With Floods in the Northwest, wildfires in Arizona, tornadoes across the South and most recently, the deadly tornado in Joplin, MO, this year has been a devastating one for people across the US. In the last two months alone, the American Red Cross has opened up 260 emergency shelters across the country, compared to 200 shelters total last year. Plus, more than 12,000 Red Cross volunteers from all 50 states have launched 41 separate relief operations in 28 states since March 31.

As the manager of external affairs & community relations here at Delta, when these disasters happen I typically hear first from Delta people, asking “What can I do?” followed closely by “What is Delta doing?”

In many cases, the immediate need is for money to fund relief quickly. To donate, we encourage our customers to give to the American Red Cross to help with ongoing relief efforts.

In the case of Joplin, there was an additional immediate need we at Delta could provide. After plans for its original relief flight with 200 volunteers from Home Depot fell through, they asked Delta if we could help. This meant much to the company, as the Home Depot in Joplin was destroyed in the tornado. Through the heroism of an assistant store manager, more than 40 people survived. Unfortunately, Home Depot lost an associate who was trying to save a father and his two young children. 

In response, today we’re sending a charter aircraft to Missouri, bringing these volunteers to perform a number of activities, including installing “Blue Roofs” (blue tarps) over damaged homes, removing debris, and general clean-up.

We’re also transporting 10,000 pounds of cargo donated by Georgia Pacific, including paper plates, cups, utensils, napkins and other paper products. They’ll be provided to Convoy of Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to children’s feeding programs, community outreach and disaster response in Joplin and other communities around the world.

For more on how you can help, visit our Delta Force for Global Good page.

Frank W.

General Manager, External Affairs & Community Relations