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08-25-04
Local Businesses Lend Helping Hand to Polk County
Tampa, FL ., - Local organizations are combining efforts to help our neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley. Together, 9Seconds of Tampa Bay and Digital Three in Sarasota have joined forces to assist the Polk County Chapter of the American Red Cross in maintaining and updating the chapter’s website.
The website helps the Red Cross to disseminate information to clients in Polk and Highlands county. With the massive relief effort underway, the local staff of Red Cross needed help in keeping the most up to date critical information available to residents affected by Charley. The website offers a list of mobile feeding stations, shelter locations and various services available to residents during the aftermath of Charley. In addition, the site offers family disaster preparedness plans, hazard information and ways you can help them in the relief efforts.
9Seconds and Digital Three have been working with the local chapter since the day after the hurricane. The founders of 9Seconds, Ray Gonzalez and Cindy Russell have been volunteering their time with Polk Counties Red Cross since Saturday. They have worked as part of damage assessment teams and by going into the areas most affected and delivering much needed supplies such as water, food, baby products and personal care items. “Watching the news coverage on Saturday, I could not just sit there while our neighbors were hurting”, says Russell. “I felt a need to be there, to do whatever I can. After all, this was supposed to our hurricane!”
Digital Three stepped up to allow Gonzalez and Russell the opportunity to spend the week volunteering their time. Nick Burch and the staff at Digital Three have been covering any needs or concerns for clients of 9Seconds. “Like most Floridians I wanted to be able to do my part and by helping 9Seconds be free to give of their time, it was the next best thing to me actually being there,” said Burch of Digital Three.
The local Red Cross chapter in Polk County has been working day and night since the hurricane made landfall on Friday, August 13 th. While immediate needs were being met in the days following the hurricane, Gonzalez of 9Seconds noticed the chapters website did not offer any current information. “I spoke with the person responsible for the maintenance of the website and because of communications problems and being busy setting up networks at new relief locations, they had been unable to update the website,” says Gonzalez. “Since websites are a large part of what 9Seconds and Digital Three do everyday, I saw the need and knew we could fill it.”
Renee Arocho, Director of Public Relations for Polk County Chapter of the American Red Cross said, "The Polk County Chapter of the American Red Cross appreciates the selfless efforts of all the individuals who have come from all over the Tampa Bay area to assist here in Polk County. If it wasn't for those people, we would not have been able to bring relief to victims as quickly as we did.” Says Arocho, “ We owe a special thank you to the people at 9Seconds and Digital Three, who have not only volunteered in relief efforts, but have also volunteered to help keep the Red Cross (Polk County) website current with Hurricane Charley information and assisted in a Public Affairs capacity."
If you would like to see how you or your organization could help those affected by Hurricane Charley you can visit the Polk County Red Cross online at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org or by calling 1-863-294-5941.
9Seconds, www.9seconds.com, is a full service integrated marketing communications company offering business and marketing consulting services, search engine optimization, integrated marketing, advertising and public relations - for less than you'd think.
Digital Three is a full-service multimedia house specializing in every aspect of visual communication available today. Visit them online at www.digitalthree.com
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American Red Cross
Polk County Chapter
147 Ave. A NW
Winter Haven, FL 33881
863-294-7460
Renee Arocho
rarocho@polkredcross.org
9Seconds
2546 Fentress Place
Holiday, FL 34691
727-934-7460
cindy@9seconds.com
Digital Three
1998 Adams Lane
STE. 204
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-330-9159
nick@digitalthree.com
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"On behalf of AMISTAD America, Inc. and the officers and crew of Freedom Schooner Amistad, I’d like to thank you for all of your hard work during Amistad’s St. Petersburg port visit, Your diligence and graciousness were pivotal in ensuring the success of our visit and the happiness and comfort of the crew"
-Marge Kuhlmann
AMISTAD America
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