Cross Blog

Weekly Worldwide Wrapup

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

PAKISTAN: The ICRC is providing training in first aid for journalists from Pakistan working in violence-affected areas.

IRAQ: The ICRC is helping more than 64,000 destitute Iraqis through the holy month of Ramadan by providing them with food and hygiene items.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: The ICRC and the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have begun to distribute food to 53,000 people who have fled their villages because of violence since mid-July. Meanwhile the ICRC recently reunited 14 Congolese children with their families.

AFGHANISTAN: Heavy flooding in conflict-affected northern and western Afghanistan has forced thousands to flee their homes and seek shelter elsewhere. The ICRC and the Afghan Red Crescent provided emergency aid for more than 40,000 people – many of them in dangerous or remote areas – in May and June.

CHINA: In response to some of the worst flooding in decades, the Red Cross Society of China has been distributing emergency supplies including tents, quilts, rice and drinking water.

SRI LANKA: As thousands of people return home to damaged or destroyed houses after the fighting, the German Red Cross is working with the The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society and IFRC to build new homes and repair damage to others.

GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Red, White and Vroom!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Our friends at Red Cross Racing want to make sure you know that you can win a 2011 Ford Fiesta by entering the Red, White and Vroom Sweepstakes.

To say thank you to all of our committed blood donors, the American Red Cross and Red Cross Racing are giving away a brand new 2011 Ford Fiesta, thanks to a generous donation by the Ford Motor Company.

Make sure to fill out all fields in the entry form and good luck from the Red Cross Racing team!

Volunteers help 150 people beat the heat

Monday, July 26, 2010

The American Red Cross, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management Office and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools opened a cooling station over the weekend as the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Charlotte metropolitan area. Nearly 150 people sought cooler temperatures at First Ward Elementary, where Red Cross volunteers provided cold drinks and snacks.

Heat safety tips

Red Cross volunteers respond to two-alarm fire

Friday, July 23, 2010

MEDIA ADVISORY

Volunteers from the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross responded to a two-alarm condominium fire on Kilborne Drive in Charlotte this morning. Three units were affected.

Red Cross disaster action team volunteers provided three families with assistance for food, shelter, clothing and other immediate needs. The Red Cross will continue to work with these families on a case-by-case basis.

Red Cross volunteers also provided drinks and snacks for the Charlotte Fire Department and other first responders on the scene of the fire.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is provided at no cost to our clients. You can help victims of disasters like this fire by making a contribution to the Red Cross. 

Weekly Worldwide Wrapup

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

UKRAINE: Visiting nurses make the difference in a program assisting the elderly and people with HIV.

CHINA: The Red Cross Society of China has stepped up efforts to assist millions of people affected by floods.

KYRGYZSTAN: As tensions continue, the ICRC continues to assist internally displaced people and detainees, and help families find out what happened to missing loved ones.

HAITI: The Haitian National Red Cross Society has begun broadcasting their first ever radio show from Red Cross Red Crescent base camp in Port-au-Prince, engaging listeners in a two-way conversation about needs and services.

PHILIPPINES: Early warning systems enabled the Philippines Red Cross to prepare its chapters for Typhoon Conson. Staff and volunteers responded immediately after the disaster, helping people to reach the evacuation centres and providing hot meals from mobile kitchens.

GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Raising money with the Flower Fun Store!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Year after year, the Red Cross supports our community. Year after year, Irma Boyd supports the Red Cross. 

This year marked the 19th Anniversary of Mrs. Boyd’s Flower Fun Store fundraiser at Myers Park Elementary School for the Red Cross. Inspired by her personal experience with the Red Cross in the 1970s when an earthquake displaced her family, Mrs. Boyd and her kindergarten class design and sell paper flowers with proceeds going to the Red Cross.

The fundraiser taught the students about the basics of running a business and in the process, they learned about the basics of helping protect their community by supporting the Red Cross. The students heard firsthand from Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteers about how their money will help support families who lose their homes to disaster. 

More than $1,000 was raised for the Red Cross, and DAT volunteer Jim Privie presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the class as the students enjoyed, appropriately enough, Lifesaver candies marked with “You are a life saver” on the wrapper.

As the students took turns wearing official Red Cross volunteer vests, it wasn’t hard to imagine them growing into those uniforms and filling the role of a key Red Cross volunteer in the near future.

Mrs. Boyd is not only an inspiration for the Red Cross, she is an inspiration for these hard-working kindergartners who are already helping serve the Red Cross mission of helping prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Weekly Worldwide Wrapup

Thursday, July 15, 2010

NIGER/MALI: Farmers and stockbreeders in northern regions of Niger and Mali are suffering the combined effects of drought and inter-community violence. In May, the ICRC launched a large-scale aid operation to help 290,000 of them.

ERITREA: The Red Cross Society of Eritrea is helping to bring hope to people in parched regions with sustainable projects like solar water pumps and volunteer-built water collection systems.

BELARUS: The Belarus Red Cross is reaching out to youth and young workers about HIV prevention.

PHILIPPINES: Nine months after the tsunamis, the IFRC has built cyclone-resistant transitional housing for more than 600 families, and the building continues.

HAITI: Marking the six-month point after the earthquake, the ICRC has honoured three extraordinary healthcare heroes. For the six-month progress report and more on Haiti, visit http://www.redcross.org/haiti.

GLOSSARY:
ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Volunteers respond to three-alarm fire

Monday, July 12, 2010

At 5:42 a.m. on Saturday, July 10, 62 firefighters from the Charlotte Fire Department responded to reports of a fire at the Devonshire Court Condominiums at 8124 Termaine Court in East Charlotte.

Ten Red Cross volunteers were quickly on the scene to provide snacks and drinks for the firefighters and other first responders. The Red Cross also met with the families displaced by the fire to provide assistance for basic needs as well as provide comfort.

Eight apartment units were affected; of those, six were occupied. The Red Cross provided assistance for food, clothing and shelter for the families in need.

“The building was pretty much destroyed,” said Red Cross volunteer Gene Judd.

Want to help victims of disasters such as this fire? Click here or call 704.347.8352.

Check out the video from News 14

You take my breath away - and other CPR-related Tweets

Thursday, July 08, 2010

>> Find a CPR course near you today! Most chapters offer adult, infant, and pet CPR.

Disaster Diaries Part Five: The faces of the West Virginia floods

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

American Red Cross volunteers and staff have been working to distribute cleaning supplies, food and water to those affected by the floods. Jim Sheely, a volunteer from Charlotte, N.C., describes his deployment and the Red Cross’ efforts in West Virginia in part three of his disaster diaries:

Monday, July 5

Well, this operation officially concluded Saturday, July 3. I’ll be home soon and looking forward to it.

The long, long Fourth of July weekend has kept George Barron, the Logistics Administrator, and Lance and I here for two days longer than ordinarily.  Everything was closed Sunday and today so we will spend tomorrow morning, Tuesday, delivering a huge load of Pelican cases of DST laptops, cell phones, cables, and the satellite dish to FedEx shipping. Then we have to deliver the Chapter a load of leftover office supplies, forms, brochures, snacks, ice chests, and all the other “stuff” that winds up in headquarters after 2 and a half weeks of operations.  Then, after we return the two trucks, I can “beat feet” to the airport, return my car and hop my flight to Atlanta.

I have been here 18 days and have not seen a victim of the flooding, a home damaged by floods, or been in any of the affected communities. Other volunteers carried the Red Cross “flag” in all those areas. Those were the faces the clients saw and will remember; those are the volunteers that make or break the Red Cross’ reputation in disasters. But we (volunteers in Logistics) gave the volunteers their offices, shelters, cars, computers, phones, clean-up kits, comfort kits, clipboards, snacks, soap, toilet paper, and everything else they needed and assume will be there when they arrive on the job. Logistics arrives first and, as I can verify, leaves last. I feel like a fraud when I tell people I’ve been in West Virginia helping people who lost homes and property in floods.  But I will come home and gladly preach the gospel of Logistics to the “empathy impaired” and let them know that none of the other activities can get their work done without Logistics doing theirs first. The glamour is missing but not the importance.

George and I had little to do today except fold tables and chairs so we sat a talked a while.  I got more insights into the ‘bigger picture’ and how he finds and acquires the facilities a relief operation needs.  There have been a lot of changes made at the national level in the last few weeks and we in the “Man Cave” will have a lot to learn and talk about. I look forward to being rid of Disaster Services Technology and Invoice Review, and handing over the Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) to fellow volunteer Pam Brynarsky. Speaking of ECRVs: The last word I had on 4703, the Manassas truck, is that they found the money and the justification to have it repaired and returned to service. I’ll bet that takes at least a month to accomplish.  I was worried that they’d replace 4703 with our truck, 4715, to have a showpiece for HQ events. I think we may have dodged a bullet!

See ya’ll when I get back!

Jim