Countywide : Local Volunteers Aid Storm Victims

Two Ventura County Chapter Red Cross volunteers are taking part in relief efforts to assist displaced residents of the hurricane-ravaged areas of Louisiana and Florida.

Santa Paula resident Sharon O’Bryant was dispatched last week to Red Cross relief headquarters in Miami, while Betty Jimenez of Oxnard is managing a service center in New Iberia, La.

O’Bryant and Jiminez are members of the American Red Cross Disaster Services Human Resources System. People in the program receive training in disaster relief and commit themselves to spending at least three weeks on an aid mission.

“Both of these people are key members of our disaster response team,” said chapter disaster services director Mike Goth. “They will bring back what they learn on this job and prepare our other volunteers to provide improved response services.”

Donations to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund can be made by mailing a check to: P.O. Box 25660, Ventura 93002-5660. Credit card donations can be made by calling (800) 842-2200, or (800) 257-7575 for Spanish-speakers.