Albany, NY - (March 1) - Noon- Updates from the American Red Cross of Northeastern New York:

Greene County shelters closing

Under the guidance of local emergency management officials, the American Red Cross of Northeastern New York (ARCNENY) has closed our remaining two shelters in Greene County (located in the towns of Freeehold and Hunter). The Red Cross will reactivate the shelters if local emergency management officials determine a need.


Residents with ongoing emergency needs should call their local police department or the Red Cross at (518) 458-8111 for assistance.

The Red Cross is actively seeking volunteers and financial donations to assist with disaster relief efforts in their eight-county service area. For more information or to make a donation to support local, national or international disaster relief, call (518) 458-8111 or visit www.redcrossneny.org.

National American Red Cross pledges initial $50,000 in aid to Chile relief effort

The American Red Cross is responding to this weekend´s strong earthquake in Chile with an intial pledge of $50,000 from the International Response Fund for Red Cross relief operations in Chile. The Red Cross global network also dispatched a regional disaster specialist to Santiago, the Chilean capital. Regional Red Cross disaster teams in Latin America have been alerted, and one team from now in en route to Chile. This latter includes an American Red Cross disaster expert based in Panama.

As with January´s devastating earthquake in Haiti, the American Red Cross stands ready to help the Chilean Red Cross with additional assistance should they need it. The American Red Cross provides assistance at the request of the Red Cross in that country. At this point, the Chilean Red Cross has not asked for additional international support.

The Chilean Red Cross has extensive experience responding to earthquakes and other disasters. They immediately activated their disaster teams following Saturday´s massive earthquake and continue to work in close coordination with the government´s National Emergency Office.

About the American Red Cross of Northeastern New York
Since 1910, ARCNENY has given relief to victims of disasters and helped people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Last year, nearly 1,000 residents of the greater Capital Region received free, emergency assistance by ARCNENY after disasters such as fires, floods, and power outages. Each year, more than 40,000 greater Capital Region residents learn to save lives through Red Cross CPR, water safety, first aid and emergency preparedness classes; and hundreds of local military families receive support and emergency communications services.

The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money and blood from the American people to do its work. An average of 92 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. For more information about your local Red Cross and our 100 years of service, visit www.redcrossneny.org or call (518) 458-8111.