Tag Archives: West Virginia

Red Cross, Avon Lake mayor team up to send smoke alarms to West Virginia

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By Todd James, American Red Cross

In my nearly 20 years with the American Red Cross, I have seen many times how our chapters across the country work together to deliver help where it’s needed. I’ve worked side by side with disaster responders from many cities, states, and even other countries. But it’s not only in disaster response that the Red Cross uses our national network of chapters to provide help. I recently had the opportunity to be a part of helping homes in West Virginia receive free smoke alarms as part of our Home Fire Campaign.  

It all started with a conversation between Joe Matuscak, a member of the North Central Ohio Chapter Board of Directors and Mark Spaetzel, the mayor of Avon Lake in Lorain County. Mayor Spaetzel asked Joe about the Home Fire Campaign, specifically how we provide free smoke alarms and preparedness education for families.  

Charleston, West Virginia high school students repairing homes

A couple of weeks after that initial conversation, the mayor was in Charleston, West Virginia as part of a mission project with the United Church of Christ. He was one of 31 adults that accompanied 85 high school students to Charleston to assist the Appalachian Service Project in providing home repairs and help to low-income families in the area.  

As a construction manager for the project, Mark oversaw nine sites that teams were working on. He noticed that many of the homes did not have working smoke alarms and knew that, for many of these families, the cost of purchasing new alarms was not a cost they could afford. Recalling their recent conversation, Mayor Spaetzel called Joe Matuscak and asked him if there was anything the Red Cross could do to help.  

Joe immediately called me and explained the situation. I told him we would do everything we could to make sure those homes would receive smoke alarms and the safety they provide. I’ve worked on disasters with several members of the Central Appalachian Region team in West Virginia, so I reached out to one of my contacts who quickly put me in touch with Angela Akers, the Community Disaster Program Manager for the Charleston area. I called Angela and explained the situation and within a couple of hours, she had spoken to the mayor, arranged to sign his team up as a Home Fire Campaign partner and provided the smoke alarms and training the team needed to install the alarms and educate families on being prepared for home fires.  

Mayor Spaetzel said he wasn’t sure at first if making the call to Joe would help. “You think about big organizations and the bureaucracy involved and you don’t know if it’s going to work,” he said. “But this was seamless, and it was so easy. The training was quick and clear, and the Red Cross team made it easy and simple to help these families. I know the families appreciated it, because they didn’t currently have working smoke alarms and many of them had never had them.” 

Mayor Spaetzel said that in his position, fire safety and prevention are always on his mind and he’s looking forward to working with the North Central Ohio Chapter to make sure families in Avon Lake know about the Home Fire Campaign and have access to the program.  

Being a part of the Red Cross family means having family members across the country who are ready to help whenever it’s needed, wherever the call comes from. For more information about the Home Fire Campaign, visit redcross.org/NOH.  

Southern Baptists Join Red Cross To Provide Hot Meals For West Virginia Flood Survivors

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By Carl Manning; American Red Cross Volunteer

Tommy Story is busy stirring the large vat of fragrant meat in the outdoor kitchen, the steam rising and wafting through his white beard.

The Gaston, Ky., resident is with the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief Team working with American Red Cross volunteers to cook and serve hot meals for those recovering from the West Virginia flash floods.

“For me it’s a true joy to be able to help out those in need. It’s a true labor of love,” said Tommy, part of the group operating the field kitchen outside the First Baptist Church of Fairlea, one of three kitchens the church group is operating.

As Tommy stirs, other volunteers are busy opening numerous cans of vegetables to start fixing the side dishes. It’s like watching a carefully timed dance, with volunteers quickly pivoting to avoid bumping each other with hot food.

The Southern Baptists have been doing this for about 60 years and for much of that time they’ve partnered with the Red Cross to provide needed nourishment for those recovering from a variety of disasters.

Karen Smith, of Shepherdsville, Ky., who oversees the Fairlea kitchen, says it’s really a time-tested partnership for both organizations.

“We couldn’t do what we do without the Red Cross and the Red Cross couldn’t do what it does without us,” she said. “We’re all working for the same end and that is to help the people who are hurting.”

The Red Cross purchases the food; the Southern Baptists cook it and put it in insulated containers which are loaded into a waiting fleet of Red Cross emergency response vehicles, or ERVs, for delivery where needed.

Among those rushing around is Joby Barrow, of La Center, Ky., making sure the right meals get to the right ERVs – including four trucks from Northeast Ohio.

“We do this because we’re supposed to help our neighbors and that’s more than the people next door,” she said. “We’re all in this to do what we can. We all do what we can do best.”

She watches as the forklift driver eases the pallet of food containers to the back of an ERV and again checks to make sure all is as should be.

With the food loaded, the ERV drives off and she waves before hurrying back to get ready for the next load.

To assist those affected by the West Virginia floods, please visit www.redcross.org/donate, call 1-800-REDCROSS, or text WVFLOODS to 90999.

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Tommy Story of Guston, Ky., is one of the volunteers with the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief helping run a field kitchen to cook meals for the American Red Cross to take to those impacted by the flash flooding in West Virginia. (Photo by David Hendrix/American Red Cross)

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Joby Barrow of LaCenter, Ky, is a Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief volunteer who checks the food containers as they are loaded onto an American Red Cross emergency response vehicle to be taken to those recovering from the West Virginia floods. (Photo by David Hendrix/American Red Cross)

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Two Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief volunteers put plastic wrap around insulated food containers so they won’t spill from the pallet while being transported by forklift to a waiting American Red Cross emergency response vehicle for delivery to those recovering from the West Virginia flooding. (Photo by David Hendrix/American Red Cross)