Congratulations to our newest class of graduates in the American Red Cross Certified Nursing Assistant Program.
In all, 14 CNA students completed the six-week training at our Sacramento headquarters. Thirteen of them were recognized for perfect attendance and 13 made it to the Honor Roll, scoring at least 95% on all quizzes and the final exam.
If you are interested in beginning nursing training with the Red Cross, visit redcross.org/goldcountry for information.
The American Red Cross has opened a new evacuation shelter to accommodate Camp Fire evacuees in Butte County.
The shelter is located at 22 Gay Street in Chester.
Red Cross shelters are also open at the following locations:
Gridley: Butte County Fairgrounds, 199 East Hazel
Oroville: Church of the Nazarene, 2238 Monte Vista Avenue.
Chico: (AT CAPACITY) Neighborhood Church, 2801 Notre Dame Boulevard.
Red Cross volunteers are on hand at all shelters to provide evacuees with a place to sleep, hot meals and comfort.
This post will be updated as new information about the Red Cross response becomes available.
For more information, contact American Red Cross Gold Country Communications Director Stephen Walsh at 916-208-4058 or stephen.walsh@redcross.org.
The American Red Cross Gold Country Region was recently recognized by the Redding City Council for our response to the Carr Fire.
Also honored were our partners the United Way, Salvation Army, Shasta Regional Community Foundation and Catholic Charities.
The Carr Fire was one of several wildfires that displaced thousands of people throughout California over the last year.
Here is what Harvey Johnson, Senior Vice President of American Red Cross Disaster Cycle Services, recently wrote about the California wildfires:
The 2017 California wildfire season was exhausting and heartbreaking for affected residents. For months on end, relentless blazes—including some of the largest and most destructive wildfires ever seen in California—impacted communities across the state, causing tragic losses and forever changing lives. Amid an unprecedented season of major disasters, the American Red Cross delivered relief and comfort to thousands of Californians.
This vital aid was made possible through the extraordinary generosity of the public and the tireless efforts of thousands of Red Cross volunteers and employees. Together, their
compassionate contributions provided safe shelter, food, water and essential relief supplies to people in need, along with health services, emotional support and much more.
As wildfire survivors sifted through the ashes of ruined homes and took the first steps to rebuild their lives, the Red Cross has stayed by their sides with ongoing support for recovery. We’re providing financial assistance to households whose homes experienced major damage or were destroyed, and we’re awarding grants to partners doing important community recovery work.
We’re also joining with local Long-Term Recovery Committees to help identify and address residents’ unmet needs. We know that the road to recovery can be long and difficult. But, powered by steadfast supporters and dedicated volunteers, we’ll be there with affected individuals and families every step of the way.
This Native American History Month, we’re highlighting those who play a pivotal role in helping the American Red Cross accomplish its humanitarian mission every day in tribal communities across the country.
This week, we’d like to highlight Chele Rider, Red Cross Division Disaster State Relations Director in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain division.
Here is a conversation we had with her around Native American History Month and our work with tribal communities.
The global Red Cross Red Crescent network’s 2018 World Disasters Report: Leaving No One Behind spotlights the global challenges involved in delivering aid to the most vulnerable people—along with solutions to help humanitarian actors better reach communities around the world.
Imagine if your town had suffered catastrophic damage in a storm but emergency responders and aid workers couldn’t get there to help because your community wasn’t on any maps.
While this may seen strange to Westerners, it’s a real problem in other parts of the world.
To help get relief into people’s hands, the American Red Cross and partner organizations have joined with the Missing Maps project. Using OpenStreetMap, volunteers have put millions of people from high-risk countries on the map since 2014.
This makes a lifesaving difference for disaster workers combating deadly health crises like the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. And when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake ravaged parts of Nepal in 2015, volunteers worldwide sprang into action to map affected communities and roads to support relief efforts on the ground.
But much work still lies ahead to put more families in the world’s most vulnerable communities on the map—before disaster strikes.
On Thursday, November 1, Red Cross volunteers from the Gold Country Region will join with our partners at Intel in Folsom for a a Mapathon session. Our volunteers will be among about 50 people working together on the day’s mapping challenges.
You can help too! All you need is a computer and an internet connection. Volunteer at home, attend a mapathon or host one with family and friends.
If you are intersted in volunteering with the American Red Cross or to make a donation, visit redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
By Stacey Shell
Derek was sitting on the back of his truck on the main street in Marianna, Florida earlier this week. He and his mother, Charlotte, are from Pensacola and were affected by Hurricane Ivan several years ago. They were caught unprepared.
Derek vowed then that he would never again be caught unprepared and would be ready to help if a hurricane ever came to Florida again. He has a soft spot in his heart for animals and knew that was an area of need that he could help with.
Derek and Charlotte collected more than 250 pounds of fruit and pet food from his car club, church and community members. For the past two weeks they have driven down to Tallahassee to give it away to anyone in need.
The mother and son have been driving around the back roads of affected areas where there is still no water, no power and, in some cases, clearing of the roads has not begun.
They came upon one house that had been evacuated but still on the property were foru dogs and five puppies that were left behind. Derek dropped three bags of dog food to which all of the dogs came running because they were starving.
Once I heard this story I could not leave without making sure the dogs were rescued. We drove to the local animal control office where I met a gentleman named Ken. He was not an animal control worker, but happened to work next door.
None of the animal control people were there. I told him the story and asked him if he had any suggestions on how I can get someone out to the house to save the dogs. He got on the phone and called Karen who was a friend of his. I gave her the information and she promised that she would get someone out there.
As we were driving away, Ken drove up in his car getting our attention to let us know that the house was in a different county. I asked him if he had any contacts in that county so I could get help. He and Karen told me they would coordinate with the other county’s animal control department and they promised that the dogs would be taken care of.
Because of this mother and son team from Pensacola who were down here just to help, this Red Cross volunteer who believes no animal should be left behind, two local individuals willing to help, and the coordination of two county animal control groups, these dogs will not be forgotten and the puppies will have a chance to live a full life.
If you would like to contribute to the American Red Cross Hurricane Michael disaster response, visit redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Stacey Shell is a Gold Country Region volunteer. She is on her first-ever deployment to to assist those affected by Hurricane Michael.
Residents of the Northern Mariana Islands are facing the devastation left behind by Super Typhoon Yutu, which crashed into the United States territory Wednesday with sustained winds of 174 mph, leaving massive destruction in its wake. The American Red Cross is responding to help those who have been impacted by this deadly storm.
Reports are that half of the island territory is destroyed. People have no power or water and it could be months until power is restored. Estimates show as many as 6,000 homes destroyed and another 12,000 impacted by the storm. In addition, ports and airports are closed. The airport in Saipan sustained significant damage and only humanitarian and military flights can get in.
“Water and power are out, and many Red Crossers have major damage to their homes,” reported John Hirsh, executive director of the Red Cross in the region. “They are going to need our assistance as are the people of Tinian and Saipan.”
The islands are located southeast of Japan and are divided into two U.S. jurisdictions – the Northern Mariana Islands and the territory of Guam. This is the strongest storm on record to hit the islands and homes as well as critical infrastructure have been destroyed, leaving many people displaced. Almost 1,000 people are seeking safety in numerous government-run shelters which are at full capacity with the number of people needing shelter expected to rise.
Relief and recovery efforts are now underway but continued bad weather and the storm’s devastation are making it difficult. The Red Cross has staff in both areas who are operating with generator power and more help is on the way. Red Cross workers are teaming up with the office of the governor and FEMA to assess the damage and will be providing relief supplies. The Red Cross on Guam will serve as a staging area to get disaster workers and relief supplies to where they are needed.
HOW YOU CAN HELP The Red Cross works 24/7 to be ready to respond to disasters such as hurricanes and typhoons. Please donate to the Red Cross now to help. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process.
ADGP $1 Million members are: Adelson Family Foundation; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Brown & Brown Insurance; Caterpillar Foundation; The Clorox Company; ConocoPhillips; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; Grainger; The Home Depot Foundation; LDS Charities; Lowe’s Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; State Farm; Verizon; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and The Walt Disney Company.
ADGP $500,000 members are: 21st Century Fox; Altria Group; AmazonSmile; American Express; Aon; BMW of North America; Capital One; CBS Corporation; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation; Discover; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Humble Bundle; IBM Corporation; International Paper; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; LabCorp; Medtronic Foundation; Meijer; Merck Foundation; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Nissan; Procter & Gamble Company; PwC; Southwest Airlines; Target; Tata Consultancy Services; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; UPS; The USAA Foundation; The Wawa Foundation; and Wells Fargo.
Disaster Responder Program members are: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; AdvoCare International L.P.; Alliance Data; Assurant; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; AXA Equitable Life; The Ball Foundation; Barclays; Boise Paper; CarMax; Choice Hotels International; Cox Automotive; DICK’S Sporting Goods; Duke Energy; Entergy Corporation; Farmers Insurance; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; HSBC Bank; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Mastercard; Morgan Stanley; Neiman Marcus Group; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Prudential Financial; Raytheon Company; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation; Ryder; SC Johnson; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; Standard Textile; The Starbucks Foundation; Stearns Bank; Toyota; U-Haul International; United Technologies Corporation; U.S. Bank; and Visa.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, November 4 at 2 a.m. Turn those clocks back and remember it’s the perfect time to test every smoke alarm in your home.
Smoke alarms should be present on every floor of your home, in every bedroom, and in every hallway.
And remember, fire prevention should also include an escape plan. Find time with your family to review how you would escape your home safely in the event of a fire.
Every day, seven people die in home fires, most in homes that lack working smoke alarms. Sadly, children and the elderly disproportionately lose their lives. The American Red Cross wants to improve the odds and save lives, that’s why we launched our Home Fire Campaign in 2014.
A critical part of the campaign is Sound the Alarm, a series of home fire safety and smoke alarm installation events across the country. Red Cross volunteers, along with fire departments and other partners canvass at-risk neighborhoods, installing free smoke alarms, replacing batteries in existing alarms, and providing fire prevention and safety education. In just three years, we’ve accomplished so much, including the installation of more than 1 million smoke alarms and prepared more than 1 million people against home fires through our home visits.
Gold Country News and Notes 