Red Cross Seeks “Storm Victim” Actors for Drill
An outbreak of mock tornados will sweep across our area Saturday as part of a Red Cross mass-care disaster drill in sheltering and preparedness. Volunteer actors are needed in Texarkana to play the role of storm victims seeking shelter.
“Powerful thunderstorms, tornados and even wildfires are all a common occurrence across North Texas during summer,” said John Davis, Executive Director of Red Cross in Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas. “That’s why it’s imperative that the greater Texarkana area is prepared as possible in advance of such unpredictable events.”
Red Cross chapters across North Texas, including Texarkana, will practice the skills needed to step into action quickly, and help our community in the event of a disaster. The local chapter will activate a shelter at Williams Memorial United Methodist Church, located at 4000 Moores Lane in Texarkana, Texas. With the guidance of experienced Red Cross shelter workers and instructors, disaster volunteers will work through scenarios, and practice the necessary roles for running a Red Cross shelter such as storm victim registration, feeding and dormitory management.
[selfie]“Right now, we have the disaster trainees and logistics in place to carry out the drill. We just need shelter actors,” said Davis. “Including actual storm victim actors into the drill brings a real-world element of reality and surprise to the experience for the disaster workers in training. We hope the community will come out for an hour or so this Saturday to help create a more lifelike experience for the drill.”
Anyone interested in participating as actors should call Clare Francavilla at 903-490-9099, email her at Clare.francavilla@redcross.org. Families are encouraged to participate, and each actor will be given a role and scenario to play as a storm victim.
Actors are asked to gather at Williams Memorial United Methodist Church, Wesley Hall, located at 4000 Moores Lane, Texarkana, Texas 75503, this Saturday, June 7th at 2:30 pm. The relief shelter will open at 3:00 pm and close by 4:30 pm.
“Without question, this drill will help the Red Cross and the greater Texarkana area to be better prepared for future disasters”, said Davis. “The more we train through exercises like this one, the more we can help our neighbors when they truly need us.”
