Time After Time... We'll Be There

It's 2:30 a.m. on a chilly November morning, a family down the street loses everything in a fire. Where do they turn? To their local Red Cross, for warm food, clean clothes, a safe place to spend the night and a reassuring hug. Down the street. Around the clock. When families are hurting following a fire, tornado, or flood, Red Cross is Always There with Help and Hope when it's needed most.

                                                         

                                  

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DISASTER SERVICES

August 6, 2010 - Hurricane Season is in full swing. With August and September, months of peak activity approaching, the West Central GA Red Cross Chapter works to stay ahead of the storm' by conducting an exercise which includes a full scale sheltering scenario for tornado response. With the exception of Hurricane Opal, Columbus rarely feels the direct impact of a hurricane, however, following Katrina and Gustav, many evacuees sought safe haven in our city's Red Cross shelter. In addition, hurricanes impacting the Gulf may spawn tornadoes in our area. This exercise serves to train new volunteers in all areas of Red Cross Disaster Response and prepare for small and large scale disasters which lie ahead.

The exercise held August 6 at Calvary Christian School, 7556 Old Moon Road, included staff, approximately 50 volunteers, Board of Director members, neighboring Red Cross Chapters and "guests" or those who participated as evacuees. The disaster exercise, conducted by Merwiether County Disaster Chairman Gaines Harman, included registration of evacuees, mass feeding, mental health and basic first aid stations.

"We try our best to conduct at least one full scale disaster response exercise once a year," according to Emergency Service Director Linda Rias. "It keeps us on our toes," added Rias. Harman agreed,"This type of exercise allows Red Cross to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst."

Special thanks to Calvary Christian for allowing the Chapter to utilize their school gym and to St. Luke UMC for working with Red Cross for the feeding operation.

Disaster Exercise Helps Red Cross Stay Ahead of the Storm

                   RED CROSS DISASTER AID IS FREE

made possible by the generosity, trust, and compassion of people in our community. To donate, contact the Chapter at 706-323-5614 or by mail at 3940 Rosemont Drive., Columbus, GA 31904.

Help your neighbors in their hour of need - Volunteer.

Call the Chapter:

706-323-5614

Last year, your local Red Cross responded to 120 home and apartment fires, providing help for more than 700 people in our community.  "The next few months is when home fires are at their peak and families who lose everything look to Red Cross for help," according to Emergency Services Director Linda Rias. "We could really use some help from new volunteers," added Rias.

The Chapter offers complete training for helping fire victims and volunteer hours can be adjusted to fit anyone's schedule.  The training to assist with fire response takes about 2 - 3 hours to complete. The skills learned could benefit your own family in coping with a fire or other disaster.

Please call the Chapter, 706-323-5614, and volunteer today. Red Cross and your neighbors need your help.

When you ADOPT A FIRE FAMILY you ensure that Red Cross is Always There to offer Help and Hope when its needed most for families coping with a fire:

$1000—Provides food, lodging, clothing, blankets, teddy bears, clean-up kits, comfort kits, and other essential items needed for a family of 4 for 1 week.

$500—Covers the cost of deploying the Chapter’s Emergency Response Vehicle, coffee, snacks, 25 blankets and 10 teddy bears for response in an apartment or multi-family fire.

$250—Provides 10 clean-up kits and fire safety and prevention materials to distribute at community education events.

To Adopt a Fire Family

Call the Chapter

706-323-5614

Red Cross Volunteer Patti Buckhiester Helps Out With NE Flooding

Patti Buckhiester was in the spotlight as local TV stations interviewed her at the Columbus Airport before she left to help with flooding in the northeast recently.

This was Buckhiester's first deployment out of state.

"I was happy for the opportunity to help families devastated by flooding in the northeast following Hurricane Irene," said Buckhiester.

For more information on becoming a Red Cross volunteers, please call the Chapter at 706.323.5614.