Hurricane Ian: 10-Year-Old Olivia Celebrates Her Birthday in a Red Cross Shelter
It was a quiet morning for the Pullen–Fazchas family of four — mom Shelby, dad Frank, and daughters Olivia and Emily — staying at the Red Cross shelter in St. Cloud, Florida, as a group of volunteers tried to keep a secret. The group was setting up a party for Olivia’s 10th birthday.
Shortly after lunch was served, Olivia and Emily, along with most of the residents of the shelter, were either in the dormitory or enjoying the good weather in the courtyard.
Those entering the party room were told, “It’s Olivia’s 10th birthday” in a whisper. At 1 p.m., Olivia entered the party room and saw a la...
Source: Red Cross Chat - October 16, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Disaster american red cross Disaster Response florida Hurricane Ian Shelter Support Source Type: news
Red Cross Volunteers Share their Pets to Help Service Members, Veterans and their Families
Pre-deployment event at Youngstown Air Reserve Station.
Across the country and around the globe, American Red Cross therapy dogs use their time and talent to serve the community in unique ways. They comfort disaster survivors who may have lost everything after a storm, veterans receiving medical care at hospitals, and military families in need of support before, during and/or after deployment.
We’re grateful for our Red Cross pups and their handlers who serve our mission each and every day. Meet a few of them from our Northern Ohio region:
Paul and Katie Svasta with Bree and Shasta.
Bree, a Goldendoodle, and Shane, a Rou...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 31, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Military Support Volunteers american red cross military families Pups SAF service to the armed forces Therapy Dogs volunteering Source Type: news
How One Wife and Husband Volunteer Duo are Providing Military Patients Comfort and Care
Each week, service members, contractors or military families living overseas who need more comprehensive medical care than their duty station or remote operational location can provide, arrive at the Andrews Air Force Base in Morningside, Maryland.
While there, military families find Red Cross volunteers like Sridhar Srinivasan and his wife, Becky Callahan, who visit the base every week, to help patients who arrive on the Department of the Defense’s aeromedical evacuation missions.
You’re dealing with people who are having their worst day. You’re supporting them — providing them a meal, a snack and the comfort ...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 30, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Military Support Volunteers american red cross military patients SAF service to the armed forces volunteering Source Type: news
90 Years Strong and Still Serving
Norma Smith vividly remembers the last time she saw her brother. She was nine; he was a 20-year-old heading overseas to serve as a bombardier and navigator in the Air Corps during World War II. The memory that lingers the strongest after all this time is the feel of his khaki uniform and the smell of wool wet from the snow as she leaped into his arms and hugged him goodbye. “It’s 80 years later and I still remember it to this day,” says Norma.
He wrote to his family about the Red Cross ladies that gave service members cookies, coffee, and doughnuts. Sadly, 2nd Lt. Norris Kenneth Calkins was killed in combat on May 17...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 30, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Disaster Health & Safety Military Support Volunteers american red cross cpr Disaster Response service to the armed forces volunteering Source Type: news
Q + A with Award-Winning Humanitarian Communicator, Jenelle Eli
Kids living in Kutupalong, a displacement camp in Cox’s Bazar, Myanmar, make ‘heart’ symbols alongside Red Crosser Jenelle Eli. Photo by Brad Zerivitz/American Red Cross.
American Red Crosser Jenelle Eli is a humanitarian, crisis communicator, refugee advocate, and most recently, named to the class of 2022 PRNEWS Top Women in the Industry Innovators category.
Between her near back-to-back deployments over six months to the Mediterranean Sea and Poland in support of the Ukraine Crisis, Jenelle has secured prominent headlines in more than 180 countries to help people around the world understand urgent, lifesaving needs...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 24, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: International american red cross Disaster Response Geneva Conventions humanitarian ifrc International Services refugees volunteering Source Type: news
It All Started With A Television Ad: Meet Bernita Gallego Barfield
1971 Christmas photo taken in Cam Rahn Bay, Vietnam. Pictured from L to R: Richard Moore, Bernita Gallego Barfield, Guy Sunny as Santa, Piji White and Sharon Rose.
A television ad made all the difference for Bernita Barfield.
It was the summer of 1967 and the U.S. had significantly increased its military presence in Southeast Asia because of the Vietnam War. Major U.S. cities were embroiled in race riots, anti-war protests, and widespread poverty–especially in Detroit where Bernita lived and worked at the time.
After being ordered to stay home from her advertising job in response to the growing violence in Detroit, Berni...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 22, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: History Military Support Air Force american red cross SAF service to the armed forces Vietnam veterans Source Type: news
A Day in the Life of a Deployed Services to Armed Forces Team Member in Eastern Europe
Lorie Warchol, who is normally based in Louisiana, is now one of 50 American Red Cross workers who have deployed to bases in Europe to support U.S. troops since the war in Ukraine began 6 months ago.
While on base in Eastern Europe, Lori plays an integral role in supporting all the organizational activities for deployed troops in her region. As a Site Lead, she helps connect military families during times of crisis by delivering emergency messages from loved ones to service members in the area. In addition, a huge component of Lori’s role is to offer a sense of home and ‘normalcy’ for troops serving overseas by provi...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 9, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Military Support american red cross Day in the Life Deployments emergency communications emergency communications message SAF service to the armed forces veteran Source Type: news
Oak Fire Response: Stories & Reflections of the People Impacted
For more than two weeks, American Red Cross disaster workers have been working around the clock with local response officials to help people affected by the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, California. The wildfire broke out on July 22, burning through more than 19,000 acres and destroying people’s businesses, homes, and belongings along with it. Over 80 trained Red Cross disaster workers answered the call to help provide people with a safe place to stay, warm meals and critical relief supplies like hygiene items and clean-up kits. Volunteers also helped care for those with medical or disability needs and provided people wit...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 5, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Disaster american red cross Central California Disaster Response Mariposa County Oak Fire Oak Wildfire volunteering Volunteers Wildfire Response Source Type: news
Five Preparedness Tips for People with Disabilities
Emily Holley’s Emergency Kit.
In honor of National Disability Independence Day (July 26), Regional Communicator Emily Holley from the American Red Cross of Nebraska & Iowa Region shared tips on how she prepares herself during emergencies.
“I have been disabled for 27 years, and in that time, I’ve learned how to live my life around my conditions. That includes knowing what to do when disaster strikes, especially since living in the Midwest means unpredictable weather. With the help of the Red Cross, here are some of my personal tips people with disabilities can use to prepare.
#1: Assess Your Situation.
...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 3, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Disaster american red cross disaster preparedness Disaster Response People with disabilities Preparedness Tips Source Type: news
What the Tick! Here ’s How You Can Avoid & Treat Tick Bites
If you ever walk your dog in the park, garden in your backyard, or go hiking in a wooded area, you more than likely have been around or come across a tick. They are little parasites that like to feed on warm-blooded animals like dogs and birds as well as people. If you come across a tick bite on yourself, a loved one, or your pet, here’s what you should do:
Use a fine-tipped, pointed tweezer to grasp the tick at the head as close to the skin as possible.
Pull upward slowly without twisting until the tick releases its hold.
Wash the area with soap and warm water.
Apply an antibiotic wound ointment, cream or gel as long a...
Source: Red Cross Chat - August 2, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Health & Safety american red cross first aid pet safety safety tips Tick bites Treating tick bites wilderness safety Source Type: news
Oak Fire Response: How One 10-Year-Old is Making a Difference
Meet Taylor, the youngest helper at an American Red Cross shelter located in Mariposa, California. This ten-year-old from Oregon was in Mariposa County visiting her grandparents when they were evacuated by the Oak Fire late Friday night.
“This was my first time evacuating in my whole entire ten years,” Taylor explained. She collected her suitcase and cockatiel bird, Julie, while her grandma Miriam evacuated their home in Midpines.
On Saturday, she helped serve 100 sandwiches for lunch to evacuees and volunteers “just because a Red Cross volunteer asked, so I said sure!” Her excited spirit helped residents currently...
Source: Red Cross Chat - July 26, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Disaster Volunteers american red cross Central California Disaster Response Oregon Native Red Cross Youth volunteering youth volunteers Source Type: news
A Day in the Life of a Service to Armed Forces Team Member Deployed to Djibouti
Normally in Wisconsin, you can find Alexandra “Lexy” Huber serving as the Senior Services to Armed Forces Program Specialist, supporting service members, veterans and their families and connecting them to local and available resources.
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However, right now, Lexy is stationed in Djibouti. She is one of 23 Red Cross workers currently deployed on behalf of the Red Cross’ Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) Division. They support U.S troops on bases in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In...
Source: Red Cross Chat - July 18, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Military Support american red cross International SAF service to the armed forces Source Type: news
How a Red Cross Experience Led Debbie Consolver to Volunteering
A year after retiring from the St. Joseph, Missouri School District, I felt like I needed something to do. I really wanted to help people and remembered how the Red ...
The post How a Red Cross...
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Source: Red Cross Chat - July 15, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Disaster Volunteers american red cross Disaster Response emergency fire safety home fire volunteering Source Type: news
A Day in the Life of a Communications Crisis Responder
In response to the Ukraine crisis, Katie Wilkes deployed to Europe as a Communications Crisis Responder on behalf of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). She is one ...
The post A...
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Source: Red Cross Chat - July 11, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: International american red cross crisis responder Disaster Response ifrc Ukraine Ukraine crisis Source Type: news
Care That Goes Beyond Words
In Fall 2017, when disaster hit Puerto Rico in the form of Hurricane Maria, Diana Torres-Calderon knew she had to do something to help. She had grown up spending summers ...
The post Care That Goes...
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Source: Red Cross Chat - July 7, 2022 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: American Red Cross Tags: Disaster Volunteers american red cross Connecticut Rhode Island volunteering Source Type: news
