Back St. Louis, Friday, September 30, 2005 – Over the last five weeks, all segments of the American Red Cross have mobilized in response to the historic needs caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The relief effort has resulted in significant contributions at both the national and local levels. The latest statistics include the following: Local Relief Efforts through the St. Louis Area Chapter: • EVACUEES IN ST. LOUIS: Beginning on Wednesday, August 31, St. Louis Area Chapter disaster services opened two Service Center operations, one at Corporate Square and one in Metro East. Through Thursday, September 29, caseworkers had met with 5,102 people (2,163 families) who made their way to St. Louis from areas affected by Katrina and Rita; Red Cross is providing emergency food, shelter, clothing, prescription medication, mental health counseling, and more based upon the needs of the family. Direct aid disbursed through the St. Louis Area Chapter totals $1.45 million to date. Nearly all evacuees have come to St. Louis because they have family and friends in the area. Red Cross is working with United Way of Greater St. Louis and local agencies to bridge from emergency needs to fulfillment of longer term needs. • VOLUNTEERS: Inspired to help those affected by Katrina’s devastating impact, over 4,000 new volunteers are now being processed and offered training through the St. Louis Area Chapter. Expanded volunteer training opportunities began on Wednesday, September 28, with 20 new training classes offered over the next week; over 450 people have registered so far, with more registering daily. More than 200 new volunteers have already attended orientation, with 50 percent immediately available for deployment. • VOLUNTEERS IN AFFECTED AREAS: The St. Louis Area Chapter has sent 30 highly trained disaster volunteers and staff to the affected areas along the Gulf Coast; 170 more trained disaster volunteers are on stand-by for deployment beginning next week. Each volunteer serves a two to three week assignment. **Many local volunteers have returned from assignment and are available for media interviews. In addition, Joe White, CEO the St. Louis Area Chapter will deploy to Louisiana for a leadership role on Sunday, October 2. To schedule interviews, please call 314.406.1920.** • PHONE BANK: Opened Tuesday, August 30, our toll-free phone bank was open for 18 days, staffed by nearly 200 people and serving over 8,200 callers. While many calls were from those who offered help (volunteer, donate, give blood), 13 percent of calls were from evacuees seeking help. While the phone bank has been deactivated, the toll free number remains active and is forwarded to and handled by our front office team. • ON-LINE ACTIVITY: Over 50,000 unique visitors visited the St. Louis Area Chapter web site, with over 2.4 million hits in the first 23 days. Through the Chapter web site, nearly 2,500 people have submitted Volunteer Applications; more than 2,100 people have made on-line donations, totaling $264,000. • DONATIONS: Through the generosity of individuals, community groups, corporations and foundations, the St. Louis Area Chapter has received over $13 million in contributions and pledges for hurricane relief efforts. While always thankful for all donations to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina, Red Cross is encouraging the community to also give to the United Way which supports many local organizations involved in the hurricane relief efforts. QUICK REFERENCE:  Red Cross contact information for the St. Louis area: For all inquiries—314.516.2800 or www.redcrossstl.org National Relief Efforts: • SHELTERS: In response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the American Red Cross has housed more than 400,000 survivors in more than 1,000 shelters across 25 states. As of Wednesday, September 28, more than 35,000 survivors were finding safety, food, water and comfort in 280 shelters. In addition, over 300,000 people in 48 states were able to get hotel accommodations on their own, but have now found that they cannot return home and are exhausting their financial resources; Red Cross is covering the hotel costs for these families for a period of time. • MEALS: The American Red Cross has served nearly 15 million hot meals and another 10.1 million snacks to survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita since before first landfall. • EMERGENCY SERVICES: In addition to providing more than 2.9 million overnight stays in shelters, preparing and distributing food and water, and processing and distributing supplies, the Red Cross has distributed nearly $603 million in direct financial assistance for more than 608,000 families. Assistance is provided in a variety of ways including client assistance cards, vouchers, checks and cash for survivors to purchase essential items; tens of millions of dollars of assistance continues to be provided each day. More than 368,000 survivors have received Red Cross mental health services, prescription replacement and first aid services delivered by trained mental health services and volunteer nurses. • VOLUNTEERS: More than 163,000 Red Cross relief workers have come from every corner of the United States to join thousands of local volunteers who responded immediately to help their neighbors in impacted areas. With tens of thousands of families needing our assistance for the foreseeable future, the Red Cross is rapidly augmenting its cadre of trained disaster volunteers by recruiting and training 40,000 new volunteers from across the country. • FAMILY LINKING: Evacuees and loved ones separated by this disaster can go to www.redcross.org or call 1.877.LOVED.1S. Over 280,000 people are now registered on the Red Cross Family Links Registry. In order to connect with all other linking registries, the American Red Cross recently partnered with Microsoft and the San Diego Super Computer Center to create KatrinaSafe.org, a super-list database that includes all names submitted through Red Cross on-line, by phone or through the registry of other web sites run by many organizations. • DONATIONS: Through September 28, the Red Cross had received $977.2 million in contributions and pledges. Approximately $1.104 billion has already been spent or committed to meet the emergency needs in the wake of Katrina; of this, nearly $603 million has been distributed for financial assistance for more than 608,000 families. At least 91 cents of every dollar donated to the American Red Cross goes directly to assist disaster victims. Charity Navigator awarded the Red Cross four-stars, its highest rating for donor stewardship, for the fourth year in a row. To help the survivors in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross estimates that more than $2 billion will be needed. We expect to meet the emergency needs of nearly one million people in three key areas: 1. The Red Cross will spend an estimated $744 million in food and shelter operations, including hot meals, snacks, drinks, cots, blankets, and supplies; 2. We are planning to give more than $1.4 billion in direct emergency financial assistance to individuals and families; and 3. We plan to provide $78.4 million in disaster-related physical and mental heath services, including replacing prescription medications, using our network of nurses and trained mental health counselors. Red Cross has no intention of raising a single dollar more than needed for the 2005 Hurricane Response, and will announce when sufficient funds have been raised, as was done most recently for the 2004 Hurricane Response and the Tsunami Relief Effort. Survivors will require the engagement of the entire charity sector, community groups and government at every level; therefore, Red Cross is urging the community to also support the United Way and the many charities engaged in long-term relief. In as much, Red Cross adopted a policy two weeks ago to not be the sole beneficiary of any hurricane relief telethons, instead insisting that they benefit the wider charitable community. • BRIDGE OF SUPPORT:  Red Cross is expediting resources to serve as the bridge of assistance to meet disaster needs until local, state and federal aid is available. We are working with government and other agencies and charities to assess longer term needs. • QUICK REFERENCE:  Red Cross national hotline information: For donations of time and resources--1.800.HELP.NOW For any general information--1.866.GET.INFO For blood donations--1.800.GIVE.LIFE For family linking--1.877.LOVED.1S All of these sources are available on line at www.redcross.org About the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter: Founded in 1917, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter provides emergency and preparedness assistance more than 397,000 times each year. The Red Cross depends on the efforts of thousands of volunteers and 140 staff to provide a wide range of community support services, including disaster relief, first aid and CPR training, water safety, adult daytime professional care, services to military personnel, assistance to homeless families, and support for blood services. The Chapter provides programs and services to St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson County in Missouri, as well as Monroe, St. Clair (including Scott Air Force Base) and part of Madison County in Illinois. # # #

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