American Red Cross Youth

Thursday, January 12, 2012 — The American Red Cross is responding in Texas and North Carolina after unusual January tornadoes touched down, and is prepared to offer help as a winter storm moves toward the Northeast.

In North Carolina, numerous injuries were reported and multiple homes damaged or destroyed after at least two tornadoes touched down. The Red Cross opened a shelter, describing the area as “packed with emergency vehicles and people needing help.”

In Texas, possible tornadoes and flash flooding in the Houston and Galveston areas stranded motorists, caused a mall roof to collapse and left thousands without power. The Red Cross provided shelter and food for those affected by the Texas storm.

As people begin to clean up after the rare January tornadoes, the Red Cross has safety steps they should follow:

Return home only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
Wear long pants, a long­-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes when examining your home for damage.
Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.
Stay out of damaged buildings.
Use battery­-powered flashlights when examining buildings—do NOT use candles.
If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly and call the gas company or fire department.

As residents of the South clean up after the storms there, all eyes are on a winter storm expected to bring heavy snow and freezing rain to portions of the Great Lakes and Northeast over the next couple of days. The Red Cross urges residents to watch this storm and get prepared for the winter weather.

~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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Here is an interesting video for you guys on the recovery efforts in Haiti and the role that the American Red Cross has been playing in recent months!

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Hi everyone, my name is Mohit Jain, and am on the Leadership Team for the National Youth Council. I will be taking over a portion of the blogging. Looking forward to getting to know all our readers!
I wanted to begin with a historical piece that I read in the Washington Post just this last weekend (January 7th by Kathy Lally). It was a truly inspirational piece that aimed to keep the story alive. And hence, I am blogging today to tell you all about this story. The article began with the quotation:
“World War I was drawing to a close in 1918 when American Red Cross volunteers in Russia’s Far East heard rumors about abandoned children, dressed in rags and foraging for food in Siberian forests. They set off on a rescue that would turn into an extraordinary around-the-world journey little known today.
The dominos that caused this to be true began before World War I when thousands of students were kept in the Ural Mountains, so that they could be safe from the devastating effects of WWI, and the toll that it had taken on food availability in the larger cities. A civil war in the Ural Mountains captured about 800 of these captives and they grew malnourished as the winter season approached. And in a 2-year effort, American Red Cross Volunteers took them around the world, and through the Russian landscape, home. One of the rescuers, Molkina said that “the Americans who worked in the American Red Cross were simple people, and those lost children were someone else’s,” Molkina said in an interview. “They didn’t have to do anything, but they did.”
On a daily basis, American Red Cross Youth around the world are making a difference from everyday resources. This is just one incredible story where the American Red Cross has played an important role historically in the lives of thousands nationally.
As always, the NYC loves to hear stories like this, from youth around the United States. Message me your story, and I’ll include them next time!
-Mohit Jain
Leadership Team, National Youth Council

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January is National Volunteer Blood Donor Month and the American Red Cross wishes to thank people who give blood to help patients in need.

Since 1970, Blood Donor Month has been observed to educate everyone about the importance of being a blood donor and the impact blood donations can have on patients who need blood.
“We want to thank everyone who gives blood and ask them to schedule a time to donate now,” said Shaun Gilmore, president of Biomedical Services for the Red Cross. “We’d also like to encourage people who have never donated before to consider giving for the first time and join those across the country who change lives by donating blood.”

January is a time of year when blood supplies often dip drastically as winter weather blankets the country, keeping people from giving blood. At the same time, patient need for blood does not diminish.

Every two seconds, someone in this country needs blood. 44,000 blood donations are needed every day to help accident and burn victims, cancer patients, those having surgery, new mothers, premature babies and many others.

Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in general good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. Individuals should bring their Red Cross blood donor card or other form of positive ID when coming to donate.

For more information on giving blood, or to make an appointment to give blood or platelets in the coming days, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit www.redcrossblood.org.

~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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Opportunities for young philanthropists to roll up their sleeves and get involved are coming in 2012 through Red Cross school clubs. Don’t miss the fun and the good feeling that comes from helping people in need in your community.

It’s easy to fit serving as a Red Cross volunteer into a busy schedule. Alex Quan, a member of the Clements High School Red Cross Club in Sugar Land, Texas, talks about how “fun and exciting” it is to be a Red Cross volunteer, and that “volunteering became a sort of daily routine added to my schedule.”

Interest in Red Cross School Clubs is Snowballing

In fact, being a part of the Greater Houston Area Chapter’s school club program is very popular among the area’s young volunteers. “We’re drowning in applications,” said chapter program manager Kimberly Patel; 556 teens attended the youth kick-off last October.

It is no surprise that membership is growing and that schools have started coming to the Red Cross asking to start a club. School clubs offer unlimited opportunities for service, networking and personal growth. For example, at the Houston chapter the more than two dozen school clubs in its program are led by a seven-member Youth Services Council that conducts club orientations, plans activities and develops central communications.

One member of the elite Youth Services Council, Francesca Sebastian, has been volunteering through the Cinco Ranch High School Red Cross Club for three years. Sebastian originally came to the Red Cross with her older sister who was a volunteer, but then, she says, she “saw how much the Red Cross helped our community and I myself wanted to be part of the Red Cross.”

Houston-area School Club Activities

This spring school club members in Houston will receive Leadership in Action training, start planning a summer Leadership Development Conference, learn hands-on about fundraising and provide information to their families and their schools about emergency preparedness.

The fall semester was also chock full of activities—organizing blood drives, working in a Veterans Administration hospital, teaching elementary school children how to effectively wash their hands and making holiday cards for veterans, members of the military and their families.

Quan’s most memorable experience has been the time spent playing with children at a women’s shelter. “When I see their smiles as we play with them, like tag on the playground, it always makes my day,” he said.

Why sign up to become a member of a Red Cross School Club in 2012? “Because we offer a bunch of great service opportunities,” Sebastian said.

Red Cross Youth Opportunities

“Students like to be Red Cross volunteers because the Red Cross is an internationally known organization,” Patel said. “They can get their service hours and pad their college applications and get leadership opportunities, all at the same time.” “Once they get going, a lot is turned over to students,” she concluded.

Nearly a third of all American Red Cross volunteers are under the age of 25. Many chapters offer formal and informal activities for youth, including school clubs, camps and training in skills such as swimming, lifeguarding, CPR, babysitting and wilderness and remote first aid.

Contact your local Red Cross to learn about opportunities for young philanthropists in your community.

~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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Winter storms can range from a moderate snow over a few hours to a blizzard with blinding, wind­driven snow that lasts for several days. Some winter storms are large enough to affect several states, while others affect only a single community. Many winter storms are accompanied by dangerously low temperatures and sometimes by strong winds, icing, sleet and freezing rain.

Know the Difference

Winter Storm Outlook
Winter storm conditions are possible in the next 2 to 5 days.

Winter Weather Advisory
Winter weather conditions are expected to cause significant inconveniences and may be hazardous. When caution is used, these situations should not be life threatening.

Winter Storm Watch
Winter storm conditions are possible within the next 36 to 48 hours. People in a watch area should review their winter storm plans and stay informed about weather conditions.

Winter Storm Warning
Life­ threatening, severe winter conditions have begun or will begin within 24 hours. People in a warning area should take precautions immediately.

For more info visit: Winter Storm Safety Checklist

~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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On Christmas Day, while families gathered together and children opened presents, the American Red Cross celebrated the 190th birthday of Clara Barton. Widely known as the founder of the American Red Cross, she was born on December 25, 1821. Barton’s understanding of the needs of those in distress and the ways in which she could provide help to others guided her throughout her life.
Clara Barton, circa 1881, by the Betts Studio, Dansville, New York. Barton established the American Red Cross in 1881.

For the first 20 years in the existence of the Red Cross, with Barton at its head, the organization devoted itself largely to disaster relief. A forest fire in Michigan and flooding along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers were among its first disaster responses. Disasters that sound familiar still in 2011.

Like the holiday season, birthdays also mark the closing of a year and the beginning of a new one. In 2011, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and wildfires became all too common headlines. But Barton’s legacy lives on. It paves the way to each answered cry for help and shines the light of hope for those who struggle to put back the pieces in the wake of devastation.

With a relentless series of disasters this year, the Red Cross responded to more than 100 large-scale events by feeding, sheltering and providing emotional support to those affected across the country. In response to Hurricane Irene alone, the Red Cross provided shelter for more than 25,000 people up and down the East Coast. Even as the number and impact of disasters increases, the Red Cross commitment to providing relief never wavers.

Today, the symbols of the season are all around us. Amid silver bells and ribbon-tied packages, countdowns and clinking glasses, we send cards of holiday cheer and promise to do more in the new year. It is a season of giving and resolution.

For the American Red Cross, a symbol never far from mind is that of Clara Barton. The woman who provided food, clothing and supplies to sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War. The woman who read to them, wrote letters for them, listened to their heartache, and quietly, prayed with them. The woman who became a symbol of selfless compassion and went on to found an organization committed to providing relief for those in need.

Amid a symbolic season where angels top evergreen trees strung with lights, the Red Cross remembers the birthday of Clara Barton, “Angel of the Battlefield” and founder of the American Red Cross.

Clara Barton, circa 1881, by the Betts Studio, Dansville, New York. Barton established the American Red Cross in 1881.

~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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Hundreds of thousands of cards are making their way to U.S. service members, veterans and their loved ones worldwide through Holiday Mail for Heroes from the American Red Cross.

Sponsored by Pitney Bowes, the program aims to give members of the Armed Forces a “touch of home” this holiday season.

The Red Cross collected holiday cards throughout the past several weeks for distribution on military bases and hospitals, veterans’ hospitals and other locations in the U.S. and abroad during the holidays. Pitney Bowes donated all screening, packaging and shipping.

Over a million cards were collected this year, bringing the total to about 4.5 million cards over the past five years.

This year’s cards included cards done by school children, senior citizens, churches, Scout troops, businesses college sororities, members of Congress and other elected officials, television anchors, and a wide range of other people. Many cards were hand made or hand painted, others were distributed for signing by companies, and the cards even included at least one in Braille.

“The American people have been extremely generous this year, taking a break from their busy schedules to write words of encouragement and gratitude to those who serve our country,” said Sherri Brown, senior vice president of Service to the Armed Forces at the Red Cross. “Receiving a simple, heartfelt message can mean the world to service members away from their families during the holidays.”

The mailbox for the 2011 Holiday Mail for Heroes program is now closed, but Americans wanting to help military members, veterans and their families can visit the Red Cross holiday giving catalog and click on “Help Our Troops.” The online catalog offers symbolic donations to help provide members of the Armed Forces with phone cards and comfort kits as well as assist homeless veterans, among many other options.

~Hanna Malak
hmalak.nyc@gmail.com

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