Local chapter of American Red Cross in need of volunteers

By Jennifer Becknell - jbecknell@heraldonline.com

Gina Amato is emergency services director for the Upper Palmetto chapter of the American Red Cross, which covers York, Chester and Lancaster counties. The Herald talked with Amato about her new role on the Red Cross National Disaster Advisory Council, made up of 13 people from across the country:

What S.C. disaster efforts have you assisted with?

The tornadoes last Easter weekend in Aiken and Greenwood. And then the wildfire a couple weeks after that in Myrtle Beach. What I try to do is find volunteers to man that operation.

What are some of the challenges you face?

We don't, in South Carolina, have enough volunteers if we have something big. Recruiting and training volunteers is a big task. People's lives change. If we had 15 nurses last year, we might have five this year. And a challenge is being able to get people to commit. If a disaster lasts two weeks, I would prefer someone who is going to be able to help for two weeks.

What disaster services do you provide locally?

For the most part, a local disaster is a single-family house fire. We have teams of volunteers in all three of our counties. If there's a fire at 3 in the afternoon, we have a team that's ready to respond. They make sure the immediate needs of that family are met.

Has the economy made your job more of a challenge?

Of course, because funding is down, and individual donations are down. And we don't get any federal money, period. If there's a fire and a family needs a place to stay, we need to put them up in a hotel.

Why did you want to serve on the national panel?

When we go out on a national disaster and there's not a lot of money, I worry that the families are not going to get the services they're entitled to. And I thought I could bring some insight to that because of the resources and the experience I've had.

To volunteer, call Amato at 803-329-6575, ext. 224.

Jennifer Becknell