What Cause Will You Speak For?

Stories captivate us.  You’d rather have me tell you an anecdote from a disaster relief operation than bombard you with statistics (or at least, most of you would).  When we open with the words, “Once upon a time,” or “Just the other day,” we have a more captive audience than if we say, “X+Y=Z” or “This graph shows…” The magic of stories lies in their universality—we can all understand a simple story.  And we all have stories to tell.

The American Red Cross has many stories:  the story of the girl who saved a life with her First Aid training;  the retired couple who spend their leisure time volunteering in the office and going on national disaster assignments;  the transportation driver who brightens his clients’ days with his positive attitude; and the group of students who raised over $500 to support relief efforts in Haiti.

These and other stories all combine to create the larger Red Cross story.  It’s a story as close as next-door and as wide as the opposite side of the globe.  And it’s a story you can tell.

Whether you want to represent the American Red Cross at community events, talk about our activities to interested partner groups, or share your passion with friends and family, the American Red Cross needs you to be its ambassador. The Red Cross is made up of ordinary people empowered to do extraordinary acts in the face of an emergency; we need your voice to tell the Red Cross story.

Extraordinary Voices: Telling the Red Cross Story

February 16th, 6-8pm—Empowering Prepared Communities

The American Red Cross is where people mobilize to help their neighbors—across the street, across the country, and across the world—in emergencies. This session dives into the details of the mobilizing services of the Red Cross and provides opportunities to practice answering questions about these services.

February 17th, 6-9pm—Finding Your Voice

As part of the American Red Cross Speakers Bureau, the ability to tell our personal stories about the Red Cross is essential. Alex Ritzema, a local comedian and inspirational humorist, will be spending time with us to share his Red Cross story and help us all prepare our personal stories. He holds a degree in Psychology from Hope College combined with 15 years of business experience developing new products, services and leadership skills. Having a passion for creative expression, Alex is also a graduate of the Conservatory at The Second City Theater in Chicago. Alex’s mission is to use his passion and skills to encourage authentic communication among everyone he meets.

For registration information, contact:

Cassidhe Hart
chart@ggr.redcross.org
616-456-8661 ex. 3611

Snackers for a Cause

Once again, our three local Olga’s Kitchen locations are showing off their Red Cross spirit. Every Thursday in February, you can visit any local Olga’s Kitchen (locations at the bottom of this post), show them this flyer and a percentage of your purchase comes back to Red Cross!

That means Snackers:

And Orange Cream Coolers:

And Olgas:

All for a good cause. Don’t forget your flyer, each Thursday this month! Thanks, Olga’s! You’re a true Red Crosser!

LOCATIONS:

Olga’s Kitchen – Rivertown Mall, Grandville
Olga’s Kitchen – Woodland Mall, Grand Rapids
Olga’s Kitchen – Gaslight Village, E. Grand Rapids

[Photo credit here, here, and here.]

Brrrrr! Warm Up With Home Heating Safety Tips

As winter plunges forward and we’re all still shaking in our boots (literally), nothing feels better than a warm gust of heat. The exceptionally chilly temperatures, combined with the continued tightness of pennies in households across greater Grand Rapids, brings unconventional heating methods to surface. However, this can often be a recipe for a much bigger problem: house fires. Your local American Red Cross urges families to be cautious when using space heaters and other heating sources, and to make a plan in case of a home fire. Heating sources are the leading cause of winter fires, and increase during the winter months of December, January and February.

Photo credit: American Red Cross

Heat sources such as space heaters, fireplaces or wood and coal stoves can pose a fire hazard. To reduce the risk of heating related fires, the Red Cross recommends keeping anything that can burn such as paper, bedding or furniture, at least three feet away from heating equipment and fireplaces and to never leave these unattended.

The American Red Cross offers the following fire prevention tips:

• All heaters need space. Keep all things that can burn (paper, matches, bedding, furniture, clothing, carpets, and rugs) at least three feet away from heating equipment.
• Never leave a fire in the fireplace unattended, and use a glass or metal fire screen to keep fire and embers in the fireplace.
• Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home.
• Turn off portable space heaters every time you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, and chimneys inspected annually by a professional, and cleaned if necessary.
• If you must use a space heater, place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface (such as ceramic tile floor), not on rugs, or carpets or near bedding or drapes. Plug power cords directly into outlets and never into an extension cord.

For more information and resources on home fires, visit www.redcross.org/homefires. For more information on how you can create a family disaster plan, click here.

Insights from our Interns

“I have a passion for philanthropy and the international community. [My Red Cross internship] is a microcosm of what I plan to do with my career. It provides me an opportunity to network, serve my community as well as find out the intricacies of Non-profit work.” — Blessing, GVSU student and Red Cross International Services intern

“I wanted to be a part of something great, and I believe that Red Cross can offer me that.” — Bak, GVSU international student and Red Cross International Services intern

“I believe this is a great opportunity to work with an organization that helps the community and world so greatly. I feel pride in helping others become more prepared for any troubles ahead or just assisting those in need.” — Jason, GVSU student and Red Cross Education Marketing intern

Blessing, Bak and Jason -- three of our 13 interns! (Photo by Jen Moore)

What will your insights be as a Red Cross intern? We have lots of opportunities available. Start here and sign up for a volunteer orientation.

Thanks, Miller Johnson!

Thanks to the Miller Johnson team who came in on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and helped paint some of our offices! The spruce was much appreciated and we are grateful for your service!

Mike here was working hard (in my office, actually — I love the blue wall, thanks Mike!). Just check out the paint splatters!

Credit: Miller Johnson

If you would like to get your business or organization involved with the Red Cross, click here.

Dimes Make Dollars for Haiti

It only takes 10 dimes to make a dollar.

That was Tiffaney Richardson’s mentality as she began her small fund raising campaign as an employee at a local Family Fare.  While working, she’d hear customers remark about how they were donating a few dollars to relief efforts in Haiti and she began to think about how small efforts add up.  “I can give 5 dollars,” she told herself.  She wondered how many other employees at Family Fare felt the same way.

Tiffaney approached her manager and asked if she could take up an employee collection for American Red Cross Haiti relief efforts.  She was given the OK and his was the first donation.

Tiffaney and her collected donations pose with Amanda, one of our AmeriCorps volunteers.

That first donation began a showing of generosity from Family Fare employees that exceeded Tiffaney’s expectations. ”One day a pharmacist put $20 in and I just started crying,” she said. Her co-workers were “supportive and positive” of her week-long campaign and they good-naturedly teased her for her tenacity.  “Oh, you don’t have money today?” she’d say.  “I’ll see you next pay day.”  She even came in on her days off to ask employees to donate.

Tiffaney’s drive to help came from a realization about what is important.  While out shopping, she was having a hard time finding an outfit for her birthday celebration.  Frustrated, she sat in her car and began to think about her attitude. “I was stressing because I couldn’t find a birthday shirt. ..I can’t find a shirt and [in Haiti] they can’t find water.”  Seeing things from that perspective, she wanted to act.

Her original goal had been $50.  By the end of the week, she had raised over $300.  “We wish we could have done more,” she told us.  But that $300 is a part of 26 (and growing) local efforts to raise money for relief in Haiti.  Local schools, businesses and community groups have stepped up and said, “There is something we can give.”   When each person gives even just a small part of themselves and their resources, the small parts add up.

In Tiffaney’s own words, “Those dimes make the dollar.”

No contribution is ever too small.   There are plenty of ways you can get involved here in greater Grand Rapids to fundraise for Red Cross efforts in Haiti and here in our backyard.

Rock out for Haiti at the Intersection.

Come to our next Volunteer Orientation and discover ways you can get involved locally.

Eat at Olga’s on Thursdays in February–support your local Red Cross.

Contact Amanda Meldrum about holding your own third-party fund raiser.

“Simple Beginnings”: Words from a Youth Volunteer

Local Red Cross youth volunteers host a Love Feast. (Photo by Charlie Oliver)

“My time with the Red Cross had simple beginnings: I needed 30 hours for community service to graduate and they needed volunteers. When I started volunteering, I was ignorant of the work that took place at the Red Cross. I knew about the basics: disaster relief and blood drives. I was, however, unaware of all of the other services being provided and how they all work. Thankfully, just a mere 10 hours into my service, I have started to gain a real grasp on the work provided by the Red Cross.

My volunteer hours have been split into 2 categories — general office work and specialty work. The office work often finds me partnered with other volunteers, doing work like stuffing fundraising envelopes, fire safety brochures for children and even helping with repainting the office. The specialty jobs were a little different. They were designed to get me more involved in the Red Cross. I was able to research fresh new ways for youth to be involved in service learning. Another day, the chapter’s youth leader challenged me to write a youth leadership camp brochure. These tasks moved me to do more for the Red Cross than I thought to do before.

After my brief time with the Red Cross, I have started to realize how it works. Behind every program, there are two types of people: the paid staff that coordinate the work being done and challenge the volunteers to do more, and the volunteers who give of their time to do the everyday tasks that keeps the organization rolling. With these two types of people, the Red Cross is able to change the world.”

-Caley, local Red Cross youth volunteer

“I Left a Piece of My Heart in Haiti.”

“It’s an exception to see a building standing; the city is flattened like a pancake. But you would be very proud of what the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement is doing in Haiti. Red Cross workers from all across the globe are there, working together side by side. Somehow, despite all these logjams and bottlenecks, assistance is getting through…I think I left a piece of my heart in Haiti.” — Gail McGovern, American Red Cross President and CEO, on her recent trip to Port au Prince, Haiti following the January 12th earthquake

AEDs in Schools — Are You Prepared?

Two of our very talented Red Cross instructors, Roger and Ron, visited EightWest on WOODTV 8 this week, talking about the importance of schools installing AEDs in their building. Hear from the source the importance of these machines, the lives they can save and the stories they can help tell.

Of course, AEDs require training and we have that too — click here.

President Obama Visits the Red Cross Disaster Operation Center!

American Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Haiti received outstanding recognition on Monday during a visit to the Disaster Operations Center (DOC) at Red Cross national headquarters by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Photo Credit: Dennis Drenner/American Red Cross

Photo Credit: Dennis Drenner/American Red Cross

President Obama personally thanked Red Cross employees and volunteers for their part in the work being done to help the people of Haiti following last week’s earthquake. The President expressed his gratitude to everyone at the Red Cross for their work, saying to the employees and volunteers present, “tip-top operation, thank you and keep it up; you make us very proud.”

During his tour of the DOC, located just a few blocks from the White House, the President took time to talk with staff about their responsibilities. He observed one workstation where workers monitor Twitter messages, pushed the send button on a message about his visit and announced he had just “tweeted” for the first time.

Everyone at the Red Cross, both in Washington and across the country, is working very hard during this monumental disaster and there is still much to do. Employees and volunteers from different Red Cross units and departments are working side-by-side to ensure everything that needs doing gets done, and the people of Haiti receive the support they so desperately need.

Though he spoke directly to those present here in Washington, President Obama’s words were for our Red Cross team all across the country. Working together, we will get the job done.

For more information on the disaster relief efforts in Haiti and how you can help, visit redcrossggr.org/haiti.