Red Cross 'Digital Volunteers' Give You A Role In Disaster Relief
By Dan Wing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Even though Dallas, Texas and Philadelphia are nearly 1,500-miles apart, 8 volunteers with the South Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross are on the front lines, helping out with the storm response down there.
The Digital Volunteers effort is a pilot-program being run by the American Red Cross, and local spokesman Dave Schrader is among the volunteers taking part. He says the effort is focused on social media updates and interaction.
"Like what to do when a tornado siren goes off, where should you go, what are some important contact numbers for that region. Those are the types of things we might share with someone."
Schrader says a lot of the information they share also comes from reliable weather sources, and local officials to ensure that it's the right information.
"Making sure that information about how to be safe is out there in an effective, timely manner from people they can trust. And with the Red Cross, information you're going to get from us, you can trust."
And, as you might expect, Hashtags are a big part of the effort.
"Key words like tornado, severe weather, Texas weather," he said.
Schrader says volunteers from other cities may return the favor during the next emergency in the Philadelphia area.
