American Red Cross phlebotomist Darrell Boyd of S. Euclid, Ohio, right, looks for a vein on regular blood donor Vince Vargo of Austintown during the American Red Cross blood drive at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Wednesday afternoon...by R. Michael Semple

With hurricanes hitting several Southern states, people in other parts of the country can help relief efforts by giving blood, volunteering or making monetary donations to the American Red Cross.

Hurricane Helene, which made landfall two weeks ago, has caused damage in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and Hurricane Milton began to hit parts of Florida on Wednesday and evacuations have taken place.

Officials from the American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley — which serves Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Portage, Summit and Medina counties — said blood drives have been busy in Northeast Ohio.

Christy Peters, regional communications manager for American Red Cross Northeast Ohio, said in Florida and other states, blood drives have been canceled because of the hurricanes.

She said residents can donate blood at any local blood drive. Donations will first be used locally, but if there is a need in other states because of the hurricanes or other disasters, the blood will be sent there.

“The No. 1 way people can help is by donating blood,” Peters said.

She said volunteering is another way to help, with several people from the Mahoning Valley helping in areas hit by Hurricane Helene on behalf of the Red Cross.

She said people can go to the American Red Cross website and see what the requirements are and how to sign up to volunteer.

She said the organization is waiting to see the extent of damage from Milton and what the needs will be. When that is determined, volunteers likely will help people get food and medicine and make sure they are safe and have shelter. Cleanup efforts also are initiated after the hurricanes pass, Peters said.

“We have emergency response teams who help wherever needed,” she said.

LOCAL DONORS

Rich Perrine, account manager for ARC Northeast Ohio who oversees blood collections, said people who donate blood locally can download the Red Cross app, which shows the journey of where their donated blood goes to help someone.

“I have told people not to be shocked if they see that their blood went to North Carolina or Florida. There is a big need in other areas where the blood drives have all been canceled because of the hurricanes,” Perrine said.

He said people are happy to learn their donation may be helping hurricane victims or children in a hospital pediatric unit.

Perrine said the Red Cross website has a live feed of how the disaster recovery teams and volunteers have been helping with the hurricane relief effort. He said he is pleased many local blood drives are taking place in Northeast Ohio, including Trumbull and Mahoning counties.

“The most loyal people you can meet are those who give blood,” he said.

To find an upcoming blood drive in your area, visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive.

To help local high school students, any blood drive held at a public school allows those schools to earn scholarship dollars.

“Every two seconds in the United States, someone needs blood,” Perrine said.

Peters said monetary donations always can be used. Ways to donate can be found on the American Red Cross website.