Red Cross volunteer Sandi LoftisCLEVELAND, Tenn. — Changes within the American Red Cross mean more volunteers can get to disaster scenes anywhere in East Tennessee more quickly.
As the first anniversary of the April 27, 2011, tornado outbreak nears, Hiwassee Chapter Executive Director Julia Wright said volunteers from Bristol to Chattanooga have less bureaucracy to face when responding outside their chapter areas.
The change already was being planned when the tornadoes came last year and is part of a national Red Cross restructuring, she said.
So the Hiwassee Chapter, which now operates in five counties — with Monroe added to Bradley, Polk, Meigs and McMinn — could use some more volunteers.
Sandi Loftis, a volunteer since 2004, said even disasters in faraway places, such as New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, can have a local impact.