Give 10 hours, help your community

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Look for our volunteers on Dawg Pound Drive just outside the stadium at tomorrow’s Browns vs. Ravens game!

The Cleveland Browns are encouraging fans to volunteer 10 hours of service in their own communities during the year.

The First and Ten initiative, which launched in June of 2014, is the first of its kind in the NFL. The Browns are hoping that fans will volunteer over 500,000 hours to communities throughout the area, and really, anywhere that a Browns Fan may live. With over 10,000 pledges already in, they are well on their way to meeting that goal.

This is a perfect partnership for the American Red Cross, which relies on volunteers to continue its mission to prevent and eliminate human suffering in the face of emergencies. Volunteers make up more than 94% of the workforce of the Red Cross.

How can you volunteer to #Give10 hours to the Red Cross in your community?

You can get started as a volunteer by going to www.redcross.org/volunteer and filling out the online form.

Then head over the Brown’s First and Ten website to register, as a Browns’ fan, to give 10 hours in your community.

Share your #Give10 story

If you are social media savvy, you can share your story of giving 10 hours by using the hashtag #Give10 on Twitter. Then tag @BrownsGiveBack and @NEORedCross. Fans can follow the #Give10 movement on Twitter by following @BrownsGiveBack or searching for the hashtag #Give10.

 

Not on twitter? Share your story of volunteerism by visiting the First and Ten site.

 

Disaster preparedness for pets too!

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When disaster strikes, all members of the family should be prepared with a disaster kit – including your pets.  Keep items in an accessible place and store them in sturdy containers so that they can be carried easily.

Pictured beside Zack and Zoe are leashes, water, food, Vet information, dog toys, a towel, dog treats, medical history, medicine, current picture of Z&Z and a water bowl.

Pictured beside Zack and Zoe are leashes, water, food, Vet information, dog toys, a towel, dog treats, medical history, medicine, current picture of Z&Z and a water bowl.

Your kit should include—

  • Sturdy leashes, harnesses and/or carriers to transport pets safely and ensure that they can’t escape.
  • Food, drinking water, bowls, cat litter/pan and a manual can opener.
  • Medications and copies of medical records stored in a waterproof container.
  • A first aid kit and download the Pet First Aid App
  • Current photos of you with your pet(s) in case they get lost. Since many pets look alike, this will help to eliminate mistaken identity and confusion.
  • Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems, and the name and number of your veterinarian in case you have to foster or board your pets.
  • Pet beds and toy

Click here for a complete list of pet disaster preparedness items: http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m3640126_PetSafety.pdf

Pets will look to family members for comfort during all the changes that disasters bring.  Having a plan ahead of time will reduce stress and ensure you that you can care for your furry family members.

New Red Cross app puts power to help save lives in hands of blood donors

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The Red Cross is launching a first-of-its kind Blood Donor App that puts the power to save lives in the palm of your hand.

The app makes it easier, faster and more convenient for users to schedule and manage their donation appointments, track the lifetime impact of their donations, and recruit friends and family to roll up a sleeve with them.

As the nation’s single largest supplier of blood and blood products, the Red Cross is uniquely positioned to bring this cutting edge technology to blood and platelet donors. In addition to scheduling and managing blood donation appointments, other features of the app include:
• A blood drive or blood donation locator;
• The ability to sync a blood donation appointment with the user’s calendar;
• Donors can share personalized #selfies about their donation experience through social media;
• Unlock special badges through interaction with the app, make donations and spread the word;
• A chance for donors to come together to form teams, tracking their cumulative impact and viewing standings on the Blood Donor Teams Leaderboard;
• Exclusive offers and discounts from some of America’s best brands, including Shari’s Berries, ProFlowers and 1A Auto, with new rewards added regularly; and
• Uplifting donor and blood recipient stories that show the power of rolling up a sleeve to help save lives.

The Blood Donor App, along with the Red Cross suite of preparedness apps, can be found in app stores by searching for American Red Cross. You can also visit redcross.org/apps or redcrossblood.org/bloodapp, or text* BLOODAPP to 90999 for a direct link to download.

Eligible blood donors do not need a smartphone to schedule an appointment to give blood. Appointments can always be made by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or by visiting redcrossblood.org.

How to donate blood
A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental consent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally 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.

* Message and data rates for texting may apply.

Celebrate National Preparedness Month: Make a plan, get a kit, be informed!

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September is National Preparedness Month.  There are many ways that your family and community can prepare for an emergency. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be showcasing some of the simple steps that you can take to get prepared.

Oklahoma Tornado One Year Report 2014Carney, Oklahoma Home Kit DeliveryThe simplest way to prepare for a crisis is to have an emergency kit ready to go. An emergency kit is made up of basic necessities that will help you and your loved ones survive sheltering in place. (To shelter in place means that you are staying in a safe space in your home for any amount of time, like when you go to your basement or other enclosed area during a tornado warning.)

The core items needed for a basic emergency kit are available at many of the locations where you do your weekly shopping, so it doesn’t even require a special trip to get started!

Your kit should include:

  • Water
    • one gallon per person, per day (3-day supply for evacuation, 2-week supply for home)
  • Food
    • Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables
    • Protein or fruit bars
    • Dry cereal or granola
    • Peanut butter
    • Dried fruit
    • Nuts
    • Crackers
    • Canned juices
    • Non-perishable pasteurized milk
    • High energy foods
    • Vitamins
    • Food for infants
    • Comfort/stress foods
  • Can Opener
  • Flashlight
  • Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
  • Extra batteries
  • First aid kit
    • 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
    • 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
    • 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
    • 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
    • 5 antiseptic wipe packets
    • 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
    • 1 blanket (space blanket)
    • 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
    • 1 instant cold compress
    • 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
    • 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
    • Scissors
    • 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
    • 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
    • 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
    • 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
    • Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
    • 2 triangular bandages
    • Tweezers
    • First aid instruction booklet
  • Medications (7-day supply) and medical items
  • Multi-purpose tool
  • Sanitation and personal hygiene items
  • Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies – paper copies and on a usb stick)
  • Cell phone and/or chargers
  • Family and emergency contact information
  • Extra cash
  • Emergency blanket(s)
  • Map(s) of the area

Don’t forget to include specialized items for all of your family members, especially the tiny or four-legged ones! If relevant, be sure to include:

  • Baby supplies
    • Bottles
    • Formula
    • baby food
    • diapers
  • Games and activities for children
  • Pet supplies
    • Collar
    • leash
    • ID
    • Food
    • Carrier
    • Bowl
  • Medical supplies
    • hearing aids with extra batteries,
    • glasses
    • contact lenses
    • syringes, etc

And some additional supplies that would be good to keep at home or in your survival kit (based on the types of disasters common to your area):

  • Whistle
  • N95 or surgical masks
  • Matches
  • Rain gear
  • Towels
  • Work gloves
  • Tools/supplies for securing your home
  • Extra clothing, hat and sturdy shoes
  • Plastic sheeting
  • Duct tape
  • Scissors
  • Household liquid bleach
  • Entertainment items
  • Blankets or sleeping bags

For more information on building an emergency kit, visit www.redcross.org/prepare or download our free Situational Emergency apps.

On Twitter? Show us your kit! Tweet a picture, tag @neoredcross and use the hashtag #NatlPrep. 

A Month of Preparedness, sneak peek into September at the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio

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One piece of the mission of the American Red Cross is to prevent human suffering in the face of emergencies. The simplest way to do that is to help individuals and families learn how to be prepared for the disasters that happen in our communities. When a disaster strikes, because it can and will happen, everyone will have the tools and knowledge to respond accordingly.

The month of September is National Preparedness Month. For the Red Cross and many of our partner organizations, September is the perfect opportunity to voice the power of being prepared in our homes and in our communities.

There are so many simple, quick ways to prepare for an emergency situation.

  1. Check your smoke detectors once a month and change the battery at least once a year.
  2. If you don’t have smoke detectors, install them. One in every bedroom, one outside of sleeping areas and one on every level of your home. (NOTE: carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors are not the same thing.)
  3. Make a Fire Escape Plan and teach it to every member of the household.
  4. Practice your plan twice a year.
  5. Know what emergencies can affect your area: Flooding, Tornadoes, etc.
  6. Create a 72-hour Emergency Kit filled with necessities to keep your family safe and sound for 3 days.
  7. Take a first aid and CPR course.
  8. Download the FREE Red Cross Apps through iOS or Android app marketplaces.
  9. Make your neighbors part of your emergency plan (and you become a part of theirs), especially if they are older adults or have young children in the home.

All September long, our blog will be dedicated to details ways that you can get your family prepared, so be sure to subscribe or check back often.

If you are regular reader of this blog or just happened here through Google, please, share this link with your friends and colleagues. It is vitally important that we help ourselves and each other before an emergency situation happens.

Jessica’s Red Cross story

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Jessica Sandoval, a summer intern with the Lorain County Chapter, displays her Leadership Lorain certificate.

Jessica Sandoval, a summer intern with the Lorain County Chapter, displays her Leadership Lorain certificate.

Following my sophomore year as a marketing major at University of Dayton, I became involved with the Lorain County Chapter of the American Red Cross through the Leadership Lorain County Internship Program. As the Communications Specialist Intern, I was responsible for increasing Red Cross awareness and donations through effective communications, public relations and the use of social media tools.

Previous to my assignment, I knew very little about the American Red Cross, but I was quickly amazed by this incredible organization. The American Red Cross is a non-profit organization and not a federal agency. As such, it receives no regular federal funding. The Red Cross also does a lot more than host blood drives. Each region is well equipped with a Disaster Action Team, Disaster Mental Health Team, and an array of other volunteers. They also offer services to the Armed Forces—from preparing soldiers and their families for deployment to getting those same soldiers emergency contact with their families while overseas.

Based on my experience, I do not think the public is well aware of the extent to which the Red Cross helps our local, as well as national, communities.

While attending a Friday Forum at the Cleveland City Club to hear President and CEO of the American Red Cross, Gail McGovern, speak I met a volunteer who truly changed my life. The woman, who dedicates 100% of her time to volunteering, and I discussed her career in the medical field and a trip she took to India to treat patients in a poor village. I commended her on her voluntarism and expressed how I wished my future profession in the business world would allow me to help people the same way hers does. I commented that those in the medical field have the ability to go the extra mile and help people in a more profound way than any other profession. She informed me it is not an extra mile, but a different mile.

During my time at the Lorain County Chapter I helped prepare for the annual 5K Run for the Red, and have witnessed the chapter go through a merger with the Firelands Chapter. I also created several campaigns for different chapter events including Christmas in July which supported the annual Holiday Mail for Heroes and the Pillowcase Project sponsored by Disney. I contributed blogs on chapter events and also created a Social Media and Marketing timeline for the annual 5K. I also canvased for our 5K, made phone calls in hopes of obtaining donations, and spread Red Cross awareness whenever and wherever I could. As a marketing major, I believe I learned so much about my future profession as well as what it is like to work for a non-profit organization. I had the opportunity to become CPR Certified as well as take Disaster Overview and Fundamental courses.

Whether it was hearing a volunteer’s Red Cross Story, or learning something new about my major (or even myself), I was inspired every single day when I stepped over the threshold of that history Lorain County building. I could not agree more with President and CEO of the American Red Cross, Gail McGovern, when she says, “the depth and breadth of all the Red Cross does still amaze me, and it’s an incredible privilege to play a part in it.” I plan on continuing my involvement with the American Red Cross as I complete the last two years of school and well into my future.

 

The power of being prepared (at any age)…

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My boys are survivalists at heart.

When they were little, each carried around a bag full of cherished things:   “Puppy” the stuffed dog, a tape measure from Papa, a wallet with a few bucks in it, a note pad, a toy car, a plastic hammer, a blanket.  Today they still carry around bags, though now it is a camel pack filled with a pocket knife, wallet, gloves, bug spray, bandana, flashlight, and first aid kit.  As teenagers they are more inclined to be prepared for an emergency.

This is not a scientific fact, but, personally, I believe that people want to be prepared. Stuffing a bag full of essentials is one way to do that.  Heck, I have a purse stuffed full with essentials, myself! This personal belief is what made me fall in love with the American Red Cross Pillowcase Project sponsored by Disney!

A Girl Scout troop colors preparedness kits during a Red Cross Pillowcase Project session.

A Girl Scout troop colors preparedness kits during a Red Cross Pillowcase Project session.

The pillowcase project is an emergency preparedness exercise that teaches children grades 3-5 about weather related emergencies, coping mechanisms, and provides them with a “bag” in which to stuff all their essentials.  Instead of an ordinary bag it is a personally decorated, canvas pillowcase. I was very excited about this project, not only as a Red Crosser, but also as a parent.  I signed up right away to be a presenter and am so happy that I did.

My first session was with a group of Girl Scouts from Wooster, Ohio.  To my surprise they were very well-versed in tornado safety.  They already knew the difference between a tornado watch and a warning.  They knew where to go and what to do.  They were very smart cookies (no pun intended)!  However, when we talked about coping mechanisms, none of them really knew what that meant. As a presenter, I was able to introduce them to new ways to deal with fear and anxiety in just a few steps through coping mechanisms like breathing with color or singing their favorite song.  These mechanisms can help on a day-to-day basis and in times of emergency.

When the time came to pass out the pillowcases, we talked about what they would put in their pillowcase.  I asked them to think about the items that they would need in an emergency.  They began to list the items like flashlight, band-aids, batteries, phone charger before they mentioned the important stuff: stuffed animals, pictures of family, and special toys.

It is very important to be prepared for an emergency physically – with all the emergency equipment – but it is equally as important prepared mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Hence the need for a stuffed animal and family photos!

This project is valuable in so many ways.  It is a fun and interactive teaching tool and the take a way is a tangible, touchable, stuffable pillowcase.  My day-to-day tasks don’t usually put me in contact with children, but this project has allowed me to reach out to the children in our community as future Red Crossers, future leaders, volunteers, and emergency personal.  I feel priveledged to be a Pillowcase Presenter.

Katie Myers-Griffith

Executive Director, American Red Cross, Ashland & Wayne Counties, Ohio.

 

Heading out to the movies this weekend?

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Wildfire is a phenomena that we don’t really worry about happening here in Northeast Ohio.

However, if you are heading out to see Disney’s new movie, Planes Fire and Rescue, then you may want to arm yourself for the conversation that could follow.

In the movie, Dusty Crophopper (star of the first Planes movie) travels to Piston Peak National Park to train as a firefighter. While there he encounters and fights several wildfires.

Careless use of fire in heavily wooded areas such as a campsite at Piston Peak, combined with drought or dry conditions, dramatically increase the chance of a wildfire. Fire can spread quickly.

A Red Cross Volunteer observes first responders at a Wildfire.

When a wildfire rages, every second counts.

While first responders, like Dusty, control the fire through aerial and ground maneuvering, the American Red Cross establishes shelters and provides food and water to those who were forced to flee their homes. Shelters provide a safe place to stay and volunteers offer support and a caring shoulder. Once it is safe to return to a community, the Red Cross provides trash bags, masks and heavy work gloves to the people who start to shift through the ashes.

The Red Cross may also provide refreshments to the first responders who fight the blazes. (Cab, a cola depicted in the movie, anyone?)

Preparedness is paramount to those who live in areas susceptible to wildfire. That is why the Red Cross developed Wildfire Safety Tips and the Wildfire App.

In our communities, the Red Cross is more likely to respond to a home fire. In Northeast Ohio, we respond to an average 2.5 home fires a night. Some of the steps you can take to prevent this is your own home include:

  • Keep anything that can catch fire—like pot holders, towels, plastic and clothing— away from the stove.
  • Never smoke in bed.
  • Talk to your children regularly about the dangers of fire, matches and lighters and keep them out of reach.
  • Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.
  • Teach your children what smoke alarms sound like and what to do when they hear one.
  • Once a month check whether each alarm in the home is working properly by pushing the test button.
  • Replace batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year. Immediately install a new battery if an alarm chirps, warning the battery is low.
  • Carbon monoxide alarms are not substitutes for smoke alarms. Know the difference between the sound of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms.
  • Ensure that all household members know two ways to escape from every room of your home.
  • Make sure everyone knows where to meet outside in case of fire.
  • Practice escaping from your home at least twice a year and at different times of the day. Practice waking up to smoke alarms, low crawling and meeting outside. Make sure everyone knows how to call 9-1-1.
  • Teach household members to STOP, DROP and ROLL if their clothes should catch on fire.

For more information on home fire prevention and safety, visit our website.

Some of the scenes in Planes Fire and Rescue may be a little worrisome to young viewers. You can assure them that there plenty of specially trained first responders ready to respond to the emergency. And organizations, like the Red Cross, are ready to respond to the people who experience a wildfire or a home fire.