Aiken Red Cross ready to assist in aftermath of Hurricane Sandy - WFXG FOX54 Augusta - Your News One Hour Earlier

High flooding; power outages; homes destroyed. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, volunteers across the country are packing up and rolling out to aid those who've become victims in her path. Here at the Aiken Chapter of the American Red Cross, disaster volunteers are waiting for the call to be deployed up north.

"Two volunteers are already stationed in New Jersey as we speak," said Joey Hutto, disaster service specialist of the Aiken Chapter of the Red Cross. "We have about five volunteers with our chapter that are available to go as we speak. We're just trying to see how we can get arrangements over there."

Debra Day is one of five volunteers on standby. She's packing clean up kits to help families clean up their flood-damaged homes.

"It's a great feeling to be able to get out there and help," Day said. "Even if it's just to wipe away a tear."

Day has been a volunteer since she was 16. But she says it wasn't until she was struck by a disaster that she knew exactly what these victims are going through. Day's house burned down earlier this year.

"It made a much much better responder out of me," Day said. "And you can either make it negative or positive and I believe that. I hated that I lost pictures; items that you can't replace as far as the children were concerned, but I didn't lose the children."

This week the Red Cross housed more than 11,000 people in 250 shelters. Seventeen-hundred disaster workers from all over the country are aiding victims. And Debra is anxiously waiting to be added to the list.

"I'm an American," Day said. "That's what we do. You know, it's as simple as that. That's what we do. We're taught to help our neighbors. We're taught to help our families."