Hospital employees raise funds
to support Typhoon Haiyan relief
PRESQUE ISLE — Employees at TAMC led a local effort to ease widespread devastation in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. The storm, which occurred Nov. 8, left many throughout the Philippine Islands scrambling to find food, shelter and clean water.
Photo courtesy of TAMC
TYPHOON RELIEF — Kerri Watson-Blaisdell, left, communication specialist at TAMC and a local Red Cross board member, presents proceeds from TAMC’s recent Typhoon Haiyan relief effort to Joyce Knorr, Aroostook County branch manager of the American Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter.
In response to this international crisis on a local level, TAMC joined with the community to give back by partnering with the American Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter in helping to collect over $300 to support those in need. TAMC served as a monetary donation site for relief efforts for one week beginning Nov. 29.
“We here at TAMC felt strongly that we had to do something to assist those affected by this awful storm. Often times when things happen so far away from home, it’s easy to think that there’s not much that can be done to help,” said TAMC President and CEO Sylvia Getman. “We want to show people that the concept of community extends beyond geographic borders.”
The funds collected from the effort will be used to purchase and distribute relief items such as food, blankets, hygiene kits and mosquito nets, as well as to provide cash grants for use as markets begin functioning normally.
Since landfall of the storm, 10 American Red Cross disaster relief specialists have deployed to the Philippines, including a shelter specialist and a five-person team, joining the global Red Cross Emergency Response Team to assist with distributing relief supplies to affected communities. This is in addition to four specialists from the American Red Cross who arrived in the Philippines shortly after landfall to work on damage assessment and telecommunications.
“The Red Cross is dedicated both locally and internationally to providing relief to those folks that have been hit by this tragedy. Numerous families have been displaced by this storm, and it is our duty at Red Cross to reach them with supplies and aid as quickly as possible,” said Joyce Knorr, American Red Cross Aroostook County branch manager. “We are thrilled here in Aroostook that TAMC came forward to help those in dire need of assistance in the Philippines.”
Although the TAMC drive for Typhoon Haiyan relief has come to an end at the hospital, TAMC would like to continue to encourage others to give back whenever possible. Donations are always being accepted in support of Red Cross efforts locally and nationwide.
For more information about the American Red Cross or to help support local Red Cross efforts, contact Knorr at 493-4620, ext. 501. Donations should be made payable to the American Red Cross Pine Tree Chapter, 7 Hatch Drive, Caribou, Maine 04736.
