STATEMENT: President Bush Praises Red Cross Response to Tornadoes

The following message is from Mary S. Elcano, Acting President and CEO

WASHINGTON, Saturday, February 09, 2008 — This week, the American Red Cross responded to one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. I want to thank all of our local chapters within the affected areas, and throughout our entire Red Cross family, for your hard work helping all those affected. Your caring and compassionate spirit has not gone unnoticed. Today, as part of his remarks in Lafayette, Tennessee, President Bush praised the Red Cross for its role.

To date, the Red Cross has opened 14 shelters, welcomed 492 overnight guests, and served 9,263 meals. Due to the scale of destruction caused by the storms, including loss of life, trained Red Cross mental health volunteers and grief counselors have been available to lend emotional support. Thanks in large part to our communicators and chapters in the field, the Red Cross has received a great deal of local and national press attention. FEMA Administrator Dave Paulison mentioned the Red Cross on TV, and we were highlighted in more than 25 national television stories and more than 200 local television stories, many of them about volunteers leaving to go to the disaster stricken areas. Our blog site devoted to providing information to the media about these tornadoes has received an average of 2,000 hits per day.

I've included the President's comments below. Thank you all.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Lafayette, Tennessee)

For Immediate Release February 8, 2008

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AFTER BRIEFING ON REGIONAL TORNADO DAMAGE

Lafayette Fire Department - Atwell & Scruggs Fire Station
Lafayette, Tennessee
10:12 A.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: Listen, I want to thank you for the briefing. People have got to understand here in the region that a lot of folks around America care for them. And I'm here to listen, to determine -- to make sure that the federal response is compassionate and effective. I don't want people to think something is going to happen that's not going to happen. And therefore when we say something is going to happen to help them get their feet back on the ground, it will happen.

Secondly, I am here to thank the people that will provide the compassion for people who hurt. I notice we've got the Red Cross sitting over there. They're good responders; they respond to help people in need.

Thirdly, I will make it clear to people here that I have no doubt in my mind this community will come back better than before. Macon County people are down to earth, hard-working, God-fearing people, who if just given a little help will come back stronger. So I want to thank you all for the briefing. Governor, again, thank you for being here. Appreciate the senators and congressmen joining us too.

The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.