Mainers, your community and your country need your help. The American Red Cross is currently providing aid and comfort to people along the Gulf Coast as the affects of Hurricane Isaac linger.

We were in these communities before Isaac hit, and we’ll be helping people for weeks to come by providing food, shelter, relief supplies, and other forms of support. In fact, more than 30 Red Cross volunteers from every corner of Maine — your friends and neighbors — have joined thousands of others deployed to lend their time and talent to the relief efforts.

We need your help now.

After a busy summer of helping people affected by wildfires, power outages, and floods, Red Cross resources are stretched thin. Relief services for Isaac could cost tens of millions of dollars.

As a point of reference, just last year, Red Cross relief efforts for Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee alone cost $18 million.

All assistance provided by the Red Cross is free of charge and made possible by the generosity of the American public. As Mainers answered the call for help after last year’s storms, we’re asking you to display your generosity once again to not only allow us to continue our work on the Gulf Coast, but to equip the Red Cross with the tools we need to respond when, not if, the next disaster strikes.

Your gift will have a direct impact on the lives of those who have been shaken by tragedy. As little as $40 can supply meals for a family of four for one day, $50 can buy four days of supplies for an infant whose family has been left without basics like diapers, wipes, and formula, $100 can buy cleanup kits for five families whose homes have been damaged (including a mop, broom, trash bags, and cleaning supplies). Put simply, the need is real and your generosity can help us meet it.

To donate, people can visit www.MaineRedCross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733- 2767) or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

As the storm subsides and the public’s attention on its impact wanes, victims are still left to pick up the pieces after the devastation left in Isaac’s wake. They need our help now more than ever.

Allen Campbell, chairman

Maine State Board,

American Red Cross