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'An opportunity to give': Red Cross volunteers take supplies from Louisville to eastern Kentucky

With hygiene products and medical PPE on board, crews hit the road within hours of getting the call to help provide disaster relief.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — All across Kentucky, volunteers are quickly stepping up to help communities ravaged by deadly flooding in eastern Kentucky.

The American Red Cross has five chapters within the commonwealth, and on Friday, Louisville's center sent several volunteers on the road -- with hygiene products and medical PPE on board.

Within 12 hours of receiving a call asking if she could make the trip, Cindy Keeney was already packing up supplies.

"[It's] an opportunity to give back -- it's an opportunity to do something in times of crisis," Keeney said.

For five years, Keeney has been on the Red Cross' on-call list for disaster relief, including for the aftermath in the tornado-ravaged parts of the state last winter.

Now, she and others have been asked to come forward once again.

"We're still reeling from the last one, and now we're going after it again," she said. "If you look backwards, you just can't go forward -- so you just keep going forward and manage the crisis as it happens."

Louisville Red Cross Communications Manager Remy Kennedy says they're providing shelter, food and water, but also mental health services for those battling through trauma across eight different shelters.

"They usually want someone to sit down with them and listen and just say, 'I'm really sorry this happened, and you are valid in how you feel,'" Kennedy said.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian organization Save the Children has a base in Madison County. And through more than 400 staff members, they're providing necessities for the kids impacted.

RELATED: 'No words'; JCPS teacher watches as eastern Kentucky floods ravage hometown

Shane Garver, head of Education, Hunger and Resilience work in the U.S. with Save the Children, said they have diapers, wipes, car seats and cribs.

But as of Friday afternoon, much of the damage remains underwater, meaning assessments still make up a large portion of relief efforts for groups like Save the Children. But Garver said they're supplying aid as quickly as possible.

"With more rain in the forecast yet to come, the sum total of the devastation isn't even visible to everyone just yet," he said.

Louisville's Red Cross chapter says the current group will be in eastern Kentucky for about two weeks, and they will rotate crews as needed from there.

For more information on their efforts, click here. To donate to the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund -- announced by Gov. Andy Beshear Thursday -- click here.

RELATED: Young girl, dog safe after being stranded on roof for hours during Kentucky flood

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