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Local Red Cross Relief: 2,000 Miles to New Jersey
Local Red Cross Relief: 2,000 Miles to New Jersey 11/1/12
jsamp@cbs7.com
November 1, 2012
Midland, TX – It’s a long road to New Jersey and volunteers Charlie Watkins and Judy Enron are trained and certified to drive the Emergency Response Vehicle across the county to help residents who are still recovering from the devastating impact of super storm sandy.
So far nearly 4.7 million people are without power across 13 states and over 70 people have died in the U.S. alone.
Red Cross shelters are filled to capacity with thousands of victims who are displaced by the storm.
“I’m expecting that there will be a lot of emotional trauma from this,” said Judy Enron.
Judy grew up in New Jersey.
“Cousins still live in New York and New Jersey,” she said.
She says volunteering is one way she can avoid feeling helpless.
“Nobody knows what happened yet,” she said, “Nobody can get to those places.”
Volunteers will stock the truck when it arrives in New Jersey. The Midland-based truck is on of 230 truck nation wide.
“It’s the only way to get to the people to serve them hot food,” said Charlie Watkins.
Charlie says the same truck that brought aid to victims of the wildfires in West Texas is now helping flood victims in the northeast.
“When you drive into the community and people see these vehicles they feel a lot better,” he said.
“What are they going to think when they see Midland Texas on this vehicle?”
“You know our country has always pulled together from one end of America to the other on these disasters,” Watkins said, “The Red Cross is a good example of what people are willing to do.”
It’ll take Charlie and Judy three to four days to arrive in New Jersey.
They say many Red Cross volunteers will fly.
Stay with CBS 7 as we track their 2,000-mile travel.