Local Volunteer Works Hurricane Dorian Relief
Sonora, CA – When the American Red Cross put out a nationwide call for an IT specialist to assist with Hurricane Dorian relief efforts, a Mother Lode resident answered.
Achille Young from Valley Springs has been a Gold Country Region Red Cross volunteer since 2018. Region spokesperson Steven Walsh says Young is an intracule part of getting the communication system connected at temporary shelters helping those displaced by the tropical storm.
“Without this gentleman and his team, it’s dark essentially. We have to be able to communicate with each other quickly,” acknowledges Walsh.
The region includes 24 counties in Northeast California. Walsh explains how volunteers are deployed, stating, “Typically volunteers are on an airplane within 48 hours of being put on standby and they’re out there for two weeks doing their job.”
Walsh relays that Young will be relieved, and a new person will take his place on the crew, but not necessarily from the Mother Lode.
Currently, there are 28 staff and volunteers from the Gold County Region in various Southern cities in the U.S. Young is at a West Palm Beach, Florida temporary shelter with nearly 60 displaced people; most coming from the Bahamas. Below is a breakdown of those deployed from Northern California counties:
- Amador/Calaveras/Tuolumne counties: 1
- El Dorado/Placer/Truckee/Alpine counties: 6
- Siskiyou/Modoc/Shasta/Trinity/Lassen/Tehama counties: 7
- Sacramento/Yolo: 5
- San Joaquin/Stanislaus: 6
- Glenn/Colusa/Butte/Plumas/Sierra/Nevada/Yuba/Sutter counties: 3
Walsh adds donations that help the most are in the form of cash, as then supplies can be purchased when needed. For details on the different ways to donate, click here.
