Posted on May 23, 2013 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter
In times of disaster people have many questions on what is the best way to help. Here are the answers to the top three questions we are receiving regarding the tornadoes in Oklahoma.
If you have additional questions, please let us know by calling 920-468-8535.
Q: How can I volunteer and help the tornado victims?
A: We appreciate the offers to volunteer, but right now we have enough trained disaster workers in Oklahoma to help. Please consider, contacting your local Red Cross chapter to get trained so that you might be able to help in the future. Please visit www.redcross.org/support/volunteer/disaster-volunteer for more information.
Q: Why won’t the Red Cross take small quantities of donated goods?
A: After a disaster, financial donations are the quickest and best way to get help to the people who need it most. The Red Cross isn’t equipped to handle a large influx of donations like household items, clothing or food that may or may not be useful to victims. It takes time and money to sort, process, transport and then distribute donated items—whereas financial donations can be accessed quickly and put to use right away. Plus, financial donations allow us to be flexible in the help that we provide and ensure we can provide what people need most. As an added benefit, financial donations allow the Red Cross and disaster victims to purchase items locally, stimulating the economy of the disaster-affected area.
Even a small financial donation can go further than you might think. For instance, $2 can provide a snack to a child who just lost his or her home, and $10 can provide a hot meal to that same child. You can help people affected by disasters by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Q: Does the Red Cross need blood donations?
A: The Red Cross stands ready to help meet the blood needs of patients in and around Oklahoma City if needed. There is currently enough blood on the shelves to meet patient demands. However, those with type O negative blood are encouraged to give blood when they are able. The role of Red Cross Blood Services in this response is as a secondary supplier of blood products to area hospitals.
All eligible blood donors can schedule an appointment to give in the days and weeks ahead by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or visiting redcrossblood.org. With many people scheduling appointments to give blood, redcrossblood.org may run slower and wait times on 1-800-RED CROSS may be longer than usual. No Red Cross facilities were affected by the storms, but some blood drives may be canceled as recovery and clean-up begins. To find out if a blood drive has been canceled or to reschedule an appointment to give blood or platelets, call 1-800-RED CROSS.
Girl Scout blanket donation: Girl Scouts with Troop 4202 in Green Bay donated tie-blankets to the American Red Cross in Green Bay Saturday for distribution to people in need, like fire victims.
Girl Scouts Troop 4202 members were on hand at Green Bay Fire Department Station 3 on Saturday to donated blankets to the American Red Cross.
The blankets are intended for distribution to people in need, such as people who have been displaced from their homes by fires.
Posted on April 3, 2013 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter
By Betsy A. Wandtke, Major Gift Officer
Donors, Board Members and Volunteers at Kodiak Jack’s in Oshkosh.
It’s always our pleasure to be able to thank our donors for giving us the ability to serve others. In the last couple of weeks of RED CROSS MONTH, we had three Donor Appreciation Events. They were casual gatherings complete with appetizers and volunteer interaction. Not only were they successful in saying thank you, but were a lot of fun to boot!
Our attending donors were able to meet board members, staff members and most importantly, the volunteers that serve our organization. The pictures that were shown and explained, were mostly regarding “Superstorm Sandy”. Our volunteers were also able to discuss what an ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) was and how versatile they are, along with other mysteries about how the Red Cross gets things done in the field.
The donors and many of the rest of us were riveted to the stories of survival and the ability of those affected to overcome any situation with the help of a “friend”. The Red Cross volunteers are those “friends” that show up to do whatever needs to be done. They are worth their weight in gold!!
The donors also asked questions about SAF (Services to the Armed Forces), Blood Services and other aspects of the American Red Cross. Our board members and staff were there to answer those questions and more.
We also would like to thank the volunteers, board members and staff members that were fully engaged in this endeavor. We could not have done it without them!!
Posted on April 2, 2013 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter
By Vicki Jenks, American Red Cross Disaster Volunteer and Board Member
(Pictured left to right) Jon Brakebush, Lexi Brakebush, Judy Brakebush, Vicki Jenks, & John Eyerly, Superintendent Westfield School District
On Friday, March 15th, the Westfield School District assisted their local American Red Cross by hosting “Hats on for HEROES”. A simple fundraiser in which a student pays $1 for the privilege of wearing a hat for the day, “Hats on for HEROES”—a first-time event, was extremely successful.
All the funds will be utilized locally in Marquette County for Local Disaster Relief and Service to the Armed Forces.
The most common disasters are RESIDENTIAL FIRES. Every 9 minutes in the United States, a Red Cross Disaster Worker responds to a fire. Due to the generosity of the American people, the Red Cross is able to provide temporary shelter, food, clothing, shoes, bedding, linens, and personal hygiene items. They can also facilitate the replacement of prescription medications and eyewear. But perhaps the most important gift Disaster Workers provide is INVALUABLE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT.
Service to Armed Forces is a new addition to the HEROES fundraiser this year. Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, the Red Cross relays urgent messages containing accurate, factual, complete and verified descriptions of the emergency to service members stationed anywhere in the world, including on ships at sea and at embassies and remote locations.
The Red Cross provides emergency financial assistance, volunteers in area VA Hospitals, and sees that military members arrive home for funerals and births. This “personal touch”, again, is due to the incredible generosity of citizens like the Westfield students, staff and administration.
Brakebush Brothers, well known as a philanthropic corporate citizen, stepped up to also become a HERO and facilitated the new Red Cross relationship with the Westfield School District.
“Down the street, across the country, around the world—the Red Cross is there”, because of students like those who attend the Westfield Schools and generous corporations like Brakebush Brothers.
Posted on December 28, 2012 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter
Since 2006 The Stephenson National Bank & Trust has been supporting the American Red Cross with donations. The Red Cross is one organization of dozens that the bank supports every year. They take very good care of their local charities.
They even have a small get-together to make the presentations of the checks, complete with hot apple cider, cheese, crackers and of course, cookies!
Dan Peterson (pictured above with Betsy Wandtke, Major Gifts Officer, American Red Cross) is the Executive Vice President. Jeff Myster and Laura Rowe are also important team members. There were approximately thirty people in attendance including board members, staff and other non-profit organizations. The bank’s staff are fabulous people and the recipients were grateful for their support. We are very lucky to be included in their inner circle!
Posted on December 27, 2012 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter
The American Red Cross spent much of 2012 helping people all across the country whose lives were impacted by disasters. Relief efforts were launched in response to 113 large scale disasters in 42 states and territories between January 1 and December 1.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and the spring Derecho were some of the emergencies affecting communities all across the country. From Alaska to Florida, from the East Coast to the West, few regions were spared.
“Hurricane Sandy dominated the news coverage, but it wasn’t the only disaster that disrupted lives in 2012,” said Steve Hansen, Chief Operating Officer. “The number of lives affected by large disasters in the past year is simply staggering. The Red Cross responded to devastating hurricanes, flooding and wildfires that wiped out entire neighborhoods, offering people shelter, food and comfort.”
In the United States, the Red Cross opened 907 shelters and provided more than 109,000 overnight stays to help people forced from their homes by disasters. In total, more than 29,000 trained disaster workers served 9.9 million meals and snacks and distributed more than 6.8 million relief items. Health and mental health workers provided more than 141,000 consultations to help people on the road to recovery.
The Red Cross also responded to tragic events that impacted people’s lives in the last year, most recently the shooting at Sandy HookElementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, as well as the mass shootings at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado in July and at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in August. In all three responses, the Red Cross provided emotional and mental health support, as well as food and drinks for first responders.
Hurricanes Impacted Many Lives
In June, Tropical Storm Debby marked the start of hurricane season by causing widespread flooding across much of Florida. Then in late August, Hurricane Isaac came ashore bringing with it strong winds and drenching rain that impacted Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. In response to Isaac, the Red Cross mobilized thousands of disaster workers to help people by opening 157 shelters, providing thousands of overnight stays. Volunteers served hundreds of thousands of meals, distributed more than 140,000 relief items and provided thousands of health and mental health contacts.
Hurricane Sandy made landfall along the Atlantic seaboard in late October, leaving massive devastation in its wake. In all, eleven states and Puerto Rico felt the impact with New York and New Jersey seeing the most devastation. The large Red Cross relief effort continues today, weeks after the storm’s landfall. As of December 1, more than 15,300 trained disaster workers mobilized to provide help. The Red Cross has handed out millions of relief items and meals, provided tens of thousands of health and emotional support contacts to people whose lives have been turned upside down. The Red Cross will be on the ground supporting recovery efforts for some time.
Spring Tornadoes and Floods
In early March, as many as 95 confirmed tornadoes touched down, destroying communities across the Midwest and Southeast. Tornadoes slammed through the Dallas-Fort Worth area in early April and in mid-April, dozens of tornadoes ripped across the Midwest for a second time.
In all, severe spring weather affected communities in 16 states, including Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Texas. The Red Cross launched responses to provide safe shelter, warm meals and relief supplies to people forced from their homes. Disaster workers served nearly a quarter of a million meals and snacks and handed out more than 112,000 relief items like cleaning supplies and comfort kits.
June Derecho
A string of storms with winds up to 90 miles per hour slammed across Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio and the District of Columbia in June, bringing with them hundreds of reports of impact from severe weather. Millions were without power in areas while high temperatures broke records. The Red Cross provided thousands of overnight stays in more than 70 shelters, served more than 246,000 meals and snacks, and distributed about 128,000 relief items.
Summer Wildfires
Dry conditions fueled devastating wildfires across the western part of the country, forcing evacuations and destroying homes. In response, the Red Cross launched wildfire relief operations in nine states including Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington and California. The Red Cross provided nearly 4,000 overnight stays in shelters, served more than 159,000 meals and snacks, and handed out tens of thousands of relief items to people in need.
International Response
The American Red Cross helped almost three million people around the world in 2012, responding to 13 disasters in more than 20 countries. These included floods in Bolivia, Peru, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Panama. Assistance was also sent to Senegal, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Mauritania, Mali and Malawi to help people affected by food shortages, as well as a drought in Paraguay. Red Cross workers are also responding to help people affected by civil unrest in Syria and a cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone. The American Red Cross responded in Jamaica and Haiti after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in those countries.
Thank You
The Red Cross thanks everyone who has supported disaster relief operations this year. Every nine minutes the Red Cross responds to a disaster in communities across the country. Whether the disaster is a hurricane or a fire in someone’s home, the Red Cross is there.
The Red Cross also provides 24-hour support to members of the military, veterans and their families – in war zones, military hospitals and on military installations around the world; collects and distributes more than 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply and trains more than 9 million people in first aid, water safety and other life-saving skills every year.
If someone would like to support the Red Cross mission and help those in need, they can visit http://www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to someone’s local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC20013.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.
The American Red Cross has received widespread support after Superstorm Sandy, and along with those contributions have come questions—including in stories that have run on The Daily Beast—about how those donations are being put to use, and what we’re going to do with the remaining funds. These are legitimate questions, and the Red Cross is committed to transparency and welcomes this opportunity to answer them.
People receive free food from the American Red Cross in the heavily damaged Rockaway neighborhood in Queens, N.Y. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
In my more than four-and-a-half years at the Red Cross, I’ve been no stranger to disasters, whether tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes. But what struck me was the massiveness of Sandy’s fury, the miles and miles of devastation that just seemed endless.
The destruction wrought by Sandy also had a personal element for me: I grew up and spent most of my life in the New York/New Jersey area, and my heart goes out to all those affected by the storm. While I have been to the impacted areas several times since Sandy hit, I will never get used to looking into the eyes of someone who lost everything. At the same time, I am also struck by the determination of these individuals to start over, rebuild, and power through their loss.
So how exactly are we helping them? While the American Red Cross is a grassroots network of local chapters and volunteers, the sheer size of Sandy required us to bring people and resources from all over the country to help our chapters in New York and New Jersey. Over the past seven weeks, we have mobilized more than 15,800 trained workers, 90 percent of whom are volunteers. We have also worked closely with other nonprofit and government partners, because a disaster this size is too big for any one organization to handle.
This is the biggest U.S. response we have mounted in over five years. Even before Sandy hit, we opened shelters across multiple states, and we have been providing help every day since. So far, we have:
• Served more than 8.9 million meals and snacks.
• Handed out more than 6.7 million relief items such as cold-weather items and clean-up supplies.
• Provided more than 103,000 health services and emotional-support contacts for people living in very tough conditions.
• Supplied more than 81,000 shelter stays, more than half of the total number of Sandy shelter stays (158,000) provided by a range of groups.
And we still have much more work to do.
Of the $202 million in donations and pledges we have received to date, we believe that approximately $110 million of that will be spent on our emergency-relief operations by the end of December. Remaining Sandy-related donations will be used by the Red Cross to meet longer-term needs—what we call “recovery”—of people affected by this disaster.
Our initial recovery efforts are expected to cost at least $60 million; any remaining funds will be allocated to additional long-term efforts. We have developed a recovery plan by working closely with other nonprofits and government agencies—including FEMA—to coordinate efforts and identify unmet needs.
While I have been to the impacted areas several times since Sandy hit, I will never get used to looking into the eyes of someone who lost everything.
Our federal government partners have requested that we focus our assistance first on three groups of people who have already been identified as needing aid:
• People in New York and New Jersey whose homes were destroyed and are in need of either repair assistance or longer-term rental housing;
• People whose homes were destroyed in states which did not receive federal disaster money;
• People with demonstrated needs that exceed what can be met by insurance, FEMA, and state resources.
This means that part of our efforts over the next several months will involve one-on-one work helping those who have trouble finding assistance on their own. These are the types of activities a survivor doesn’t want to go through alone, and we can provide the expertise, as well as a shoulder to lean on during the process. That includes helping people fill out insurance paperwork, identify child-care resources, find new housing, and connect with social services in their communities.
In addition, we also will be supporting projects and programs of other nonprofit groups in the New York and New Jersey area, such as working with several local food banks to help Sandy survivors have access to food during the new year.
It is the generous support of so many people and businesses across the country have enabled us to bring help and hope to tens of thousands of people impacted by Sandy. We are committed to being good stewards of these contributions entrusted to us—and we will be there for the survivors of this devastating storm as they fight for their future
Posted on December 4, 2012 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter
WASHINGTON, Monday, December 3, 2012 — The American Red Cross today issued a progress report on its efforts over the past month to provide food, water, shelter, relief supplies, healthcare and other assistance to people affected by Superstorm Sandy.
“During this first month, the Red Cross has provided emergency relief to many people affected by Superstorm Sandy. But there is still much work to be done, and we will continue to provide help and hope for weeks and months to come,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. “This is our biggest U.S. disaster response in more than five years, and we are incredibly grateful for the generous support across the country that has enabled us to help the survivors of this storm.”
Hurricane Sandy was a major storm that impacted an area the size of Europe. The Red Cross mobilized more than 14,400 trained disaster workers to date – 90 percent of them volunteers – to help people affected by the storm. Today, nearly 3,000 workers are still on the job, providing food, water, shelter and relief supplies. The Red Cross has also deployed more than 300 of its emergency response vehicles and is also utilizing rental cars, trucks and other vehicles to help.
SHELTER, FOOD AND RELIEF ITEMS In the first month since Sandy hit, the Red Cross provided almost 79,000 shelter stays for Sandy, part of an overall shelter response that provided more than 153,000 shelter stays. The Red Cross has also:
Provided more than 7.4 million meals and snacks through its partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention to people affected by Sandy in New York and New Jersey.
Distributed more than 5.2 million relief items including cold weather items like coats and blankets and supplies to help people as they begin the massive clean-up of their neighborhoods.
Provided more than 86,000 health services and mental health contacts for people who have been living in very tough conditions.
The Red Cross response dealt with the unusual cold weather hurricane. Sandy was followed by a nor’easter that dumped snow and brought frigid temperatures to people struggling without power, and the Red Cross supplies included more Red Cross blankets, gloves and hand-warmers.
LOOKING AHEAD The Red Cross has raised nearly $170 million to date for Sandy and estimates that it will spend $110 million on the emergency relief through the end of December. Any funds donated for Sandy beyond what is needed for emergency relief will be put to use serving the long-term needs of those affected by this disaster. The Red Cross is already working with communities to determine unmet needs and how they can be met—something which will continue into the recovery process.
The Red Cross is developing specific plans that will include a comprehensive needs assessment of the affected communities and individuals; plans that will identify resources available from both the Red Cross and other organizations. Recognizing that each community will have different needs, and different groups working to meet them, the role of the Red Cross will be determined by these local needs. What’s crucial is that there is community collaboration and cooperation to ensure that longer-term help reaches people who need it.
About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.
Posted on December 3, 2012 by American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin Chapter
“Songs of the Season”
A Candlelight Performance
Ivory Wind with Strings
Joyce Josie, Piano Ann Stevens, Flute Laurie Young, Violin
Saturday, December 8th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church of Weyauwega
200 South Pine Street
BENEFITING THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
Free Will Offering
to support Disaster Relief and Service to the Armed Forces
Picture yourself in a quiet sanctuary, candles glowing in each window and the lights of the Christmas tree softly shining. Join with kindred spirits on Saturday, December 8th beginning at 6:30p.m. for an evening of Christmas musical selections on piano, flute and violin. First Presbyterian Church of Weyauwega will host Ivory Wind with Strings Attached as they present their third annual performance of “Songs of the Season” benefiting the local chapter of the American Red Cross HEROES. The ensemble includes Joyce Josie on piano (ivory), Ann Stevens on flute (wind) and Laurie Young on violin (strings attached). Each extends a warm welcome and an escape from the hectic rush of the holidays for an evening of musical reflection and refreshments.
In times of disaster people have many questions on what is the best way to help. Here are the answers to the top three questions we are receiving regarding the tornadoes in Oklahoma.
“Songs of the Season”
