Community Corner

Long Lake Woman Wins Disaster Relief Award, Selected as Red Cross 'Hero'

Claudia Kelly has been deployed three times to assist with relief and cleanup in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy that hit New York in October 2012. She has been deployed to several other places at various times during her time serving with Red Cross.

Claudia Kelly of Long Lake has been named a recipient of the 2013 American Red Cross Heroes Awards. One of 10 Heroes in the Northern Minnesota Red Cross region, Kelly will receive the Disaster Relief award at the Fifth Annual American Red Cross Heroes Breakfast on Thursday, June 6, for exhibiting heroic efforts in response to a disaster/disasters.

“Claudia genuinely cares for the people she serves,” says Red Cross volunteer staffing manager Theresa Moerbitz, “and there is nothing self-serving in her dedication to her volunteer work.”

Kelly has been deployed three times to assist with relief and cleanup in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy that hit New York in October 2012. She has been deployed to several other places at various times during her time serving with Red Cross. Kelly takes the lead in her roles and has the initiative to do what is necessary to serve clients affected by disaster in any capacity. 

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“Claudia is one of those people that you just know you can rely on when there’s a disaster,” says Moerbitz, “she takes her role as a volunteer seriously and she truly lives and believes in the mission of the Red Cross to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.”

Kelly and the other 2013 Heroes will be honored at the 5th annual American Red Cross Heroes Breakfast on Thursday, June 6, at the Legends Club at Target Field in Minneapolis.The public is invited to attend, help recognize local heroes, and support local Red Cross programs and services. 

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Tickets and table sponsorships are available online at redcross.org/mn/minneapolis or by calling (612) 872-3207.

The American Red Cross Heroes Awards raise awareness about ordinary people whose extraordinary actions exemplify the Red Cross mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies. Each hero was nominated by a member of the community and selected by the 2013 Heroes Breakfast Nomination Committee. 

Sponsors for the 2013 Heroes Breakfast include presenting sponsor General Mills and additional sponsors CHS, Ecolab, Medica Foundation, Medtronic, St. Jude Medical Foundation, Thomson Reuters, Travelers, UnitedHealthcare and US Bank.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization—not a government agency—and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. 

Comprised of six community chapters, the Northern Minnesota Region serves 4.3 million people in 45 counties in northern Minnesota and three counties in western Wisconsin.

Learn more at redcross.org/mn/minneapolis.


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