Author: American Red Cross California Gold Country Region

The California Gold Country Region serves a twenty-six county territory including Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba counties

What it Means to Give Back as a Red Cross Volunteer and Staff Member

Written by Debbie Calcote, Disaster Program Manager (Tuolumne & Stanislaus Counties), Red Cross Capital Region

Debbie Calcote (R) provides direction for Red Cross volunteers during a recent fire safety canvassing event in Turlock, CA.
Debbie Calcote (R) provides direction for Red Cross volunteers during a recent fire safety canvassing event in Turlock, CA.

In 2005, like many other people, I was devastated by what I was seeing in the media about Hurricane Katrina.  The sadness and total devastation of so many things and people was almost more than I could bear.

My heart went out to all impacted by this rage of Mother Nature. I needed to do something only I was caring for my disabled husband and couldn’t leave the area. So I went to the local Red Cross office and offered to help in any way. Continue reading What it Means to Give Back as a Red Cross Volunteer and Staff Member

Holiday Mail for Heroes v 2.0

Check out our new twist on one of our favorite holiday traditions! With a reduction in U.S. military forces overseas, particularly in the Middle East and across Europe, we have revised our Holiday Mail for Heroes program!

Rather than collecting hundreds of individual holiday cards, we are collecting messages and signatures on large banners to be distributed to and displayed in military and VA facilities throughout the region! What began as a Veteran’s Day project for several Red Cross Clubs in the Capital Region is quickly taking off… Continue reading Holiday Mail for Heroes v 2.0

Giving Tuesday – Why We Give Back

Volunteer Freddy Aw helps deliver relief supplies to residents of Weed, CA following September's Boles Fire.
Volunteer Freddy Aw helps deliver relief supplies to residents of Weed, CA following September’s Boles Fire.

Tuesday, December 2, has been designated at “Giving Tuesday”. This is a global campaign driving people to give back in some way, shape, or form during the day and bring some balance to other days on the calendar devoted to shopping and giving thanks. And whether you choose to provide financial support, or get hands-on and volunteer to help, there are countless opportunities around the world and in your own backyard to get involved and give back where it’s needed most! Continue reading Giving Tuesday – Why We Give Back

Veteran’s Day

By Jordan Scott, Communications Director, Red Cross Capital Region

I grew up in a military family. My grandfather flew B-24’s over Europe in World War II, and continued his service to our country over a distinguished and decorated career in the United States Air Force. My father followed a similar path, serving nearly 30 years as a flight navigator, working at the Pentagon, and retiring as a Lt. Colonel. In fact my father’s side of the family all served in the Air Force. Two uncles fought in Vietnam, others in the Gulf War, and one uncle even earned the honor to lead the USAF Thunderbirds! Continue reading Veteran’s Day

Memories of Loma Prieta

A section of the I-880 viaduct through Oakland, CA collapsed as a result of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
A section of the I-880 viaduct through Oakland, CA collapsed as a result of the Loma Prieta earthquake.

At 5:04 PM on October 17, 1989, the earth shook. The San Andreas fault, one of California’s and the world’s most infamous fault lines, shifted violently beneath the Loma Prieta peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The force of the shift resulted in a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that sent shockwaves throughout California and, most notably, the densely populated San Francisco Bay Area. Continue reading Memories of Loma Prieta

When Disaster Strikes

Smoke from the King Fire rises across the El Dorado County sky.
Smoke from the King Fire rises across the El Dorado County sky.

It began on the evening of Saturday, September 13. A small fire took hold of the landscape in Pollock Pines, California and began moving from tree to tree in this forested community hit hard by the ongoing drought. By Sunday morning, it was clear that the King Fire would not be going without a fight. Within hours, the fire quickly jumped in size from 500 acres to 1,000 to 2,000.

The billowing smoke put on a dazzling display for onlookers as it “boiled” over the tree tops. A fleet of firefighting aircraft swarmed the skies overhead, bombarding the blaze with everything they had but having minimal impact. The terrain was rugged, the wilderness like kindling, and the wind driving the flames beyond the reach of firefighters. Continue reading When Disaster Strikes

Red Cross Volunteer Helps his Town Recover

Red Cross volunteer Andy Grossman talks with Weed resident Karly Gregory at the site where her home once stood.
Red Cross volunteer Andy Grossman talks with Weed resident Karly Gregory at the site where her home once stood.

By CARL MANNING, American Red Cross Volunteer

Ask Andy Grossman why he’s an American Red Cross volunteer and his answer is simple – he really enjoys helping people.

It’s a philosophy that’s been a major part of his life, not only as a Red Cross volunteer in Weed, California, but also as pastor of the Abundant Life Church of the Nazarene in nearby Mount Shasta and as chaplain for the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department and the City of Weed.  And if that isn’t enough, he’s just had a book of poetry published. Continue reading Red Cross Volunteer Helps his Town Recover

Boles Fire Takes Family’s Home, but not their Spirit

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Red Cross Volunteer Debbie Nicholau and Weed resident Tiffany Duhon visit Tiffany’s home following the Boles Fire.

By CARL MANNING, American Red Cross volunteer

Despite losing her home and everything in it to the Boles Fire, Tiffany Duhon still wants to live in Weed, California with her five children. With some help from the American Red Cross, it looks like she will.

Tiffany and her family settled into Weed four years ago and she began taking college classes with the goal of becoming a lawyer. Over the years she and her family have become part of the community, active in church and school activities. Continue reading Boles Fire Takes Family’s Home, but not their Spirit

Help and Healing in Weed

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Red Cross volunteer, Connie Hoffer, speaks with a resident displaced by the Boles Fire

By CARL MANNING, American Red Cross Volunteer

When wildfire victims in the northern California mountain community of Weed come to the American Red Cross seeking help, one of the first people they likely will meet is volunteer Connie Hoffer, who has seen her share of devastating fires.

A volunteer from Littleton, Colorado for a nearly a decade, Connie has seen first hand several Colorado wildfires over the years and knows just how horrific a fast-burning, widespread fire can be.

Nestled at the base of Mount Shasta, Weed is a small community of barely 3,000 people. When the Boles Fire erupted on September 15, it quickly consumed 287 acres, destroying or damaging 162 homes. For this small community, it’s a loss that will never be forgotten. Continue reading Help and Healing in Weed

Red Cross Volunteer Pays it Forward

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Volunteer, Kari Guthrie, gets the kitchen ready for residents at the King Fire shelter in El Dorado County.

It was an all too familiar sight to Kari Guthrie as she saw smoke start to rise up over the hills near her home in Mosquito, California. It was the early beginning of the King Fire, a blaze in El Dorado County which has grown to over 82,000 acres across the drought-ravaged landscape since it first started on September 13. Continue reading Red Cross Volunteer Pays it Forward