Texas Tornado and Flood Response: Are You Ready to Go All In For Texas?

A Message from T.D. Smyers, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross North Texas Region

On June 2, our fellow Red Crossers around the nation will be asking Americans to give to our first-ever #allin1day fundraising effort to enable the American Red Cross to deliver help and hope to their friends and neighbors where the need is greatest.  Here in Texas, the greatest need is right here at home.

All across the state, severe weather, tornadoes and flooding have devastated neighborhoods and forced thousands of people from their homes since early May. The Red Cross has been there since the beginning to provide critical humanitarian relief the moment it’s needed. From EF-3 tornadoes in Cisco and Van, Texas to flooding in San Marcos and Houston that is still ongoing, we’ve provided a safe and dry place to stay, warm meals and comforting hugs for hundreds of our fellow Texans.

This is Emily Martinez, her husband and their 2-week-old son Nano. They are safe in a Red Cross shelter in San Marcos today after they woke up late last Sunday night to find a foot of water in their trailer home. They looked outside and saw the water rising.

“We were terrified. The water was so deep, and I was so scared,” said Mrs. Martinez. 

At the shelter, little Nano soon gained a surrogate aunt in Red Cross volunteer Jillana Holt-Reuter, “Gigi.” As Auntie Gigi held Nano, Mr. Martinez tells her how happy he is to have his family together.

“The Red Cross has been wonderful. I don’t know what we would do without their help. We have a safe place to sleep, food, friendly Red Cross friends and there are nurses here for us. We’re really very thankful.”

We’ve heard so many stories like the Martinez’s in our shelters all around Texas. We are privileged to be doing our part to help families on their road to recovery. 

Now we need your help as we continue responding to disasters big and small, like the tornadoes and floods in Texas. Visit RedCross.org/Donate or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS. We have a long way to go in this relief effort, part of more than 70,000 disasters the Red Cross responds to every year.

More than 2,000 Red Cross volunteers and staffers have worked on this massive relief operation, but all but 800 of them are actually from in-state. This is Texans helping Texans, answering the call when our neighbors need it the most.

Show your Support in the Social Space: 

Join us as we go All In For Texas. Use hashtag #allin4TX and change your social network icons to show your support! Below are some other ways to share.

For every Texan whose life you’ll touch with your support, THANK YOU.

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