Tag: community service
Gary Strong: A salute to hundreds of Red Cross volunteers during their week
The American Red Cross Gold Country Region is honoring its volunteers and the work they do in the community during National Volunteer Week, April 10-17.
Last year, our volunteers helped 739 local families who faced home fires and other disaster situations. They trained 43,250 people in lifesaving skills and assisted 1,132 military members, veterans and their families. Volunteers also went door-to-door in neighborhoods at high risk for home fires to install more than 2,500 smoke alarms and teach people about home fire safety.
We invite the public to join us and become a Red Cross volunteer. Go to redcross.org/goldcountry to learn more about the many ways people can help and how to submit a volunteer application.
We want to extend our sincerest thanks to the 2,700 local Red Cross volunteers who help us fulfill our mission here in the Gold Country Region which serves more than 4.4 million people across 24 counties. The support of our volunteers allows us to help people when they need it most.
Sincerely,
Gary Strong
CEO
American Red Cross
Gold Country Region
Donor Spotlight – McDonald’s Mother Lode Bringing out the pies to help families of the Butte Fire.
It has been a little over five months since the Butte Fire ravaged through the hills and neighborhoods of Calaveras and Amador counties. While those communities continue their recovery process, community members and businesses like McDonalds in the Mother Lode are still gathering the donations they received from their customers.
When the fire erupted that September 9 last year, Dennis Graspointner, McDonald’s owner/operator of the store in the Mother Lode called his local Red Cross to offer support.
He gathered his team of employees and his supervisor Ron Richards to come up with a unique fundraiser to assist those affected by the wildfire.
They thought… “What is America’s favorite thing?” The All American Apple Pie, of course! Therefore, they kicked off a campaign where all proceeds from the purchase of pies would benefit the fire victims of the California Wildfires.
As soon as the campaign began, it was a hit in the community.
“Customers came by just for the pies, to help their friends and neighbors who had been evacuated,” says Dennis Graspointer.
Five months later, Liza Cruz, one of our major gift officers went by the store to say hello and to find out how the drive was going. “When I arrived the employees were so happy to have Red Cross there,” smiles Liza. “I was honored to be with such compassionate people.”
The pie sales raised more than $6000 dollars!
“McDonald’s is proud to be able to help, we benefited from the generosity of the customers, and they bought large quantities of pies, so thank you!” exclaimed Dennis.
The American Red Cross was able to help residents in Amador and Calaveras affected by the Butte Fire. Thanks to your generous support, we were able to:
- Open 5 shelters providing over 1,750 overnight stays;
- Serve more than 33, 000 meals and snacks;
- Hand out 23,500 relief items, like comfort kits and clean up kits containing shovels, gloves and more;
- And open 430 cases to provide one-on-one support to residents.
But, that’s not all; we continue to be in Calaveras and Amador counties to offer assistance to those affected by the fire with the recovery team “Calaveras Recovers.”
Behind the Scenes with ARCSA
Hello all! My name is Sophie Amirrezvani and I am the president of the American Red Cross Student Association (ARCSA) at Sacramento State.
We are dedicated to fostering a volunteering community within our club. We do a lot of events both on and off campus. I am a second year at Sac State and I remember coming into college knowing that I wanted to be involved on my campus but had no idea what I wanted to do. At the beginning of my first semester I checked out a few different clubs and the only one that really stood out to me was the ARCSA. I really loved Thursdays because not only was it one day closer to the weekend, but I got to go to see my Red Cross friends.
Last year, the club was short on officers so the officers recruited a historian and a secretary. I ended up being secretary and look where that got me. By being an officer I have learned so much more about the Red Cross and all the wonderful services we have to offer. This year I am also a board member, representing Sac State. It is truly inspiring to meet so many people that are so dedicated to helping their community. I have been volunteering for the Red Cross for just over a year now and have loved every minute of it. If you have not already done so I highly encourage becoming a volunteer! It is a wonderful experience and you get to meet so many amazing people
Whenever my mom asks me what I am up too other than school, my natural response is that I’m either volunteering for a Red Cross event or I plan on hanging out with my Red Cross friends. I am so happy to have joined such a wonderful and diverse club. Most people assume that our club consists solely of science major, although for myself that is true, I am a biology major. However, we have members that are majoring in a wide variety of subjects, ranging from criminal justice to computer science to gerontology. Fun fact: there is only one gerontology major in our club and she is awesome!!
Gold Country News and Notes 