What is American Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter?
American Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter engages dedicated, local volunteers to care for their neighbors, train people in life-saving skills, help communities prepare for emergencies, respond to local disasters, and provide support for members of our armed forces and their families.
All Red Cross disaster and armed forces emergency services are free, made possible by generous donations from individuals, organizations, and corporations that recognize the importance of helping those in need. These services include disaster services, services to Armed Forces, blood and biomedical services, health and safety training, and international services.
Who does American Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter serve?
American Red Cross makes no discrimination as to race, nationality, citizenship, religious belief, class, or political opinion. Our mission is to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.
American Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter is one of three chapters in the Mississippi region. Every county is assigned to a Red Cross chapter. This Southeast Chapter covers:
- Attala, Choctaw, Clarke, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Leake, Marion, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Pearl River, Perry, Scott, Smith, Stone, Wayne, and Winston counties.
The Southeast Mississippi Chapter provides service delivery through five full-service offices in Gulfport, Pascagoula, Hattiesburg, Laurel and Meridian, with military stations at Keesler Air Force Base (Biloxi), Camp Shelby (Hattiesburg) and Naval Air Station Meridian, and unstaffed volunteer service centers in Louisville, Lucedale, Philadelphia, Waveland, Waynesboro and Wiggins.
The Laurel office is staffed by trained volunteers. The Laurel office, while available to provide volunteers and material support throughout the 28-county chapter area, primarily provides disaster response and other services to residents of Covington, Jasper, Jones, Smith, and Wayne counties. Health and Safety training classes are fee-based and those fees vary by class and class size. In 2019, American Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter served more than 12,000 individuals directly, including victims of single- or multi-family fires. Red Cross volunteers also install free smoke alarms in homes without any charge.
How do I contact American Red Cross Southeast MS Chapter?
Physical Address: 401 W. Oak St., Laurel, MS 39440 Phone: 601-426-9071 Fax: 601-426-9071 *NOTE: This office is not currently staffed.
Contact Person: John McFarland, Executive Director at [email protected], or Terry Holloway, Laurel office manager, at [email protected].
SE MS Headquarters Mailing Address: 612 East Pass Road, Gulfport, MS 39507 Phone: 228-896-4511
Hattiesburg Office: 2020 Hardy Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 Phone: 601-582-8151
Pascagoula Office: 2210 Market Street, Pascagoula MS 39567 Phone: 228-762-2455
Meridian Office: 1815 HWY 39 Suite C, Meridian MS 39301 Phone: 601-485-5151
Website: www.RedCross.org/Mississippi
Programs provided by American Red Cross of Southeast Mississippi Chapter:
The programs provided by American Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter include:
- Disaster Cycle Services: The Red Cross provides shelter, food, health services, mental health counseling, referral services, and financial assistance to help families and communities recover from disasters, whether that disaster is a single or multi-family fire or tornadoes, floods or hurricanes affecting the entire community.
- Services to Armed Forces: The Red Cross helps military members, veterans, and their families prepare for, cope with, and respond to challenges or military service, including emergency communications; pre- and post-deployment counseling; training; support to wounded warriors through our work in veterans’ hospitals; and services to help veterans – including homeless veterans – gain access to community resources.
- Blood and Biomedical Services: The Red Cross is the largest single supplier of blood and blood products, providing almost half the nation’s blood supply. The Biomedical division’s research and testing ensured a ready supply of safe blood products.
- Health and Safety Training: The Red Cross is the nation’s leading provider of health and safety training courses, such as First Aid, CPR, AED, and Water Safety Training.
- International Services: The American Red Cross is part of the world’s largest humanitarian network with more than 13 million volunteers in 190 countries. Working together, we help respond to disasters, build safer communities, re-unite families separated by natural disaster or civil strife, and educate future humanitarians. Each year International Red Cross volunteers reach an average of more than 100 million people around the globe.
Become a Red Cross Volunteer
Across the nation, the American Red Cross relied on more than 307,000 trained volunteers in 2019, more than 525 in Southeast Mississippi. Under the direction of a small professional staff, these trained volunteers manage shelters, drive emergency response vehicles to deliver food and emergency supplies to disaster victims, respond to house fires, install free smoke alarms, staff five offices, maintain a fleet of vehicles, provide logistical and IT support, raise funds, work with local officials and media, support blood drives, teach health and safety classes, and provide a variety of other services.
To become a volunteer, call the nearest Red Cross office or visit www.redcross.org and select the “Volunteer” tab. After providing your local contact information, a local Red Cross volunteer specialist will contact you to determine your interests and arrange training.
