Lynchburg, VA, February 17, 2010 – The Southwest Virginia Region of the American Red Cross received a gift that will aid in preparing for the future.

 

Since the winter storm of December, the chapters of the Southwest Virginia Region have been very busy in the business of sheltering. Much of southwest Virginia was hit hard by the storms that have brought snow, ice, sleet and high winds. Power outages have been prevalent for days to weeks and the American Red Cross, working with local partners have responded by opening numerous shelters as safe havens.

 

For the next two days trucks will be arriving at Forestry Equipment of Virginia (FEVA) to pick-up 1,400 cots being donated to the Red Cross by this company. The cots will be delivered to various storage areas to centralize shelter supplies and increase the capability of chapters to respond locally when shelters are needed.

 

According to Historic Virginia Chapter’s Emergency Services Director, Doug Eggleston, “This gift from FEVA will truly give chapters in our region an opportunity to prepare for whatever comes next that might call for a shelter opening. We will be placing cots in storage in every county we service to increase our speed in opening shelters.”

 

“Chapters having access to an additional supply of cots that are located close to established shelter sites will certainly benefit our communities. Not only will it aid in providing more supplies to accommodate more clients, it will also cut the time needed to get a shelter up and running,” stated Eggleston.