It was 2:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Moris Guardado Zetino was sleeping where he always did, upstairs in the small two-story condominium he owned in Southwest Houston. His wife and two children were in the same room.

“Suddenly I felt I was chocking,” Moris said. “I woke up and smelled smoke. It was coming from the bathroom. I opened the door and ran into a wall of smoke.  I realized there was a fire. Everything happened really fast, in minutes. The smoke quickly filled the bedroom. I got up, shook my wife and woke the kids up and we ran downstairs and out the front door. I didn’t even have time to put on clothes. I had a kid under each arm. I was wearing just my boxer shorts and a T-shirt.”

The Guardado Zetino family lost everything in minutes. Their small condo was in ruins. They had no insurance and nowhere to go. But the American Red Cross was there to help by giving them financial assistance so they could use it for whatever they needed the most. Not long after the fire happened a caseworker was able to follow-up with the family to make sure they were ok and to also check to see how else we could assist them start their recovery process.

Each year the American Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters. The majority of them are single-family homes and apartment fires. In Houston, for example, 80% of the American Red Cross cases involve home fires.

National Giving Day is Tuesday, November 28, 2023. Every year it is celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and it is an opportunity for local communities to come together on one day to support the urgent humanitarian needs of the American Red Cross.

Just like the Guardado Zetino family your gift can help ensure that no one is left alone in the face of an emergency.  Your donation to help where it’s needed most will enable the Red Cross to continue delivering its lifesaving mission – both today and the future. Unite with other generous people like you to help us reach our goal this Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2023. Donate now by clicking on the link https://www.redcross.org/local/texas/gulf-coast.html.