- FAST FACTS:
- -- Volunteers In Memphis To Help Flood Victims May Head To Joplin, Missouri
- -- Some Red Cross Workers Say They Are On Standby To Assist
- -- Volunteers Say They Feel Helping Those In Need Is Their Calling In Life
Maloney said, "My phone rang this morning about 8 o'clock. I'm on standby for Joplin, Missouri."
Maloney is a retired nurse from Florida. She's also a Red Cross volunteer who's come to Memphis to assist flood victims, but knows she may now be needed in Missouri.
Maloney said, "Who else will? I'm a retired nurse. I'm fortunate my home has never been affected by a disaster and people who have the time and I feel its almost my obligation to go out and help people who need help."
Joplin is a city that will need help, especially if it's like other disaster areas Maloney has recently visited.
Maloney said, "From Jackson, Mississippi I ended up in Tuscaloosa, tornadoes. From Tuscaloosa I ended up in... I can't remember, Chattanooga and then here for the flooding."
Kim Cribb is with the Mid-South Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Cribb said, "Basically, the local chapter first responds to the need and depending on if they need supplies, people, and they get that order and send people out. So a lot of the people you see here today may be going to Missouri in a day or two."
The Red Cross will provide more so than just food and supplies. Judi Sevel is a Red Cross mental health worker.
Sevel said, "The work that we do is to reach out to people experiencing stress. The same kind of intense effort will go on up there. It's just a lot and I'm tired and there's that other part of me you know my heart just breaks for them."
But it's heartbreaking work that Kathy Maloney says is her calling during times of need.
Maloney said, "I'm ready... 24 hours a day, 360 days a year(laughter).
The American Red Cross says because there have been so many disasters that it is always in need of volunteers.
