With Alberta flooding, the Red Cross was not only inundated on the ground with requests for support, but it was also inundated online. Our social monitoring shows that more than 19,000 people tweeted the Red Cross in the first two weeks, and hundreds of others sent Facebook messages or blog comments. Through social, people shared information about how to donate to the Red Cross.
Many asked questions on how to access services. Others shared stories of how they were helped by the Red Cross. And many cheered on the more than 900 volunteers that were in Alberta to help the Red Cross.
An example of Jorge helping in social
To help manage this crush of social mentions and ensure that all questions were responded to, especially those in need of assistance, the Canadian Red Cross enlisted digital volunteers. The Canadian Red Cross had piloted a training program several months ago to train volunteers to use our social monitoring systems in disasters and many of those volunteers sprung into action. Other trained American Red Cross volunteers also supported our efforts.
One of the Canadians who supported us was Jorge Rosales.
Jorge is a Social Team Ambassador and has supported the Red Cross in various emergencies, such as Japan and Slave Lake. But, this time, the disaster hit close to home for him – literally because he lives in Calgary. Jorge works for the City and supported his work’s efforts in the response as well. After working around the clock in his job, he’d go home and help the Red Cross in social media by reaching out to others affected by the flooding and sharing important information or responding to questions. In addition to his daily support in social media, Jorge also went out with a team that was distributing relief supplies in one of the hardest hit areas. Finally, Jorge was invited to represent the Red Cross along with other volunteers and emergency responders as part of the Calgary Stampede parade.
Thank you, Jorge, for your support. The Red Cross is proud of the work of its volunteers!
Want to be a member of the Red Cross Social Team?
Read Jorge's blog post about his work with Canadian Red Cross in Alberta flooding.