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Red Cross Lowcountry outlines disaster response, blood needs and shelter volunteer shortage
Summary
Megan Silsbee, executive director of the American Red Cross Lowcountry chapter, told the board the chapter responded to over 300 local disasters in 2024, supplied 1,000+ free smoke alarms and collected more than 24,000 units of blood regionally; she urged officials to help recruit shelter volunteers and noted partnerships with emergency managers.
Megan Silsbee, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Lowcountry chapter, briefed the Southern Lowcountry Regional Board on the organization’s local services and volunteer needs.
Silsbee said the chapter responded to more than 300 local disasters in 2024—mostly home fires—and installed over 1,000 free smoke alarms across the Lowcountry last year. She said the Red Cross is a major supplier of blood products, and that in the Lowcountry the chapter ran more than 1,200 blood drives and collected over 24,000 units in 2024.
She described the Red Cross’s role in disaster sheltering as a partnership with state and local emergency managers: emergency managers identify shelter locations and the Red Cross provides volunteer staffing, supplies and victim support. Silsbee emphasized a local shortfall in trained shelter volunteers and asked jurisdictions to help build a volunteer pipeline; she cited a shelter boot‑camp partnership with Citadel cadets as an example of training models that can be replicated with local businesses or town staff.
Board members asked about how shelters are stood up and the role of local volunteers; Silsbee said the organization is scheduling meetings with mayors and emergency managers to establish direct lines of communication and to recruit volunteers. On blood donations, she directed residents to redcrossblood.org and said drives are searchable by ZIP code.
Silsbee closed by offering to share contact details and QR codes for the board to distribute to their jurisdictions and by thanking volunteers and local partners.
