Cross Blog

Thank you, Red Hot Turkey Bashers!

Monday, November 30, 2009

The 2009 Red Hot Turkey Bash was a great success, thanks to nearly 30 American Red Cross volunteers and more than 750 guests who filled the Wachovia Atrium on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Liquid Pleasure, the band that has rocked the Bash for a few years running, kept the crowd on their toes, playing covers such as Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” Outkast’s “Hey Ya.”

“This is one of the best holiday parties I’ve ever been to,” said Heather Chaney, who was at the Bash with several friends. Chaney and hundreds of other Bash-goers enjoyed food from local eateries. Highlights were a chocolate fountain from Strike City and barbecue sandwiches from Mac’s.

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Our sponsors

Make a difference this holiday season

Make a difference in the lives of our veterans. 

Many veterans won’t spend the holidays with family, and they have simple needs. Lite 102.9 invites you to Mooresville Town Square Saturday, Dec. 5, where you can bring special items, like travel-size toiletries, skid-free socks and playing cards to help make this season brighter. 

Donations will be delivered with help from American Red Cross volunteers. 

American Red Cross - Mooresville
200 Overhill Dr. Ste A Mooresville, NC 28117
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through Dec. 4

American Red Cross - Statesville
1710-b Davie Ave. Statesville, NC
This site will only be open Thursday 12/03/2009 from noon to 5 p.m.

Mooresville Town Square with Lite 102.9 on 12/5 from 10 a.m. to noon
Located at the intersection of Williamson Road and Brawley School Road in Mooresville. 
www.mooresvilletownsquare.com

Items needed are:

Please keep the items small use trial or hotel size for soaps etc
Deodorant
Soap
Shampoo
Lotion
Pocket Tissues
Razors
Shaving Cream
Toothbrush
Brush
Washcloth Brush/Comb
Toothpaste
Cards/ Travel Games
Hygiene Products
Non-Skid Socks
Socks
Extra Lotion

Tiffany Circle women gather for reception

Friday, November 20, 2009

Women from the Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders gathered on Nov. 17 for a reception at the Levine Museum of the New South. Joining Tiffany Circle members were Red Cross volunteers, board members and staff.

Iris Horton, Greater Carolinas Tiffany Circle member and vice chair of the board, welcomed the women after some time for drinks and mingling. Pamela Jefsen, regional executive officer of the Carolina Piedmont Region of the American Red Cross, introduced Pam Brynarsky, who spoke to guests about her experiences volunteering with the Red Cross.

“Thank you for doing what you do as donors, so I can do what I do as a volunteer,” Brynarsky said.

Julia Bianchi was the keynote speaker of the evening. Bianchi serves as a national co-chair of the Tiffany Circle, alongside Elaine Lyerly, a co-founder of the Tiffany group in Charlotte.

Bianchi spoke about her commitment to the Tiffany Circle - which started when she was a Red Cross representative in elementary school.

“The Tiffany Circle is an important initiative because women today are an incredibly powerful philanthropic resource,” Bianchi said, noting that female firms are growing at twice the rate of all U.S. businesses and faster than male owned firms. She added that women control 72 percent of the dollars spent in the United States. “Isn’t this wonderful news, ladies? As women we know we have a choice of where to invest our philanthropic dollars, and we choose carefully.”

Bianchi announced that in the Carolinas Peidmont Region, Tiffany Circle women have an amazing Challenge Grant opportunity with six matches of $5,000 each available to new Tiffany Circle members. In other words, each gift of $5,000 will be matched by the Challenge Grant, and that woman will become a Tiffany Circle member

Renee Brown, co-chair of the Greater Carolinas Chapter Tiffany Circle, closed the evening by noting her experience as both a Tiffany Circle member and a Greater Carolinas Chapter Board of Directors member.

“All of us have people in our lives who are always there for you when you need them, when you are losing hope and when we are in need,” Brown said. “Having lived in New Orleans, I saw how Katrina affected my friends. For my family, it was the hurricane a month later - Rita - that affected my folks. In both instances, when the cameras were long gone, the Red Cross was still there to help when no one else remained.”

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More information on the Tiffany Circle

Red Cross goes back in time

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

For the second year in a row, staff and volunteers from the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross spent the weekend at the Renaissance Faire raising money and spreading awareness about the organization.

Colleen Dougher, who works for the chapter, shared her commentary on the weekend:

Thank you to all who helped out this year at the Fair - it definitely would not have gone as smoothly without everyone pitching in! 

Both days started out slow and I know those of you who left in the early afternoon were disappointed and thinking we were not going to do well - but we proved the economy wrong. Not only did we make what we did last year, we exceeded our goal and had a great time doing it! Our Greater Carolinas cast included a Powerful Nobleman, three Tavern Wenches, a Pirate, two Gypsies, two Rogues and a Noblewoman - all of whom worked very hard shaking buckets and working the crowd. 

After the final count last night we had one fairy gem, one child’s pirate coin, a guitar pick and a spring from someone’s pen all given to us as people cleaned out their pockets for any spare change. Drum roll please ... our grand total was $1,243.45 - which put us $200 over last year’s total. That money will be used to provide new manikins for our Health and Safetey Department. Those manikins help in training more than 30,000 people each year in life-saving skills such as CPR.

Thank you!  Thank you, thank you to all the people who gave up time on their day off to help us out! 

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Volunteers go to work in the warehouse

Monday, November 16, 2009

About a dozen American Red Cross volunteers spent Monday, Nov. 16, at work in our warehouse.

These volunteers cranked up the music as they stuffed more than 11,000 tubes of toothpaste into Red Cross comfort kits.

“Eleven thousand, six hundred and ninety tubes,” volunteer Berkley Godehn clarified.

Thanks so much to volunteers who helped with this project:

Berkley Godehn
David Wyatt
Angelina Maletto
Jim Sheely
Pam Brynarsky
Jim Prive
Barry Woolsey
John White
Susan Johnson
Omar Cury
Alex Weinstein
Keith Partin

This group placed new toothpaste in 8,640 comfort kits.  For those who like statistics, that comes out to 21.2 comfort kits per minute!

“I don’t think I have ever witnessed a group of people work this intensely on any endeavor that I’ve been a part of,” Godehn said.

Red Cross comfort kits are distributed to victims of disasters such as home fires.

On March 5 this year, Antoinette Johnson’s Charlotte home went up in flames.

Scared and shaking, she sat in a Red Cross vehicle, providing information for the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team captain: How many people were living in the house? Did they have anywhere to go? Had they lost any medication?

As tears ran down her face, Johnson told the volunteer she was worried about where she and her daughter would sleep that night.
Another volunteer reached for a Red Cross comfort kit and handed it to Johnson.

“Here you go, ma’am,” the volunteer said. “This has all your toiletries, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Johnson looked at the volunteer and smiled. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me that you’re here.”

Sending holiday mail to our heroes

Thursday, November 12, 2009

On Veterans Day, the American Red Cross held its kick-off event for the Holiday Mail for Heroes program in Washington, D.C. Special guest Amy Grant was there to show her support as people lined up to sign cards.

We also wanted to share a video that gives you a peek behind the scenes of our Holiday Mail program. Red Cross volunteers and Pitney Bowes workers will be working hard to sort and deliver the cards that you send in. Every card will be touched by many hands before finally reaching someone on the other end.

It may be difficult to feel the impact of your contribution when you are simply sending cards to a central mailbox, but every card that is received can mean a great deal to its recipient. Taking the time to give thanks to a stranger is one way to start getting into the holiday spirit!

If you also want to contribute more to help out members of our armed forces, please consider giving through our holiday catalog. You can help provide phone cards, deliver important family messages, and even training to cope with stress to a military family.

Let us know if you or someone you know have been personally affected by the Holiday Mail program or any other service to the armed forces that the Red Cross provides. We would love to hear your stories.

Tiffany Circle women enjoy reception

Monday, November 09, 2009

About 30 Tiffany Circle members and prospects – including some spouses – were welcomed at the home of Martha Allen (Bonnie McElveen-Hunter Lifetime Tiffany Circle member) in Matthews, NC. 

Smiles and introductions, laughter, music and hugs filled the evening. Kathy Bragg, Union County Chapter executive, reiterated the importance of our Red Cross providing significant help for clients and ourselves being vigilant on preparedness.  Elaine Lyerly, National Co-Chair of the Tiffany Circle Council, previewed some of the international work she and our Tiffany Circle Council are pursuing in conjunction with next year’s national Summit and developing Tiffany Circle societies outside the U.S. 

Cece, a Red Cross volunteer instructor, highlighted and demonstrated the importance and simplicity of providing First Aid and CPR on a child manikin.  Everyone was delighted when Cece reminded us to remember the tempo of The Bee Gees’ hit, “Stayin’ Alive,” if/when administering CPR.  And everyone smiled and appreciated Kathy Bragg’s and Sheila Crunkleton’s contemporary versions of greeting friends during these precautionary times of the current H1N1 virus.  Don’t be surprised if you see Kathy and Sheila demonstrating their moves on YouTube! 

Following the reception, one of the attendees was moved to join our Carolina Piedmont Region Tiffany Circle.  We look forward to welcoming all members and prospects to our next Tiffany Circle reception with Julia Bianchi, National Co-Chair of the Tiffany Circle Council on Nov. 17 in Charlotte, NC.

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Mix at Six benefits the American Red Cross

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Paschal Promotions and Ballantyne Village teamed up over the summer to host a series of outdoor parties, which benefitted the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Mix at Six featured food from local restaurants, live music and a chance to socialize.

The last event of the season was Wednesdsay, Nov. 4. At the event, (pictured) Bryan Paschal from Paschal Promotions, Jon Robbins from K104.7 and Renee Tredeau from Ballantyne Village presented Kate Meier and Liz Stephens of the Red Cross with a check for $1,500.

“We are so grateful to have great community support,” said Kate Meier, communications and marketing manager for the Red Cross. “We look forward to working with Paschal Promotions and Ballantyne Village next year.”

Louis Vuitton helps the Red Cross!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

To celebrate 150 years of helping vulnerable people around the world, Louis Vuitton is partnering with the Red Cross to raise funds.

In November, when you buy one of the four most iconic bags from the company’s USA Web site, 10% of the price will be donated to the American Red Cross.

To add to the excitement, on November 17, Louis Vuitton’s European headquarters office is hosting a charity auction at Sotheby’s in London. Celebrated artists, such as photographer Annie Leibovitz and fashion designer Marc Jacobs, have contributed special travel-themed creations that will benefit the French Red Cross malnutrition program in Niger. Among them will be a one-of-a-kind Red Cross kit.

Here’s the to-die-for description:

“The hard-sided case in Monogram canvas, equipped with Louis Vuitton’s signature natural leather handle, brass S-lock and corners, opens frontally to reveal an array of red and grey aluminum medicine boxes arranged in such a way as to form the familiar emblem of the RedCross. The logo of the Red Cross is hand-painted on the front of the case.”

Five of the special order collaboration pieces, in addition to the Red Cross trunk, will be on display at the Fifth Avenue Maison until November 4.

If you had something more practical in mind for gifts this holiday season, check out our fully-stocked first aid kits or other gifts that save the day.

What does it cost to save a life?

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The answer: less than $1. Through cost-effective vaccinations, the Measles Initiative has helped to save 3.6 million lives over the last decade. On this podcast episode, volunteer Sandy Tesch discusses her trip to The Gambia to observe a vaccination campaign. For more information on the Initiative, check out MeaslesInitiative.org.

Also: the Facebook Gift Store has added a virtual gift for 60 credits to vaccinate 5 children in the developing world from measles. Send it to your friends!

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>> Episodes 1-12 of Cross the Globe

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