Friday, January 27, 2012 — The American Red Cross relief operation in Alabama continues in response to a series of tornadoes that hit the state earlier this week.

The Red Cross has shelters open in Alabama to offer those affected a safe place to stay, has served more than 6,600 hot meals and snacks and distributed more than 700 relief items. Red Cross disaster workers are traveling throughout the region to deliver hot meals prepared by Southern Baptist Convention volunteers, and will continue to distribute relief items over the coming days.

It is with the help of partners such as the Southern Baptist Convention and the NAACP that the Red Cross is able to reach people immediately after a disaster.

Just days after tornadoes tore through neighborhoods surrounding Birmingham, there’s nothing Steve Branch wants to be doing more than helping the Red Cross. Branch has unfortunately seen his share of disasters, most recently as the head of the NAACP’s disaster response following the Tuscaloosa tornado in 2011. Branch is again lending a hand as part of the partnership between the NAACP and the Red Cross, a partnership Branch values a great deal.

NAACP disaster liaison Steve Branch meets with Red Cross volunteer John Manners at the Red Cross Disaster Operations Center to map out a plan to help people in tornado-ravaged areas outside Birmingham, Ala., on January 26, 2012. Photo: Dave Schrader/American Red Cross.

“The NAACP and the Red Cross serve as a bridge,” Branch said. “They are a bridge to bring people together to help each other.”

Branch says that within 24 hours dozens of NAACP members from around Alabama will descend on Birmingham. In conjunction with the Red Cross, they will handle administrative and field work, including fanning out to the hardest hit areas to meet with residents. Branch says the volunteers will be organized by expertise and then assigned to help where the needs are greatest.

“First and foremost, we are here to help,” Branch said. “But we also want to enlighten and educate residents about the kind of assistance the Red Cross provides and how to get it.”

The partnership between the Red Cross and the NAACP is just one of many the Red Cross has formed over the years and which is being put to good use in Alabama.

The Southern Baptist Convention and the Red Cross are longtime partners and are once again working together to serve hundreds of meals to people who don’t have power or the means to cook their own meals.

After a disaster such as the tornadoes that hit Alabama this week, the Red Cross purchases the meal ingredients, the Southern Baptists prepare it in a makeshift kitchen set up outside one of the shelters, and then Red Cross volunteers load up the food in their vehicles and hand deliver the meals to people at their homes or in their neighborhoods.

Just like the Red Cross cannot do what it does without the generous support of donations from the public, it also cannot carry out its work without the many partnerships it has formed over the years. The Red Cross is continually forming new relationships, like the one it has with Steve Branch and the NAACP, so it can continue to respond to disasters quickly, effectively and efficiently.

To learn more about your local American Red Cross visit www.arcwestmi.org.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Hidden among the chaotic collection of decrepit alleys, perplexing roundabouts, and weaving rickshaws, there is an unassuming, white building. This structure, surrounded by several Blood Mobiles, is the Bombay City Branch of the India Red Cross Society.

I had the privilege of visiting the center while taking a family vacation to India over winter break. Although the site doesn’t boast extravagant advertising methods, a large donation center, or a surplus budget, all 35 staff members are compassionate, generous, resourceful, dedicated, and hard-working. The center only has about 2-3 walk-in donors per day, and a majority of their donations are the result of Blood Mobile presence at political functions, birthday parties, universities and other large social gatherings.

Dr. Narinder Kaur Naidu, Medical Director for the Bombay City Branch, mentioned the significance of the National Service Scheme (NSS) in raising awareness about Red Cross needs, providing volunteers, and encouraging others to donate. NSS is a service organization of 2.6 million volunteers from over 200 universities, which shows the power and crucial presence of youth in philanthropic efforts.

As I received a delightful tour of the blood center, I passed the halls adorned with catchy propaganda, such as a poster saying We can’t get blood from a stone, so please give us a little of yours. The Mumbai branch gives about 35-40% of its collected units at no cost. A majority of these recipients are children, who are also provided medicines if required.

I am impressed by the amount the branch is able to do on few resources, such as hold local events for World Red Cross Day, engage the Junior Red Cross in activities such as summer camps and workshops, and celebrity cricket matches. It was an honor to be able to visit the Maharastra branch in Mumbai, and to meet fellow human beings striving to impact the world around them through service, leadership, and compassion.

Children in the Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program work together to make a comfort blanket for house fire victims.

Ben Oliver, AmeriCorps ESL teacher, speaks with a family in the Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program.

Families participating in the Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program attended a service project on the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service at the Boys & Girls Club of Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth. Families volunteered to help local and international victims of natural disasters while learning how to prevent one of Grand Rapids’ most frequent disasters – house fires.

AmeriCorps volunteers from the Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program partnered with the American Red Cross of West Michiganto plan a day of service. Families in the Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program received a fire safety presentation catered toward English Language Learners, presented by the American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids. The families assembled comfort kits that will be distributed to local house fire victims and constructed sleeping mats (made using ordinary plastic grocery bags) for the victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program serves parents of children enrolled in Grand Rapids Public Schools by increasing their capacity to support their children through adult English as a Second Language classes. This program is a partnership between the Heart of West Michigan United Way, Literacy Center of West Michigan and Grand Rapids Public Schools.  Seven Grand Rapids Public Schools elementary schools and approximately 200 families participate in the program.

The Corporation for National and Community Service leads the annual MLK Day of Service by working with the King Center in Atlanta and thousands of nonprofit groups, faith-based organizations and schools and businesses nationwide. For more information about MLK Day of Service and what’s taking place across the country, visit www.MLKDay.gov.

View original post here: http://therapidian.org/schools-hope-family-literacy-program-participates-mlk-day-service-project.

(Grand Rapids, MI) — Hundreds of families who have immigrated to Grand Rapids are expected to participate in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Day of Service on by volunteering to help local and international victims of natural disasters, while learning how to prevent one of Grand Rapids’ most frequent disasters – house fires.

AmeriCorps members from Schools of Hope and American Red Cross of West Michigan have partnered together to plan a day of service that will leverage the strength of local citizens to help tackle both local and global problems and advance Dr. King’s dream of opportunity for all. This service event offers the families of the Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program a unique opportunity to both be served – through a fire safety presentation from the American Red Cross of West Michigan – and serve the local and global community through volunteerism. The families will be assembling comfort kits that are distributed to local house-fire victims and constructing sleeping mats (made using ordinary plastic grocery bags) to be sent to victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program serves children enrolled in Grand Rapids Public Schools by increasing the capacity of parents to support their children and to compete more effectively in the workplace through adult English as a Second Language classes. This program is a partnership between Heart of West Michigan United Way and the Literacy Center of West Michigan and serves seven Grand Rapids Public Schools and approximately 200 families. These families will join hundreds of thousands of Americans who are participating in MLK Day of Service projects in all fifty states. This national day of service honors Dr. King’s legacy and commitment to transforming our nation through service to others. This milestone is a perfect opportunity for Americans to help advance economic opportunity and take action to solve problems in their communities.

WHO:             AmeriCorps, United Way’s Schools of Hope, American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids, Literacy Center of West Michigan, Rays of Hope for Haiti

WHAT:           MLK Day of Service 2012: Fire Safety and Fun!

WHERE:        Boys and Girls Club of Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth

WHEN:           January 16, 2012 from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

The Corporation for National and Community Service leads the annual MLK Day of Service, working with the King Center in Atlanta and thousands of nonprofit groups, faith-based organizations, and schools and businesses nationwide.  For further information about MLK Day of Service and what’s taking place across the country, visit MLKDay.gov. 

About the Literacy Center of West Michigan:

The Literacy Center of West Michigan is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 that provides literacy services to over 1,500 adult learners through the Adult Tutoring Program, Family Literacy Program, and the Customized Workplace English Program. The Adult Tutoring Program provides reading, writing, and English as a second language (ESL) instruction to adult learners at no cost.  The Customized Workplace English Program offers West Michigan businesses fee-based classes in workplace English, workplace literacy and accent modification.  The Family Literacy Program offers reading, writing, and ESL instruction, workshops, and family literacy events in partnership with the Head Start for Kent County and Grand Rapids Public Schools. The Literacy Center’s Community Literacy Initiative is a coalition that seeks to empower community leaders, parents, and residents to improve literacy for all ages.  The Literacy Center is a United Way partner agency and an accredited member of ProLiteracy America. To learn more about the Literacy Center, please visit: www.literacycenterwm.org or call (616)459-5151

About the American Red Cross of West Michigan:

The mission of the American Red Cross is to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

About the Corporation for National and Community Service:

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service each year through its core programs, Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. Visit NationalService.gov for more information.

Although this event is not open to the public, the media is encouraged to attend. For more information, please contact:

Jessica Young

AmeriCorps, Family Literacy and ESL

616-459-5151 x.70

Jyoung@LiteracyCenterWM.org

Posted by Scott Waggoner at 6:33 PM 0 comments   Labels: Afghanistan, ICRC, IFRC, International, Philippines, Somalia, Syria, Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up

This post is by Jennifer Baker, Regional Manager, Service Programs, Greater New York Region

For the past 20 years, the Greater NY Red Cross has been providing Holocaust tracing services through The American Red Cross Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center, a national clearinghouse for persons seeking the fates of loved ones missing since the Holocaust and its aftermath.

I’ve been involved with the program at the Greater New York Chapter (now the Greater New York Region) since October 2007 and have had the honor to hear people’s stories and help with their journey to find answers about their family.

This program aims to reconnect survivors separated by the Holocaust during World War II, but often it assists U.S. residents, searching for themselves or for family members, in finding information regarding proof of internment, forced/slave labor, or evacuation.

To locate information, we use the worldwide network of more than 185 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies including the Magen David Adom in Israel. We also consult museums, archives and international organizations to further facilitate tracing requests.

As the years pass, sadly, there are fewer survivors to reconnect. Often, the end result of a search is proof of what a survivor endured. This result, though less than what was hoped for, is often invaluable to the person initiating the search.

Six years ago Ruth Schloss opened a case to see if she could learn the fate of her parents. She’d last seen them 70 years earlier, frail and starving, at Camp de Gurs, a work/holding camp in southwestern France, when she was fourteen. Through that search, Ruth learned that her parents died at Auschwitz. Although this was sad news, it provided Ruth with the closure she needed. “I can’t thank the Red Cross enough,” Ruth told my predecessor.

Now, nearly 67 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, fewer and fewer survivors are able to initiate cases themselves. Despite this reality, my team continues to receive new inquiries. The difference is that today, many of these new cases are initiated by the children, and sometimes the grandchildren, of Holocaust survivors.

Most are searching on behalf of elderly parents whose memories or mental states are in decline. That was the situation when Anna Zvi, a Queens, resident and mother of two, initiated a tracing case through the Greater NY Red Cross for her elderly mother, Holocaust survivor Mania Kichell.

Mania’s condition was not the only factor behind Anna’s inquiry. Anna’s daughter Simone helped convince her mother to begin the search; Simone had always thirsted to know more about her grandmother’s Holocaust experiences, but Mania chose not to speak about them.

Zvi and her family were thrilled to receive public records obtained by the Polish Red Cross confirming her mother’s residence in the Lodz Ghetto and liberation from Bergen-Belsen, as well as her mother’s Polish birth certificate.

“The Red Cross relates to people with a lot of heart,” said Zvi. “I’m blessed to have had their help. Having this information means so much to me and to my children.”

This summer the Greater NY Red Cross ran an article about Zvi’s tracing story on our website; it was picked up in September by the Queens Gazette. I’m happy to report that as a result of the Gazette article, a number of new tracing cases have been initiated with my team. Most of these were initiated by individuals who were unaware of our tracing services until reading the article.

Sometimes, though a stroke of luck, a tracing search yields another kind of favorable outcome: Family members are united with relatives by surprise. After Harriet D., the daughter of a survivor, initiated a tracing inquiry on an uncle earlier this year, we concurrently received a tracing request from the Magen David Adom in Israel searching for information on both Harriet’s mother and another uncle. As a result, Harriet was able to connect with a cousin in Israel she didn’t know existed, and relatives in both the U.S. and Israel have reestablished contact.

In my mind, our Holocaust Tracing program is not only an opportunity to find answers, locate lost relatives and potentially bring closure to survivors and their families; it’s a remarkable opportunity to preserve their voices and stories.

As Anna Zvi so eloquently pointed out to me: “My mother is unable to impart this information in her own voice, that’s why I get so emotional when I receive a new piece of documentation. It’s as if someone was speaking for my mother and saying, ‘Yes, she endured this; Yes, we know.’”

To learn more about your local American Red Cross of West Michigan and its role in international tracing, visit www.arcwestmi.org.

Check out our Twelve Days of Holiday Safety tips:

Having a busy time getting ready for the holidays? While everyone is shopping, baking, gift wrapping, decorating and going to parties, the American Red Cross of West Michigan has holiday tips to help make the season a safe one.

1. Prepare vehicle for traveling to grandmother’s house. Build an emergency kit and include items such as blankets or sleeping bags, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, compass and road maps, shovel, tire repair kit and pump, extra clothing, flares, and a tow rope.

2. Drive the sleigh and reindeer safely. Avoid driving in a storm. If travel is a must, let someone know the destination, the route being taken to get there, and how long it should take to arrive. If the car gets stuck along the way, help can be sent along the predetermined route.

3. Help prevent the spread of the flu. Stay home if sick. Wash hands with soap and water as often as possible, or use an alcohol-based hand rub. Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, and throw the tissue away after use. If a tissue isn’t available, someone should cough or sneeze into their elbow, not their hands.

4. Follow Santa’s fashion lead – dress in layers. When it’s cold outside, layered lightweight clothing will keep a person warmer than a single heavy coat. Gloves and a hat will prevent loss of body heat.

5. Use a Red Cross-trained babysitter when attending holiday festivities. Red Cross-certified babysitters learn to administer basic first aid; properly hold and feed a child; take emergency action when needed and monitor safe play. Some may be certified in Infant and Child CPR.

6. Avoid danger while roasting chestnuts on an open fire. Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. If leaving the kitchen even for a short period of time, turn off the stove. This is important because unattended cooking causes nearly 90 percent of all kitchen fires.

7. Be a lifesaver during the holidays. The Red Cross recommends at least one person in every household should take first aid and CPR/AED training. Visit www.redcross.org/training for details and to register.

8. Designate a driver or skip the holiday cheer. Buckle up, slow down, don’t drive impaired. If someone plans on drinking, designate a driver who won’t drink.

9. When the weather outside is frightful, heat the home safely. Never use a stove or oven to heat the home. Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Install smoke alarms.

10. Cut down on heating bills without being a Grinch. Get the furnace cleaned and change the filters. Make sure furniture isn’t blocking the heat vents. Close off any rooms not in use and turn off the heat in those rooms. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

11. Home for the holidays? Travel safely. Check the tire air pressure and make sure the windshield fluid is full. Be well rested and alert. Give full attention to the road – avoid distractions such as cell phones. If someone has car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible.

12. Resolve to Be Red Cross Ready in the New Year. Get ready now in case someone in the household faces an emergency in 2012.

The American Red Cross and Girl Scouts of America are collecting donations for an Operation Shoebox event this Saturday, December 10th!

Operation Shoebox was founded in 2003 to send support over to our men and women deployed out side of the USA to help raise their morale and let them know they are cared about. They accomplish their mission with care packages, letters, and bulk shipping of items that can be beneficial to them during their deployment. Operation Shoebox is composed of over 1300 dedicated volunteers in three locations and also volunteers all across the USA that assist in accomplishing our mission. Without the support of these dedicated people we would not be able to accomplish what we do.

We will be collecting the following items for shoe boxes:

• Candy (non-melting)
• Fruit breezes (throat drops)
• Writing paper and envelopes
• Pens/pencils
• Floss
• Mouthwash
• Toothbrushes
• T00thpaste
• Instant coffee
• Powdered drink mixes
• Tea mixes
• Books
• Magazines
• Nose spray
• Eye drops
• Deodorant
• Feminine hygiene products
• Foot powder
• Hairbrushes
• Combs
• Hand lotion
• Hand Sanitizers
• Nail clippers
• Q-tips
• Shampoo
• Tissues
• Travel size body wash
• Tylenol
• Sugar packets
• Beef jerky
• Canned fruit (pop top cans)
• Cereal (small boxes)
• Granola bars
• Gum
• Instant oatmeal packets
• Pop tarts
• Ramen noodles
• Tuna kits
• Travel size board games
• Playing cards
• Puzzle books
• CDs, DVDs
• Hand held electronic games
• Plastic spoons
• Disposable cameras
• Pre-paid phone cards
• Shoe insole cushions

We will also need shoe boxes and plain white paper to wrap them.

Please drop off donations to:

American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids

1050 Fuller Ave. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 by Friday, Decemeber 9th

or

1363 Sierra NW Walker, MI 49534 by Saturday, December 10th.

December 1st is World AIDS Day. For the past 23 years, organizations and individuals across the globe have united on this day to fight one of history’s most deadly and feared diseases and show their support for those living with it.

But fighting HIV and AIDS is more than just a health issue. It’s a human issue. For all of the medical advancements in understanding the physical causes and nature of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the disease remains one of the most stigmatized illnesses, particularly impacting people who are already vulnerable and marginalized. In other words, those most susceptible to contracting and spreading the virus are also the least likely to have access to prevention and treatment options.

For that reason, the American Red Cross and the global Red Cross and Red Crescent network are making significant efforts to bring HIV programs to marginalized communities at higher risk of infection in 14 countries.

“Around the world, the Red Cross is well poised to reach vulnerable communities,” says Andy Meléndez-Salgado, the senior HIV advisor with the American Red Cross. That’s because in addition to providing funding to HIV projects, the American Red Cross has made behavior change a key focus in its prevention education programs.

“Before you can enable people to seek help, you have to make sure they’re in an environment that supports that connection,” says Marianna Kuttothara, an American Red Cross program officer for Latin America and the Caribbean. To help curb the spread of HIV, as well as to reduce social stigma associated with the disease, the American Red Cross is working to improve HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors.

The Caribbean region is home to the second largest percentage of people living with HIV. In 2009, the American Red Cross launched the Caribbean HIV and AIDS Program which works with the Red Cross in the Bahamas, Jamaica and Guyana. The goals of the program are to increase knowledge and understanding about the disease, change local attitudes and build prevention capacity. It provides peer education, condom distribution, counseling, testing and other support to those living with HIV. It also trains local people to be HIV educators, to lead support groups and perform one-on-one outreach to youth, sex workers and other populations at higher risk.

In recognition of World AIDS Day, HIV peer educators are taking advantage of technology to provide additional outreach opportunities. They are using social media and text messages to expand their outreach and to target anti-stigma messages to specific communities.

The American Red Cross is dedicated to providing support for persons living with HIV and to preventing the spread of the disease through promoting understanding and de-stigmatization among higher risk communities.

Last month, Red Cross representatives participated in the 2011 Caribbean HIV Conference where they presented seminars and displays of their work in combating the spread of HIV.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.