Tag Archives: Give with meaning

Give with Meaning

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When you support the work of the American Red Cross on #GivingTuesday, or any of the other 364 days of the year, you are supporting the tireless work of our dedicated volunteer workforce.

Now, across the year we average three home fires a night in the Northeast Ohio Region. Last night we responded to seven.

Through your generosity, we were able to provide $5,955 in financial assistance to 14 adults and 18 children who experienced a home fire.

And that’s just one night.

If you would like to “Give with Meaning” by supporting our mission visit redcross.org/donate, or call 1-800-REDCROSS.

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“Smile” this Monday

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By: Sue Wilson, Volunteer Leader and Board Member

Cyber Monday is a marketing term for the Monday after the Thanksgiving, following Black Friday. The term “Cyber Monday” was created by marketing companies to encourage online shopping  If you plan to do any online shopping and you use Amazon, check out  AmazonSmile. It is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com, but when you shop on AmazonSmile,  the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice.

Just click  Amazon Smile to register for the program. When first visiting, customers are prompted to select a charitable organization from the almost one million eligible. Type  “Red Cross” in the search bar and select it as your charity of choice.  For eligible purchases at AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the customer’s selected  organization. Again, simply search and select  American Red Cross.  Note: The Red Cross is not being paid any fees to promote Amazon or AmazonSmile, but if you make The Red Cross your designated charity, it will receive a percentage as a donation.

You can also donate directly to the Red Cross to help provide safe shelter, food, emergency relief supplies, emotional support and health services to people in need. To make a tax-deductible donation, visit redcross.org/gifts and choose from a variety of symbolic gifts that give back to the community, or call 1-800-RED CROSS to support Red Cross services.

Donate blood: The holidays are a hectic time with upcoming travel, family gatherings and festive events, yet hospital patients don’t get a holiday from needing lifesaving blood donations.  To make an appointment to donate blood or platelets, visit redcrossblood.org.

Donate time: Volunteers are the backbone of the Red Cross and help respond to the needs of communities affected by disasters big and small. To learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit redcross.org.

Ways to Brighten Black Friday

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By: Sue Wilson, Volunteer Leader and Board Member

Black Friday. The kick off to what is suppose to be the most joyous time of the year. Yet, a trip to any mall parking lot or big box retailer shows anything but joy. Black Friday can be a dark day, exemplifying the worst of consumerism in the holidays, and by the end of it we often hear some dreadful news story about customers rushing into stores, battling over a limited number of “door buster” specials. Sales consultant, Steven A McQueen, tweeted: “Black Friday is the day we trample people for things we don’t need, the day after being thankful for what we have.”

We have been convinced, through a bombardment of advertising messages, that the holiday season is all about MORE. Spending more money on more presents to fill our spaces with more stuff that we’ll be paying off for a long time.

If stepping back from the consumerism of gift giving sounds good to you, here are four suggestions to bring some meaning back to the holidays:

  1. Give the gift of time. Volunteer with an organization you believe in. Every single day, the Red Cross helps people in emergencies. Whether it’s one displaced family, thousands of disaster victims, or providing care and comfort to an ill or injured service member or veteran or support to a military family member, our vital work is made possible by people like you. It is through the time and care of ordinary people that we can do extraordinary things. Click here for information about becoming a Red Cross volunteer.
  2. Give something that means something. Honor a friend or family member with a gift that helps those in need. When you donate to the Red Cross you are helping people who face emergencies every day rebuild their lives. Donations can help provide safe shelter, food, emergency relief supplies, emotional support and health services to people in need. To make a tax-deductible donation, visit redcross.org/gifts and choose from a variety of symbolic gifts that give back to the community, or call 1-800-RED CROSS to support Red Cross services.
  3. Give something practical. If you still enjoy giving traditional gifts, you can shop online at the Red Cross Store and give a practical gift; the gift of preparedness for emergencies, with first aid kits, a hand-crank radio that can charge your cell phone, water bottles and more.
  4. Donate Blood. The holidays are a hectic time with upcoming travel, family gatherings and festive events. But hospital patients don’t get a holidays from needing lifesaving blood donations. To make an appointment to donate blood or platelets visit  redcrossblood.org.

Brighten up Black Friday. Give …rather than buy.

Volunteer With the Red Cross-The Perfect New Year’s Resolution!

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by Pat Buckhold, Regional Volunteer Services Officer, Northeast Ohio

As 2015 winds down and 2016 looms on the horizon, I can’t help but think of over 2,000 Red Cross volunteers in northeast Ohio who continue to make a difference every day in the lives of those who live in our community.  The Red Cross has many faces- Disaster Services Team Member, Blood Donor Ambassador, CPR/First Aid Instructor, Services to the Armed Forces Community Outreach Worker, Operation Save-A-Life Smoke Alarm Installer and yet all have one thing in common-  the desire to save lives and alleviate human suffering in the face of disaster.  I am humbled by the genuine caring and compassion of our volunteers and their selfless giving to others.  While many of us will be enjoying holiday gatherings and New Year’s celebrations over the next week, somewhere in northeast Ohio disaster volunteers will be giving up their time to respond to a fire or other disaster and help someone in need.

So when the last of the bowl games is over and the last of the holiday treats are gone, don’t let those New Year’s resolutions end too!  The New Year offers opportunities to make new choices and take new chances in life. Things that were on your back burner, such as volunteering, can take on new meaning so why not consider joining the Red Cross as a volunteer.  And if you didn’t know, volunteerism has countless benefits.  Volunteering has been linked with increased levels of happiness and decreased depression.  People who volunteer report physical, mental, and emotional health benefits.  Volunteers help create and support healthy communities.  I can’t think of any better reasons to volunteer (and spoken like a true volunteer services officer)!

For more information on volunteering, please contact NEOvolunteer@redcross.org , call 216-431-3328 or begin your on-line volunteer application here.

 

Why I Donated to the American Red Cross Gift Catalog

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By Joe Traylor

During my time at college, I became friends with many students that were part of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, commonly known as ROTC.  It never really dawned on me that they would be going overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq.  These are some of my best friends, and they are fighting for my life.  Now that the season of giving is at hand, I decided to give back to them.

The author Joe Traylor and his friend, Cadet James Pooler.

The author Joe Traylor and his friend, Cadet James Pooler.

I began searching for ways to donate to the military.  Then the American Red Cross came to mind.  Their Holiday Gift Catalog was exactly what I was looking for.  The catalog has three ways to help the troops.  One is Emergency Communications.  This delivers urgent messages to service members that may require them to come home to tend to family emergencies.  Another way to help our troops is through Reconnection Workshops.  The Reconnection Workshops are small-group classes held by mental professionals to help returning service workers readjust to society.  Though these two are excellent services for the military, I chose to go with the Military Comfort Kits.

While the thought of one of my friends getting injured makes me feel ill, knowing that the military comfort kits helps an injured soldier makes me feel reassured.  That is why I went with the Military Comfort Kit.  These kits go to military hospitals and are given to wounded soldiers.  In the kits are items such as a robes, shower shoes, toiletries, and even music gift cards.  Knowing my friends, I know that a gift like this would put a smile on their face.  And that makes me feel that I am truly contributing to their, and other wounded soldiers’, well-being.

Regardless of all of the other gifts I have bought this year, these kits make me feel like I actually made a difference; that I gave a real gift for Christmas.  For $100, I gave two comfort kits to two different individuals.  I encourage everyone to donate in some way through the Red Cross.  It is a gift that really matters, and it gave me a feeling of bettering the world.  It could do the same for you.  There are many other ways to donate aside from helping the troops.  You can find the one that is most important to you.  Let the Red Cross help you give with meaning this year.