Cross Blog

Category: Volunteer

Volunteers enjoy Emergency Services Day at Carowinds

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Photos courtesy of Red Cross volunteer Darren Mulholland and the Charlotte Fire Department

The American Red Cross participated in the Emergency Services Day at Carowinds on Saturday, Aug. 20, at Carowinds. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Charlotte Fire Department were also on-scene to help the Red Cross deliver severe weather safety tips and information.

First responders participated in a “celebrity” ride of The Cyclone, a roller coaster that celebrated its 30th anniversary that weekend.

Laura Crouse, from Charlotte, shared her harrowing experience with severe weather. She told the crowd of how high winds damaged the home where she and her husband and their five children live, and the Red Cross was there to help.

The Charlotte Fire Department recognized the Red Cross, among other responders, for the work they do in the community to help those affected by disasters.

Red Cross volunteer Pamela Brynarsky provided great severe weather tips and encouraged the community to have a plan and to be prepared in the event of inclement weather.

Red Cross volunteer Darren Mulholland had the Red Cross Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) at the park.

“There’s nothing like driving the ECRV through Carowinds!” he said.

Click here for more pictures from the event.

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.

Disaster Diaries Part Four: Winding down

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Wednesday, June 30

Hot Flash from DR 112-10:

The Emergency Communications Response Vehicle (ECRV) 4703, based in Manassas, Va., and the oldest of the ECRVs, is to be scrapped after it is stripped of its equipment. The mechanical diagnosis is that it needs a new engine and transmission and it has been decided that the investment would not be cost effective. A team will be dispatched to Chapmanville in a box truck with the tools to remove all the radios, dish, mast, consoles, etc and then sell the body for parts or junk. This unexpected loss might mean more activity for the Charlotte ECRV. Updates as they occur…

We are in wind-down mode here in South Charleston headquarters. We are sending caseworkers home daily. Yesterday we picked up 47 cots, of 75 delivered, at the staff shelter at Logan High School. Today we got about 18 more. They expect to close by Friday when we will go back and clear out everything that’s left.

We picked up and returned to US Food in Hurricane, W.Va., about 1,200 pounds of canned food items that the kitchen won’t need.  The kitchen is closing after they cook lunch for the ERVs to deliver tomorrow (Thursday).  Hopefully the facility can be inspected tomorrow afternoon and officially closed.  A staff of about 8 volunteers prepared, and the ERVs delivered, about 1,100 meals a day for 13 days from a 16’x16’ kitchen in a small Baptist Church.  The ERVs look like they have been mud racing.

Headquarters will effectively close Saturday.  MSS and DST will remain to wrap up bill paying and accounting for all the non-expendable “stuff” we have borrowed or bought.  The rented tables, chairs, and copier will be retrieved by vendors on Monday.  DST has to wait until we are finished with the laptops before they can disassemble the VSAT (satellite dish) and pack it for shipping.  They will use the box truck it is sitting on top of to carry all their boxes of equipment to FedEx for shipment to the Austin, TX, Disaster Services Center.

Word is, I will be released on Tuesday or Wednesday.  It seems that Fourth of July is an especially big holiday here and everything but the Kanawah River shuts down for a looong weekend.  I’ve heard it referred to as a ‘miner’s holiday” but I don’t know what that implies.  AND, the President, VP, and entourage will come to town Friday for Sen. Byrd’s State Funeral.  I haven’t heard if we will get any time off or not over the weekend.  It isn’t clear what we can accomplish but everyone wants to finish up as quickly as we can.

Eight-year-old donates birthday money to the Red Cross

Friday, June 25, 2010

Most 8-year-olds wants video games or a new bike for their birthday.

Martha Connor wanted to make a difference.

On Thursday, June 24, 8-year-old Martha presented the American Red Cross with a check for $200. Martha celebrated her birthday in April. Instead of receiving gifts, she said wanted to make a donation to the American Red Cross. Martha asked all of her guests to make a donation.

“Martha has a big heart, and I hope she will be an inspiration to others,” said Hope Martin, volunteer coordinator for the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Red Cross volunteer helping relief efforts in West Virginia

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

More than a thousand homes have been affected by flooding in Southern West Virginia.

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:

I’m deployed here in South Charleston, W.Va., for floods that occurred about two weeks ago. I am assigned to the DR112-10 Headquarters as a Logistics Supervisor (Generalist). That means I do everything from emptying the trash to buying “stuff” and renting cars and trucks.

The areas affected by the flooding are in the vicinity of Beckley, Logan and Welch. Logan is 50 miles south of headquarters, Beckley about two hours away, and Welch is about … well, you can’t get to Welch from here. All the communities are in coal mining areas and the flooding is blamed by the locals on silt washing down from strip mining and filling the traditional waterways. When there is a heavy rain, the runoff finds new places to escape that aren’t friendly to the residents of the off-the-road-spots where people have always lived. The number of people affected jumps around as new populations, who were cut off by washouts, are discovered by our Red Cross Disaster Assessment workers. There is a field kitchen from the Red Cross Charleston Chapter operating at a Baptist church in Logan, and three or four Emergency Response Vehicles are doing mobile feeding. The feeding and sheltering numbers are unusually high because of the scarcity of alternative lodging and restaurants in the communities.

The Manassas Emergency Communications Response Vehicle opened the headquarters and then moved down to Verdunville, near Logan, yesterday to support Client Services. Bulk Distribution is in full swing giving out cleanup kits, trash bags, bleach, etc. They are distributing these supplies at at a fixed site, but volunteers are driving four-wheel ATVs distributing supplies where they are needed.

Most of us at headquarters are sleeping at a motel. It isn’t the Ritz, but it’s clean and cheap and convenient to restaurants. I miss home and family but it’s good to feel like I’m making a difference – that’s why I volunteered. 

Volunteers provide drinks and snacks for first responders

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Firefighters spent 2 and a half hours Tuesday morning fighting a fire at the former Burlington Mill in Mooresville.

Volunteers Bob Quick and Ed Walter from the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross responded to the scene to provide food and drinks for firefighters and other first responders.

No injuries occured.

Teen uses music to raise money for Red Cross relief in Haiti

Monday, June 21, 2010

Shortly after turning 14, Sam Heda, who goes to Porter Ridge Middle School in Monroe, recorded his first album. Sam has been playing the guitar since he was 3 years old. He wrote several of the songs on the CD himself, and he and his father co-wrote others.

During Black History Month, Sam participated in a concert where he sold copies of his CD for $10 each. He decided to donate all the proceeds from the sale of the CDs to the American Red Cross for its relief efforts in Haiti.

Thank you, Sam, for your generous contribution.

If you’d like to learn more about Sam or purchase his CD, please visit www.samheda.com.

American Red Cross assists families temporarily displaced by gas leak

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A main gas leak in the area of Cloister Lane displaced up to 30 families in the subdivision of Morrison Plantation in Mooresville late Tuesday night.

The Mooresville Fire Department requested that the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross set up an evacuation site at the subdivision’s clubhouse. The Red Cross served water and snacks as well as set up cots and blankets for the families to use.

The leak was repaired at about 1:15 a.m., and the evacuation site was closed shortly afterward.

For more on American Red Cross Disaster Services, click here.

“The Red Cross is here because you are here”

Thursday, June 10, 2010

On Wednesday, June 9, the Greater Carolinas Chapter held its 93rd Annual Meeting, at which we honor volunteers and install new board members.

The highlight of the afternoon was honoring several outstanding volunteers with awards:

• Keeping the Program Alive: Susan Johnson
  
• Rookie of the Year Award: Beth Walters
  
• Sunny Day Award: Jim Hunter
  
• Weekend Warrior: Gayathri Vijayagopalan
  
• In a Pinch Award: Bob Quick and Troy Reed
  
• Red Cross Cheerleader: Kim Lasiter
  
• Breakthrough Performance Award: Sonia Tremblay
  
• Stealth Award: Ross Cahn
  
• Spirit of Cliff Andrews Award: Ellen Bacon

To read about the awards and view pictures, click here.

Outgoing board chair Mike Rash opened the meeting by thanking everyone in attendance. “It has been a rewarding experience for me personally and has helped me see the tremendous impact the American Red Cross makes in the lives of people every day,” Rash said.

Rash recognized the board members who have successfully served their board term and will be rotating off the board this month: Kourtney Bradshaw, Esther Park, Gilbert Peacock, Cutter Davis, Beverly Hammonds-Bold and Robert Gulliver. Coming onto the board will be Ben Dobson and Tracey Grooms.

The chapter installed its new board leadership: Iris Horton – Chairwoman, Randall King – Vice Chairman, Tate Ogburn – Secretary, and Obi Anyafo – Treasurer. 

Incoming board chair Iris Horton then introduce Amy and Arnie Jones, who shared their wonderful story of life and love. One night when Amy was 9 months pregnant, she began struggling to breathe, and Arnie was there to give her CPR until paramedics arrived.

Horton then recalled several outstanding accomplishments over the past year:

• The Chapter honored the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo with a display at the Levine Museum
  
• Our Regional Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders was named “Circle of the Year” at the Tiffany Circle Summit in Washington DC
  
• We sent dozens of local volunteers to large scale disasters across the country
  
• Our region raised more than $2 million dollars in Haitian Earthquake relief
  
• We certified nearly 100% of our Board members in CPR

One highlight of the afternoon was honoring former Red Cross CEO Pamela Jefsen for her hard work with the chapter. “Pam on behalf of all those served under your leadership – we say thank you.  Thank you for your commitment and love of the American Red Cross and thank you for your 25 years of service to this great organization,” Rash said.

The meeting concluded as Rash handing the official gavel to Horton with a cheerful “Good luck!”

Want to be healthier? Volunteer!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

By Jane Glenn Haas, Orange County Register
Volunteering can help you live longer.

People who volunteer “feel better all over,” says Chandra Torgerson, senior vice president and chief nursing officer for United Healthcare.

According to the UnitedHealthcare/VolunteerMatch Do Good, Live Well, survey of more than 4,000 seniors:

• 87 percent who volunteer say they are aging well, as opposed to 78 percent of those who don’t volunteer;
  
• 86 percent of senior volunteers feel younger than their age, compared to 72 percent of those who don’t volunteer;
  
• 69 percent say they feel good about getting older, compared to 59 percent of seniors who don’t volunteer.

Volunteering keeps you healthy, lowers stress level, gives you purpose in life, Torgerson says.

Q. All well and good to encourage people to volunteer, but not everyone wants to work at a church, a hospital or a school.
True. That’s why we encourage people to go to volunteermatch.org.
It’s a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities by connecting good people to good causes. We think it is the preferred volunteering recruiting service for thousands of participating nonprofits.

Q. And United Healthcare partnered with them?
Together, we surveyed more than 4,500 seniors and found that 68 percent of those who volunteered say they feel physically healthier, among other benefits.

Q. Do employers recognize the value of volunteering for their employees?
Some do - and more companies are recognizing it every day.
At United Healthcare, 70 percent of our own employees actively volunteered in 2009. It is part of our company commitment to volunteering to give our people some time off to help them in these endeavors.
We know they feel physically better all over and their stress level is lowered.

Q. You are trying to create a national movement?
Yes.
Go to dogoodlivewell.org. You will not only find the benefits of volunteering but also some helpful steps in identifying what type of activity would best suit your talents and passions.
We’re trying to contact as many seniors a possible. There is lots to do and we need lots of people to help us.

Q. Some other benefits of volunteering?
Our survey shows 92 percent say they have an enriched sense of purpose in life. They are more optimistic.
And here’s another benefit - a lower proportion of volunteers (31 percent) were identified as obese when compared to non-volunteers (36 percent).

Q. Volunteering as part of your diet?
Why not?