Lookit Us Prance — We’re “Best in Show”!

Who would have guessed that this beauty is made out of old skis and recycled pop bottles? I guess our AmeriCorps are just that inventive. For the THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR IN A ROW, our Red Cross AmeriCorps tree won “best in show” at the Gerald R. Ford Museum! If you get a chance this holiday [...]

“Average Day” and “AmeriCorps” Don’t Really Go Together

We AmeriCorps in the office are preparing for our statewide Member Celebration next week, and we needed a way to show other AmeriCorps members from around Michigan what it is we do here at the American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids.
So I decided to chronicle in photos what an AmeriCorps member here might do [...]

Local AmeriCorps Meet Red Cross Royalty

Okay, okay, so not really royalty, but CEO and President Gail McGovern is as close as you get. (Unless Clara Barton suddenly appears, à la “A Christmas Carol” fashion of the ghost of Red Cross Past.)
Two of our AmeriCorps Together We Prepare members, Ben and Liberty, had the privilege to attend a conference of leaders [...]

Great Stories, Part 3

As I’m sifting through great stories, deciding which ones to share with you, I am noticing a theme.  People.  It’s all about human connection.  The power of the American Red Cross is the way it allows people in vulnerable situations to reach out to each other.
Here’s a story from Michelle Barbaresso, an AmeriCorps member in [...]

Tulips are good for the soul

As part of our AmeriCorps term of service, we participate in a service project each month, usually working outside the American Red Cross with another organization.  For our October Service project, one of our members found a volunteer needs posting entitled “tulip planting.”  So we piled into a van and made our way to Holland, [...]

Great Stories from AmeriCorps, part 2

My favorite part about coming into work every morning is knowing what wonderful people will be there to greet me when I step into the office.  (Or what wonderful people I will pick up on my way; we kind of have a car-pooling system going on.)  This next great story coming from the AmeriCorps office [...]

Saturdays + Pancakes = Goodness

I cannot tell a lie – I love to sleep in on Saturday mornings.  There’s something so refreshing about waking up slowly to the sun shining through my window, staying warm under the covers, maybe reading The Dark Is Rising until I feel like eating breakfast.
My other favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings is [...]

AmeriCorps Great Stories, part one

We AmeriCorps, as part of our reporting duties, are on the lookout for great stories to write down at the end of each month.  We have quite a few stories piled up by now, and I thought it was time to tell them – that’s what great stories are for, after all.  The first one comes from [...]

One Dollar Can Save a Life

Make a list of all the things that $1 can buy.  Two packs of gum.  A song on iTunes.  A cup of McDonald’s Sweet Tea.  Really, really, really cheap socks.
A chance for a healthy life.
It only costs $1 to immunize a child against the measles.

The American Red Cross is part of a movement called the [...]

Meet Cassidhe, Our Newest Blog Contributor!

Greetings and Salutations, friends of the American Red Cross!

My name is Cassidhe Hart, and I’m a new AmeriCorps member working as the Community Visibility Coordinator.  (If you’re curious about AmeriCorps and what AmeriCorps members do, check out the website: http://www.americorps.gov/.)
As the Community Visibility Coordinator, I’ll be promoting the Red Cross in events and programs throughout [...]