By Chris Chmura, American Red Cross volunteer

September 28. 2020- September 28 is National Good Neighbor Day. How will YOU celebrate today? 

You may be a long-time resident in your neighborhood or possibly just recently moved in. I have lived in several different neighborhoods across Northeast Ohio that ranged from disconnected to extremely tight. In my experience, you will find the best neighbors are the ones that reach out consistently to each other during good times and bad.

As you know, we all are currently living during a historic time with the pandemic. On top of that, there are wildfires on the West Coast, hurricanes and tropical storm affecting in the South and flooding on the East Coast.  Now more than ever, we really need each other’s support!

Your long-time friend or brand-new neighbor might need to borrow one of your yard tools, a cup of sugar or possibly need help during a health emergency. The American Red Cross has an enormous amount of resources that you can learn to be a true asset to your neighborhood.

Courses & Certifications

 You can learn lifesaving skills to help your family, friends and neighbors in the safety of your home with our online classes.

Those of us who don’t face health emergencies every day can also benefit from Red Cross training. With a wide array of lifeguarding, caregiving and babysitting, and swimming and water safety courses, the Red Cross can provide you with the necessary training and skills you need to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

• Learn about First Aid training
• Learn about CPR training
• Learn about AED training
• Learn about Babysitting and Caregiving training
• Learn about Swimming training
• Learn about CNA training
• Learn about BLS training

An easy way to help the people around you are simply by having an Emergency Preparedness kit. Be prepared for disasters and other emergencies with a well-stocked emergency kit for your home, workplace and automobile. You can build one yourself or choose from a variety of survival kits and emergency preparedness supplies to help you plan for tornadoes, flooding, fire and other disasters.

Volunteer to Help Save Lives

COVID-19 has not changed the Red Cross’ mission, and we are still providing the same types of support as we always have.

To help keep people safe, we are following guidance from CDC and public health authorities — and have put in place additional precautions. Some of these plans include social distancing protocols, face coverings, health screenings and opening additional shelters that can support fewer people than normal so that we can ensure social distancing protocols.

Ensuring people have a safe place to stay during a disaster is a critical part of the Red Cross mission, but how we support sheltering efforts may be different in each community, depending on local emergency operations plans.

The Red Cross is in need of healthy individuals who want to assist their local communities and respond to disasters. For more information and to see high-demand volunteer opportunities, visit redcross.org/volunteertoday.

AEDs for a Safer Workplace or Community

Create a safer workplace environment with help from Red Cross safety experts. The Red Cross can help with competitively priced Automated External Defibrillators (AED) solutions designed to fit your location, organization needs and stay within your budget.

The Red Cross works with the leading manufacturers to help you select AED devices to keep you and the team safe.

The Red Cross helps you put a complete, life-saving AED program in place at your facility, with:

• AED product demonstrations
• Access to assistance with on-site needs analysis, placement, and program implementation at your facility
• Flexible AED purchase options, including different AED brands and multiple models
• AED employee training
• AED accessories and service
• Single-source AED management systems
• Qualified medical direction resources

For more information about obtaining an AED please call (888) 968-0988
Monday-Friday, 9:00am-6:00pm ET.

Maybe the best way for you to celebrate National Good Neighbor Day is by watching out for each other, respecting one another and just being there for the people around you.