While Hurricane Irene thankfully missed our area, many folks around the state are still cleaning up damage after the storm.

But there's an easy way you can help them.

Leaders at the American Red Cross in Winchester tell us they have started a texting donation campaign. Just text ‘redcross’ to 9-0-9-9-9.

This sends a $10 donation straight to Hurricane Irene relief efforts.

Leaders say they won't have a full damage assessment for at least another week.

“The Red Cross organization anticipates that they'll need $30 million dollars to pay for victims support for Hurricane Irene. So $30 million just in our area is a lot of money. We really do need donations for the disaster relief, for the whole Northern Virginia and tidewater areas. This is money for our community, our local area, our neighbors who really need help,” says Morgan Templar, with the American Red Cross

Templar also says the Red Cross is short about 2100 blood donations because of the storm interrupting blood drives.

They want to get the word out for the need for donations.