also, there’s been some other agencies that have stepped up and provided hotel stays for individuals so they’ve been able to stay in hotels for a few nights so that’s helped as well."

As of Sunday, May 1, the Southeast Chapter had a total of 853 people registered with them, had served 9,636 meals and over 10,400 snacks.

The Red Cross will continue to help those in need even after the flood waters recede. They will send out their Disaster Action Teams in order to assess damages and start helping on a case by case basis.

Katie Long, KRCU

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SEMO Red Cross and St. Francis Medical Center receive MFH grants

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - St. Francis Medical Center and the Southeast Missouri chapter of the American Red Cross received grants from the Missouri Foundation for Health on Wednesday.

A two-year, $100,000 grant was given to the Red Cross to provide basic support for services and assistance to victims of disasters based on their needs, educating the public on prevention and survival, and training volunteers, according to Cheryl Klueppel, the executive director for the American Red Cross - Southeast Missouri chapter.

"We are so pleased and grateful to the Missouri Foundation for Heath for recognizing the need and recognizing the support that the American Red Cross can provide in the Southeast Misssouri area to help address and support some of the health needs in the Bootheel area. So we are very grateful," Klueppel said.

This is the second time the Red Cross chapter received the grant. The Red Cross chapter serves 11 counties from Perry County to the Bootheel.

St. Francis Medical Center's grant totalled $149,959.

Part of the grant money will be used to continue their youth programming at local schools, where they train high school students to go to elementary, middle, and high schools and talk to students about tobacco use, according to Terry Baker, the Tobacco Prevention Manager at St. Francis Medical Center, said.

“Advocating for healthier communities and to really show the students and the community that tobacco use is not a norm in our communities. Most people don’t smoke. And kind of establish that and help reduce the initiation of tobacco use among our youth,” Baker said.

It will also be used to implement Project Smokebusters in several area schools.

The local grants are part of a $7 million round of funding approved by MFH’s board.

Rachel Weatherford, KRCU

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Blood supplies low after winter storms

The massive winter storms that pummeled much of country had a devastating effect on Red Cross blood collection efforts. Nationally, 850 blood drives were cancelled and over 32,000 pints of blood were not collected. In the Missouri-Illinois region alone, 73 blood drives were put on hold and 3,400 pints of blood were not donated.

The Red Cross’s Lori Nehring says that January collection numbers were so bad that it set records for futility.

"We hadn’t seen this low of a donation period in any given January in the last 10 years," Nehring says. "So we’re hoping that now that the weather has broke that people are going to start coming out and we’re going to get back to where we need to be regarding our blood supply."

Nehring says that blood drives and donation centers are staying open for extra hours to accommodate more people to give blood throughout the region.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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