Several Red Cross volunteers from the Quad Cities are working on Labor Day to help victims of Hurricane Isaac. They are spending their holiday making sure victims are taken care of.
Sue Yoder of Davenport was dispatched from the Quad Cities to Tampa a week ago. Since Hurricane Isaac's did not leave behind a lot of damage in Tampa, Yoder was sent to Louisiana. She has spent the past few days making sure the hurricane's victims get the supplies they need.
"Right now we are moving between Port Allen and Baton Rouge, Louisiana," says Yoder, "We are getting our warehouse inventory squared away for our clients."
Sue Yoder has been a Red Cross volunteer for 22-years. She's been to other disaster zones and the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac is the latest one.
"There's quite a bit of flooding AND there have been some power outages. It is typical hurricane and weather issues going on with our clients down here," adds Yoder.
The Davenport woman drives trucks and moves supplies, such as food, that hurricane victims will need. The work is part of Yoder's job in the bulk distribution.
"We're housed in Baton Rouge, so that we have a facility to operate out. It helps us so we can get to these different communities and we can make sure that our clients get what they need," says Yoder.
She says the hardest hit areas are around New Orleans. Yoder is spending Labor Day setting up a new distribution center closer to where victims are.
"These folks are well versed in these types of incidents," Yoder adds, "They're just making sure that they're dealing with their daily issues and we're making sure we're assisting in that process by giving them the tools to move forward."
The days are long, even on holidays.
"We typically start out about 7:30am and can be done anywhere from 10 to 14 hours later."
Yoder says the long hours are worth it, which is why she has spent so many years helping disaster victims.
"We always get back more than we could ever give our clients and I think you'll find that statement to be true for the vast majority of people that go out and volunteer," says the Red Cross Volunteer.
