On Saturday, the Red Cross assisted a national program, Wreaths Across America, at the Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman.
The annual program remembers and honors the fallen at national cemeteries across the country by placing wreaths on veteran headstones on a certain day in December – this year it was December 12. It’s an amazing program – the wreaths are sponsored by citizens across the nation, then trucked in to each of the cemeteries by volunteers. The wreaths are then placed by local volunteers.
The Red Cross was on site to pass out coffee, hot chocolate and water. The hot beverages are usually a welcome treat for the volunteers, but with Saturday’s balmy temperatures water was the most requested drink.
Following the placement on individual grave sites, the cemetery holds a ceremony which places a wreath in memorial of every veteran in each branch of service.
As I reflect on the past 4 years of working with an amazing team of volunteers to provide free transportation to all residents in Summit County, I realize that I have made a lot of great friends.
This team is made up of the most caring, and compassionate people I have encountered in my 33-years of working with the Red Cross. You have worked on days that were miserably cold and snowy, days that were hot and humid and never complained. I just want to say thank you for letting me be a part of this team, and thank each and every one on the team for all that you have done.
Install Hundreds of Smoke Alarms in Fewer Than Three Months
Dick and Earlene Kincaid have been American Red Cross volunteers for nearly eight years. They have responded to hurricanes, tornadoes and floods in Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Alabama as members of the Red Cross National Disaster Action Team, providing hot meals and comfort to thousands of people made suddenly homeless by extreme weather.
But the work they’ve done this fall in their own backyard has made the biggest impact in the lives of their neighbors.
The Kincaids have single-handedly installed more than 750 smoke alarms in homes in the Stark County and Muskingum Lakes Chapter since October. This October. In just over two months time, Dick and Earlene are responsible for achieving more than half the total annual goal of the entire Chapter.
Dick wields the drill and installs the alarms while Earlene provides valuable fire safety information to residents. She said, “Most of these people don’t have working smoke alarms, or they don’t have any at all.” The Kincaids work mostly on weekends, when people are more likely to be home. They spend about 15 minutes in each home, installing alarms on each floor. And they average about 100 installations a week.
Earlene and Dick Kincaid, with their rescue dog Heidi.
The Kincaids replaced this 1950’s-era smoke alarm
The wind-up crank on the back of this 1950’s-era smoke alarm
The lead insert had to melt to trigger the alarm
Photo credit: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross
Not bad for a couple who survived a motorcycle crash in 2007.
“I flew like a bird, but my landing sucked,” Dick says with a grin. Earlene says she rolled better, suffering only a broken shoulder and some scrapes. Dick says he spent 18 days at the Cleveland Clinic, undergoing 5 surgeries to save his leg, and spent another 9 months in a hospital bed in the living room of their Tuscarawas County home.
Dick retired from Timken as a steelworker that same year. Once he got back on his feet, Dick and Earlene Kincaid began their careers as Red Cross volunteers, responding to national disasters and local home fires. But their Operation Save-A-Life efforts are taking up most of their volunteer time now.
“We’ve had people who have had three little kids in a trailer home, and no smoke alarms. They burn so fast,” Dick says. ” If we can save any lives at all, that’s good enough.”
Volunteers from Lincoln Electric and Euclid Fire joined Red Cross volunteers and staff this summer to make a neighborhood safer Photo credit: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross
Mike Parks, CEO of the American Red Cross, Northeast Ohio Region saw this column, written by Regina Brett in last Sunday’s Plain Dealer and was inspired to share the following with Red Cross staff and volunteers:
“I thought Regina did a remarkable job of capturing the importance of the holiday we celebrate this week. I intend to share it with those gathered around our Thanksgiving table this year and felt moved to share it with all of you as well.
“Please accept my heartfelt thanks-not just this week-but throughout the year, for all you do to help prevent and alleviate human suffering throughout Northeast Ohio.
“I wish all of you a blessed and enjoyable Thanksgiving.
What HASN’T George Figel done as a volunteer with the American Red Cross?
The Akron resident was honored by the Center for Community Solutions as a “Most Treasured Volunteer,” at the agency’s Celebration of Human Services on Tuesday, November 17, 2015. He is one of 5 “MTV” recipients for 2014-2015.
George currently volunteers 3-4 days a week as a Blood Donor Ambassador, greeting donors, helping them through the registration process, and making sure they’re comfortable after they make their donation.
During his nearly 30 years of volunteer service, George has: worked on local and national disasters, driven for medical transportation, helped maintain Red Cross facilities, worked with Youth Services, and represented the Red Cross at national conferences and local health fairs.
He has even taken pictures at various events.
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Photo credit: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross
George was accompanied by a contingent of Red Cross staff members, including Ann Catanese, Lynne Lisner and Lindsay Harris of Blood Services, and Debra Kellar of Volunteer Services.
Another Red Cross volunteer, Ruby Dailey of Warren was also congratulated as a Commended Volunteer. She has volunteered since 2000.
“These two volunteers are really dedicated to helping us support the mission of the American Red Cross,” said Pat Buckhold, Volunteer Services Officer for the Northeast Ohio Region. “Their commitment to community service over such a sustained period of time shows just how much George and Ruby care about others.”
Other volunteers honored included Long Term Care Ombudsman Robert Blusko, Louise Dempsey of the Cleveland Metropolitan Schools, Mr. Shirley Stevens of University Hospitals and Dr. Mark Massie of the West Side Catholic Center.
When a family loses their home due to fire and the Red Cross responds, it’s more than likely a volunteer who helps that family find food, lodging and other immediate assistance.
More than 90% of the American Red Cross workforce is comprised of volunteers, people who donate their time and talent to help people in need every day.
Many volunteers have been with the Red Cross for years, in some cases, decades…providing disaster services, collecting blood, teaching CPR and First Aid, even answering phones. We honor everyone who donates their time at various Volunteer Recognition Ceremonies throughout the region.
From left: Joan Stallman, Mike Parks, Elsie Berger
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Volunteer Arie Freeman, left, with great-granddaughter Genesis Boles and daughter Tracey Mackey
Assists Searchers Looking for Missing Child; Helps Victims of Epic Flooding
A major, historic flood event is ongoing in South Carolina and parts of North Carolina. And the search for a missing child ended successfully in Trumbull County. Volunteers from the American Red Cross assisted there, and with several other disasters over the weekend.
The child, two-year old Rainn Peterson was reported missing Friday night from the family home in North Bloomfield. Some 60 searchers spent almost 48 hours looking for the little girl, and the Red Cross provided canteen services, including food, water and warmth inside an emergency response vehicle.
In addition, cots were provided to police and FBI agents who stayed at the Emergency Operations Center Saturday night.
On Sunday, just as the sun was setting, a volunteer found the the little girl about a quarter mile from the home. The Trumbull County sheriff said she was doing “as fine as can be expected” after spending nearly two days outdoors, with temperatures that dipped into the lower 40’s and a steady rain on Saturday.
“We all wanted to see heartbreak turn into hope, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Karen Conklin, Executive Director of the Lake to River Chapter of the Red Cross. “That little girl was in our hearts the whole time. It could have happened to any of us.”
While THAT story ended happily, the flooding on the East Coast is far from over.
This is now the wettest October on record in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, surpassing the previous record of 11.59 inches in 1959 – and it’s only the beginning of the month.
Flash flooding is ongoing and has become serious in many locations, including in Charleston, where numerous swift-water rescues were reported. Roads were closed all over the state, including portions of Interstates 77 and 20. A 75-mile stretch of Interstate 95 between Interstates 20 and 26 was closed. The heavily traveled highway through the eastern portion of the state was not closed during 1989’s Hurricane Hugo.
Widespread rainfall totals since Thursday are between 5 to 10 inches, with locally heavier amounts reported. Some coastal areas from Charleston to Myrtle Beach have recorded 10 to 16 inches. Additional heavy rainfall of between 5 and 10 inches is possible. These extreme rainfall amounts will continue to lead to widespread and catastrophic flooding and flash flooding. It will take several days for water to recede in the region once the rain ends. A Federal Emergency Declaration has been declared for South Carolina.
“We are helping families across South Carolina that are in need of shelter, disaster relief and comfort,” said Louise Welch Williams, regional chief executive officer of the American Red Cross in South Carolina. “We are also welcoming members of the community who want to help to join us as Red Cross disaster volunteers.”
The American Red Cross has opened 35 emergency shelters, helping people stay safe and dry and providing meals and emotional support. More than 200 people spent the night Sunday in a Red Cross shelter. Nearly 400 Red Cross workers, 22 emergency response vehicles and supplies for 5,000 people have been mobilized.
Additional shelters are on standby and the Red Cross is working closely with government partners to ensure immediate needs of residents are being met.
Volunteers from every Red Cross region in the Midwest, including Northeast Ohio, responded to a variety of disasters over the weekend. We respond to nearly 70,000 disasters every year, from home fires to wildfires, flooding and more.
In addition to flooding, we are still helping people impacted by the wildfires in California, a blizzard in Alaska, and the school shooting in Oregon, where volunteers are providing mental health support and assistance at community events. And in Florida, more than a dozen Red Cross volunteers are providing emotional support and other assistance for the families of the seamen aboard the cargo ship El Faro, which sank during Hurricane Joaquin last week.
You can help by donating to Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations to Disaster Relief will be used to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.
With a crowd of one million people or more expected in Philadelphia in late September for the visit of Pope Francis, the American Red Cross deployed a number of volunteers to support humanitarian needs.
Three of those volunteers are from the Northeast Ohio Region.
Kelly Weisenburger, Trish Wilson and Vincetta Tsouris are veterans of out-of town assignments. Kelly, a nurse at Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk, has experience responding to hurricanes on the east coast and wildfires in California. Trish, a nurse at the Ohio Veteran’s Home in Sandusky, has been deployed to Texas and Florida to provide hurricane relief, and helped residents of nearby Findlay when the Blanchard River flooded. And Vincetta’s first assignment was in response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The Steubenville resident served in the Air Force Reserve for 37 years, and is currently a nurse at Weirton Medical Center in West Virginia.
They arrived in Philadelphia on Friday, September 25, and were immediately dispatched to Pennsylvania Health Department Facilities that were set up as Medical Readiness Centers. While the Red Cross volunteers were prepared to treat a large number of people in the event of a disaster, they say there was just a handful of people who needed only minor medical attention. A few people were reunified with loved ones after being separated in the massive crowd, thanks to the efforts of Red Cross volunteers. And many homeless people who were displaced by the crowds were given food and water.
“Nothing really happened,” according to Kelly. “And that was the perfect part of it.” As a long-time Red Cross volunteer, Kelly is aware of the burden her travels have placed on her family over the years. But she says she is willing to serve, and her service has apparently rubbed off on her daughter, an optometry student at The Ohio State University, who has become a medical missionary.
Kelly, Trish and Vincetta never got closer than a couple of blocks from the Pope, but they were able to see coverage of the Pope’s movements in Philadelphia on one of the giant screens that were set up throughout the city. As Vincetta put it, “If it wasn’t for my volunteering with the Red Cross, I never would have gotten anywhere near the Pope.”
The volunteers returned to Northeast Ohio on Monday, September 28th, tired but happy to be of service, and awaiting word on their next assignments.
If you are interested in volunteering, visit www.redcross.org/neo and click on “Volunteer” on the left side of the screen. You will then be prompted to begin the application process.
There’s no guarantee of being assigned to another Papal visit anytime soon. But you WILL have the chance to help others.
Volunteers are the backbone of the American Red Cross. More than 340,000 people volunteered their time and talent to the Red Cross nationwide last year. Of that number, 350 volunteers are from the Lake Erie/Heartland Chapter, which covers seven counties, from Erie to the north to Holmes in the south. Many of them were honored during a celebration for “Everyday Heroes” on September 24.
Volunteers participate in a range of activities. They may provide assistance to people displaced by a disaster – like a home fire or flood – providing access to shelter, meals and other immediate needs. They provide disaster victim with mental health support, and help reunite family members separated by disasters. At large scale disasters, volunteers provide food and water to firefighters and other first responders. They help hold blood drives to make sure our hospitals have adequate supplies. Volunteers teach CPR and first aid, and provide services to military members and their families. And they travel, anywhere Red Cross services are needed.
Among the volunteers honored at Chapter headquarters in Wooster are Brenda Greegor, who logged more hours volunteering than any other board member. Pat Shaw was honored for being the most active blood services volunteer. Mike Priest was the volunteer who spent the most time at First Aid Stations. Ron Armentrout had most Chapter Services volunteer hours. And William “Bill” Chapman donated more hours working disasters than any other volunteer.
Bill also got top volunteer honors for most overall hours logged.
“Some of our volunteers have been with us for more than 40 years,” said Chapter Executive Director, Katie Myers-Griffith. “They provide invaluable services to the residents of the seven counties in our chapter. I can’t thank them enough.”
Those who attended the celebration for “Everyday Heroes” were treated to a picnic dinner, and several received raffle gifts provided by businesses in the community.
But the real gift is in knowing how dedicated Red Cross volunteers are always ready to help.
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If you are interested in volunteering in your community, please visit our website: http://www.redcross.org/neo and click on Volunteer on the left side of the screen. You may also call 216-431-3328 or email, NEOvolunteer@redcross.org.
First, a fire drill on live TV. Then, Citizen CPR courses taught in the same studio used by the cast and crew of “Live on Lakeside” and Fox Sports Ohio. It was all part of Safety Week activities initiated by Channel 3 and the American Red Cross.
During three separate sessions, trained Red Cross volunteers gave dozens of station employees the skills to help save lives by putting more cardiac arrest victims within a few steps of lifesaving assistance.
Volunteers Jerry and Diana Goodman, Beth Ann Barto, Pam Hendrix and Walter Reddick led the lessons on the hands-only technique, teaching TV 3 staffers to first check victims for consciousness, next to call 9-1-1, and then to give continuous chest compressions to patients experiencing cardiac arrest.
“Citizen CPR courses give untrained bystanders the ability to buy time for victims of cardiac arrest,” said Pat Buckhold, Director of Volunteer Services in Northeast Ohio. “Chest compressions can help keep a patient alive until trained medical help arrives.”
Pat led one of the sessions, explaining that the target is 100 chest compressions per minute. “There are a few songs you can hum in your head to help you keep the proper pace,” she said. “My favorite for this exercise is ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees.”
The fire drill and the Citizen CPR courses at Channel 3 took part during National Preparedness Month. See our previous posts on being prepared for disasters.
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