TOWN OF HOUNSFIELD, New York (WWNY) – A North Country member of the American Red Cross is making her way overseas and she’s hoping to make a difference.
Cortney Shatraw serves as the Red Cross’ Eastern New York’s Information and Planning Lead, but for the next month, she’ll be focusing on disaster relief.
Saturday, she departed Watertown International Airport for the first leg of her journey to Guam. The Island recently suffered power outages, flooding, and other damage from a Category 4 Typhoon.
During her stay, Shatraw will be assessing the destruction in order to optimize recovery efforts. This will be her 16th disaster relief operation, and she tells us it probably won’t be her last.
“It feels good. My mission in life is to serve those impacted by disasters. Every time they send me on a plane, it’s mixed excitement and nervousness because I don’t know what I’m going to. An expression, they say, is if you’ve been to one disaster, you’ve been to one disaster. Each one is different and they come with different challenges,” said Shatraw.
Shatraw says she expects to be in Guam for around 20 days, but she could end up staying longer.
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