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American Red Cross East Texas Open House with Helene Hurricane Efforts

American Red Cross East Texas Open House with Helene Hurricane Efforts

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – The East Texas chapter of the American Red Cross had the grand opening of its renovated facility on Friday.

“We got new windows, new doors, new floors, new ceilings. “Pretty much everything you see here is brand new,” says Karen Holt, executive director of the American Red Cross East Texas Chapter. “Thanks to our wonderful team, our facilities team, we’ve managed in really record-breaking time to ensure that, as you know, we can continue to provide services to our community, so we’re just delighted to be open again and doing so to continue to serve the community.”

They also celebrated the 107th anniversary of the American Red Cross in Smith County and throughout East Texas since World War I.

They provide life-saving blood products to the community and offer CPR and first aid training. Additionally, they are responding to disaster relief efforts and are currently undertaking efforts to transport disaster responders and supplies to assist those affected by Hurricane Helene.

“There are currently over 400 Red Cross volunteers on site and hundreds more on the way,” says Holt. “We’re supporting 10,000 people in multiple shelters, hundreds of shelters there, and we’re going to be here for the long haul. We know this is Florida, we know this is Georgia, but we are on the ground supporting this effort.”