SANTA ROSA – Two volunteers from American Red Cross, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties have headed to Texas to help those affected by the destructive forces of Hurricane Dolly.

Susan Sattui of Santa Rosa and Kenneth Reynoldson of Gualala are the first two local, trained Red Cross volunteers to deploy to San Antonio, in the southern part of the state.

Sattui will be helping to feed people in large shelters. Reynoldson expects to drive throughout affected areas to distribute clean-up supplies such as buckets, mops, bleach, as well as personal toiletries for adults and children. Both will be working on the job for three weeks, the standard length for Red Cross disaster deployments.

The volunteers know they will be facing a “hardship assignment.” That can take many forms; in this case, they can expect high heat and humidity, as well as power outages, that may make their work more difficult.

Additional local volunteers may be deploying to the area in the next week, depending on requests from the national Red Cross and availability of trained volunteers.

Community members who wish to volunteer on similar Red Cross assignments can get trained for free in a variety of classes by the local Red Cross. They often gain experience by volunteering to respond to small local disasters, such as single family fires, that take place throughout our two counties each year.

To learn about classes, they can visit www.arcsm.org and click on “Course Registration.” They can also call the Red Cross at 577-7600 (Sonoma County), or 463-0112 (Mendocino County).

Expenses for volunteers who serve on national disasters are paid for by the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund. Support for local operations of the Red Cross, including disasters such as single family fires, is provided by residents of Sonoma and Mendocino County.

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