Shelter of Hope visits Parkway Plaza

SPECIAL TO THE EAST COUNTY CALIFORNIAN

SPECIAL TO THE EAST COUNTY CALIFORNIAN

On June 3, CEO of the Red Cross of San Diego/Imperial Counties, Bill Earley, brought Shelter of Hope to East County at Parkway Plaza. Shelter of Hope is a disaster shelter designed to educate community members on what people go through when a disaster strikes their home and also on the services the Red Cross provides. Earley lived in the Shelter of Hope all last week and moved to different locations throughout the county. Some of the places he visited included, Petco Park, San Diego County Fair, and Kobey's Swap Meet. At Parkway Plaza, American Red Cross staff and community partners surrounded Shelter of Hope, and helped visitors have an incredible experience at each station. The Heartland Fire-Rescue firefighters gave demonstrations and instructions on hands-only CPR, the Red Cross Blood Mobile took blood donations to save lives that were in danger, and curious visitors took tours of the Shelter of Hope and learned why local disaster relief efforts are important.

Earley, originally from East County, had a great day at his Shelter of Hope and made new friends at his home field.

"We had a great day bringing our Shelter of Hope to East County,” he said. “Shelter of Hope is all about raising awareness about the services we provide each and every day, and we're happy to have been able to do just that in East County. We'd like to thank Parkway Plaza, Heartland Fire-Rescue, Sen. Joel Anderson's office and our dedicated volunteers for making it happen!"

Shelter of Hope also brought volunteers who shared their time to prepare our community for disasters.

"Our volunteers performed a smoke alarm installation at a local mobile home park where we were able to install dozens of lifesaving smoke alarms for residents," Earley said.

California State Senator Joel Anderson was grateful Shelter of Hope was available for his constituents in East County and provided Senate certificates of recognition for the Red Cross and the volunteers.

"It is impressive how Bill and his team are always finding creative ways to educate the community about disaster preparedness,” said Anderson. “The Red Cross of San Diego/Imperial Counties provides an invaluable service, and I am grateful they brought the Shelter of Hope to El Cajon."