Home Fires Burnin'

Posted by Brian Scoles, PR Director for the Upstate Chapter

Our Red Cross chapter is an integral part of the emergency response system in the Upstate. When called, volunteers are ready to provide immediate help any time of the day or night.

Home fires are considered to be "silent" disasters because many of them do not make the evening news and therefore often go unnoticed.

Losing a house or an apartment to a fire is as traumatic for the family who calls that dwelling “home” as if it had been lost during a highly-publicized natural disaster. Personal loss to these fires may be less newsworthy when a single-family dwelling is destroyed, but the need for emergency assistance is just as great to those individials and the Red Cross will be there to aid in recovery.

Why so many fires? The use of alternate heating sources, population growth in Anderson County, aging structures with faulty wiring, and our elderly parents and grandparents who are struggling to live alone, are just some of the causes.

We may not think of individual fires as having the same impact as a wide-spread disaster, but the shock is just as tremendous. Victims of house fires need immediate emergency assistance—a place to stay, food, clothing, medicine, crisis counseling, and a plan for recovery. Each person is helped to regain control of their own recovery. Flexibility and respect for cultural differences is part of the client assistance and recovery plan.

Our Red Cross plays critical role in neighborhoods throughout the Upstate before, during and after a disaster strikes. Due to the rise in local disasters, resources have been tapped in unprecedented proportions, but our work continues. This past year, our Red Cross responded to over 205 disasters, providing food, clothing, shelter and other emergency necessities to more than 900 people in Greenville, Greenwood, Abbeville, Anderson and Laurens Counties. During the ice storm, another 500 people were cared for in 5 shelters that operated for a full week.

Assistance to disaster victims totals more than $353,000, exceeding our annual budget by over $156,000 with two months still remaining.

The Red Cross helps people respond when disasters strike, but you will always be the first and best resource in an emergency. The Together We Prepare program teaches children and adults first aid techniques and simple steps to prevent or mitigate tragedies, including developing family communication plans and disaster supplies kits. I urge you to call the Red Cross and prepare for an emergency that could impact your family at any moment.

Many thanks to our volunteers and staff, United Way, individuals, corporations, and foundations for your support and involvement in helping the Red Cross help our community. The Red Cross is not a government agency and depends on contributions from you and me. Please continue to be generous where resources are urgently needed.

Media Appreciation

The Upstate Red Cross chapter would like to thank the media for the outstanding coverage we have had during recent disasters.

By Presidential decree, March is American Red Cross Month.

Dear Friend of the Red Cross,
By Presidential decree, March is American Red Cross Month.

And we're marking the occasion by honoring the humanitarian heart and volunteer spirit of not only the organization, but the entire country.

Today — after 125 years of public service — The American Red Cross is still helping people in your community every day. With the grassroots support of caring Americans like you, our nationwide network of volunteers and employees are at the forefront of more than 70,000 disasters each year — delivering critical assistance to victims in their time of greatest need.

Thank you, for being a part of our lifesaving work.

The American Red Cross

Biloxi and Gulfport

Richard Fowler (Board Member) writes:

I was at a conference in Mobile, AL, this week and thought I'd take the opportunity to go and have a look at what was happening in Biloxi and Gulfport.

The devastation from Katrina was astonishing. A few very large casinos / hotels were still standing but everything else close the the shore was either flattened or substantially demolished. Loads of plots with a concrete slab and nothing else. There was a cemetery overlooking the sea where huge slabs of marble had obviously just been picked up and dumped in one corner by the power of the water. Everywhere there were huge trees not just knocked over but just completely shredded. Over a mile from the coast trees were still completely snagged with plastic and other debris that had been washed in.

The further west I went the worse it got. I headed north while still 70 or 80 miles from New Orleans. So since that was where the centre of the storm was I can't imagine what that would have been like. Noticed that there were still pretty large trees broken or knocked over at least 150 miles from the coast. Almost as far as Tuscaloosa, AL.

There were a lot of dead dogs on the side of the road, and of course plenty of vultures as well. I think I read about this. After the storm a lot of dogs were abandoned or couldn't get back to their owners so they went wild and started to adopt a primaeval pack mentality. It was like a different world.

Further north in Alabama there were convoys of lorries carrying single-wides with FEMA stickers on them.

The media only seems to talk about New Orleans, but it seemed clear that there was a huge disaster in Mississippi as well, and not an awful lot done about it.

Teen saved by defibrillator living proof schools need machines

Here's a great piece from the front of today's State newspaper about a little boy whose life was saved because his school had Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) available.

Read the whole article here.

Four out of Five Americans Unaware that Home Fires are the Greatest and Most Common Disaster Threat

Just read this on the national Red Cross site. Everyone thinks the big deal is Hurricanes and Earthquakes, but it's actually home fires. Read the whole piece here.

Less than 100 days until Hurricane Season

Ann Wright says:

There are less than 100 days until the beginning of the 2006 Hurricane Season!

We need Disaster Services volunteers who can serve locally or on national assignment.
If you are interested, please call Amy at 271-8222.

A new disaster volunteer orientation will be held on March 7th from 6-8 p.m. Other upcoming training opportunities include: Damage Assessment workshop (3/2); Emergency Response Vehicle driver training, (3/11); Disaster Mental Health overview (3/14); and Disaster Health Services overview, (3/20). A disaster drill is scheduled for April 1 and a Disaster Readiness exercise and evaluation will be conducted May 7-9.

Alison Tesh writes:

The 2006 American Red Cross HEROES Campaign kick-off luncheon was held Wednesday January 25th at The Peppermill. Thanks to Michael Stathakis for a wonderful lunch. Michael Codgill gave a motivating speech touching on tragedies both national and local he has had the opportunity to experience first hand.

Over 50 people were in attendance. Greenville county schools, banks, businesses, and corporations were all represented and some wonderful events are planned. Stay tuned for more details. If anyone is interested in joining the Campaign, please contact your local Red Cross chapter.

Red Cross Sends 9 new volunteers to Baton Rouge

Nine newly trained Red Cross disaster volunteers will leave for Baton Rouge today where they will be assigned to work in Red Cross shelters for the next three weeks. As a result of the enormous response by the Red Cross to assist the families affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Upstate SC Chapter of the American Red Cross held two large disaster training workshops with hundreds of people attending the workshops. Many of the trained volunteers have been working at the Palmetto Expo during the past week and nine more will leave today for Louisiana. More than 85,000 trained disaster relief workers from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have responded to help their neighbors in need.

To date, trained volunteers have assisted 1136 people providing assistance of food, clothes, prescriptions and other emergency supplies. The Upstate Chapter has provided direct assistance of over $371,000 to hurricane victims that have come to the Upstate. Trained Red Cross caseworkers are now working with each family to transition them out of the Palmetto Expo including helping them reach a final destination or if they are planning to stay in the area, helping them find temporary or permanent housing arrangements. The Red Cross is leading local efforts to integrate all evacuees into the community, providing stability and a platform for rebuilding lives and families.

Across the Mid-Atlantic, the American Red Cross has provided immediate emergency assistance for almost 7,000 families and now will continue to work within neighborhoods to help these families transition to services for their long term needs.

Since Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore, the Red Cross has provided survivors nearly 2 million overnight stays in 709 shelters across 24 states and the District of Columbia. Yesterday, the Red Cross housed more than 50,000 survivors in 268 shelters and served more than 365,000 hot meals. The American Red Cross is expanding the variety of its efforts to provide immediate financial assistance to upwards of three quarters of a million dollars to Hurricane Katrina victims who are dispersed across the nation. With an understanding that the process of getting assistance to victims will take weeks rather than days, the Red Cross continues to reach out to the thousands of people in need of help.

The Red Cross has been preparing for Tropical Storm Rita by assessing potential equipment, shelter and volunteer needs even while responding to Katrina. The first priority of the Red Cross before, during and after any disaster is to provide safe shelter, food and safe drinking water, as well as emotional support. The Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters every year - whether the situation is a single-family fire or a multi-state catastrophe.

American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort Facts at a Glance

The American Red Cross is responding to an unprecedented natural catastrophe and devoting every resource to this humanitarian relief effort. The American people can be confident the Red Cross will spare no effort to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors.

• Since Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore, the Red Cross has provided survivors nearly 2 million overnight stays in 709 shelters across 24 states and the District of Columbia.
• On Monday night, the Red Cross housed more than 61,500 survivors in 348 shelters.
• The American Red Cross served more than 358,500 hot meals on Monday.
• The Red Cross has served more than 7.7 million hot meals and more than 6.6 million snacks to survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
• To date, more than 112,000 people have received Red Cross Disaster Mental Health services.
• More than 85,000 trained Red Cross disaster relief workers from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have responded to help their neighbors in need. During this effort, the Red Cross has trained more than 75,000 people in specialized disaster relief skills.
• To date, nearly 80,000 families have received more than $140 million in aid through Red Cross programs. In addition to funds, 85,000 Red Cross trained volunteers are providing services like meals, blankets, clothing, hygiene kits and a place to sleep for hundreds of thousands of people.
• More than 182,000 people have registered on the Red Cross “Family Links Registry,” which is helping reconnect loved ones separated by Hurricane Katrina. To register, go to www.redcross.org or call 1-877-LOVED-1S.

The American Red Cross is expanding the variety of its efforts to provide financial assistance to upwards of three quarters of a million Hurricane Katrina victims who are dispersed across the nation. Assistance is provided in a variety of ways, including client assistance cards, vouchers, and checks.
The Red Cross is fulfilling urgent needs, turning donations into help faster than ever before. Our gold standard is for everyone touched by Katrina to be safe and comforted.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of this disaster and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

Update 09/13/2005

The American people can be confident the American Red Cross will spare no effort to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors. The Red Cross is establishing a comprehensive system to deliver needed financial assistance to storm victims.

The Upstate SC Chapter of the American Red Cross continues to assist families and individuals devastated by the hurricane's onslaught. To date, trained volunteers have assisted 927 people providing assistance of food, clothes, prescriptions and other emergency supplies. The Upstate chapter has provided direct assistance of over $322,000 to hurricane victims that have come to the Upstate. We are now working with each family to transition them out of the palmetto Expo. This includes helping them reach a final destination or if they are planning to stay in the area, helping them find temporary or permanent housing arrangements.

The Upstate SC Chapter has organized training for literally hundreds of volunteers to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Because of this generous outpouring from community members, the Red Cross has now reached its capacity for volunteers needed to help in the Upstate with this disaster at this point in time.

The American Red Cross continues to work with our partners to provide food and sheltering to the victims in the affected areas. More than 74,000 trained Red Cross Disaster Relief workers from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have responded to help their neighbors in need. To date, the Red Cross has provided 207,000 survivors in over 709 shelters. The American Red Cross has served more than 7.6 million hot meals to survivors of Hurricane Katrina since before first landfall.

Many of the evacuees have lost loved ones or are unable to locate their families. The Red Cross "Family Links Registry" on www.redcross.org is one way for families to re-connect. Concerned family members can register the names of their loved ones and view the list of those already posted. Since its inception, the Registry has received a total of 115,242 calls with over 5,000 coming in during the past 24 hours Due to the extent of the damage and the number of people displaced, concerned friends and family members are encouraged to visit the site daily. You can visit the "Family Links Registry" via www.redcross.org or call 1-877-LOVED-1s (1-877-568-3317)...

The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need for this disaster and thousands of other disasters across the country each year.

Due to the generosity of the American people, the American Red Cross stands ready to meet the monumental challenge of helping to rebuild lives. The WYFF Telethon raised over $640,000 for Katrina Relief. For every dollar donated, 91 cents goes directly to assist disaster victims.

Ten local volunteers have been deployed from the Upstate Chapter for 3-week assignments in affected areas. They are feeding victims on mobile emergency response vehicles and working in shelters in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. One volunteer has been deployed to the National Call Center.

Hurricane Katrina is the worst natural disaster our nation has faced; the disaster is the largest and costliest relief effort ever mounted by the American Red Cross. It is expected that relief efforts will continue for many months and will have to be sustained through the generosity of the American public.

The Red Cross has been preparing for Hurricane Ophelia by assessing potential equipment, shelter and volunteer needs even while responding to Katrina. Shelters are already open and more are on standby in the Outer Banks and other low-lying and inland areas. The first priority of the Red Cross before, during and after any disaster is to provide safe shelter, food and safe drinking waters, as well as emotional support. The Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters every year - whether the situation is a single-family fire or a multi-state catastrophe.

Jack Ware

Jack Ware, a New Orleans-are resident left his uptown, second-floor apartment after Aug. 30 after concluding the police did not have control of the city.

Read more about his day-to day experience here.

Update 09/12/2005

Greenville, SC Sept. 6, 2005 – The American Red Cross is responding at a record-setting pace in its drive to bring shelter, food and safe drinking water to the tens of thousands of Americans impacted by Hurricane Katrina’s savage assault on the Gulf Coast. The Upstate SC Chapter continues to assist families and individuals devastated by the hurricane’s onslaught. To date, trained caseworkers have assisted 880 victims. Direct assistance such as food, clothing, prescriptions and other emergency supplies totaling over $300,000 has been provided to victims who have reached the Greenville area from the gulf coast.

Families who are unable to reach a Red Cross office can call 1-800-975-7585 toll free 24 hours a day to register for emergency financial assistance which they will obtain from a financial institution in the community where they are now staying.

The American Red Cross continues to meet the staggering challenge of providing relief to thousands of survivors in the widespread path of devastation and destruction left by Hurricane Katrina. To date, the Red Cross has housed 1.8 million survivors in over 700 shelters. The American Red Cross has served more than 7.2 million hot meals to survivors of Hurricane Katrina since before first landfall. The sheer volume of people affected, as well as the extensive geographical area impacted will require long-term massive feeding and sheltering operations for many months to come. 90,000 square miles have been affected—about the same size as Great Britain.

In order to accomplish this extraordinary level of relief, over 63,000 trained Red Cross disaster specialists have been deployed in 13 states and at the Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, D.C. Recruitment is continuing and local chapters across the country are expanding training for thousands of spontaneous volunteers who are willing to make the priceless donation of their time and skills to this enormous humanitarian outreach.

With families, friends and colleagues scattered in the face of Katrina’s fury, the American Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross have established the “Family Links Registry” to enable people to re-establish those essential relationships. Since its inception, the Registry has received a total of 115,242 calls with over 5,000 coming in during the past 24 hours. The “Family Links Registry” can be accessed through www.redcross.org or by calling toll-free 1-877-LOVED 1S (1-877-568-3317).

Update 09/08/2005

Red Cross emergency shelters are providing a safe refuge for tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors. Since Hurricane Katrina first slammed ashore in Florida, the American Red Cross has:

# housed 142,000 survivors in more than 485 shelters in 18 states.

# served more than 3.3 million hot meals to survivors of Hurricane Katrina since before first landfall.

# Mobilized more than 5,600 trained Red Cross workers who have left their homes in every corner of the United States to join thousands of local volunteers who responded immediately to help their neighbors in need

Telethon on WYFF Tomorrow - We NEED your help

The Chapter will once again be partnering with WYFF for a telethon to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The telethon is tomorrow, September 1st, from 5:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.

We NEED your help! Please call 271-8222 as soon as possible and sign up for a two-hour shift to help answer phones at the telethon. When you call, ask for Ginger or Amy or Genean and they will sign you up.

Check out the WYFF website.

Red Cross Needs Your Help

The following message is from Marty Evans, President and CEO, American Red Cross:

The extent of damage and loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina is still unfolding; however, early news reports today indicate that the hurricane has left a trail of utter destruction even as it continues to flood communities far inland. Today, as floodwaters still rise, 80 percent of New Orleans is reported to be under water, and the Gulf Coast communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have awakened to extreme damage that will put many thousands of families out of their homes for months on end. Officials believe that this storm will be more costly than Hurricane Andrew, the previous record-breaking hurricane of 1992. In response, the American Red Cross is launching the largest mobilization of resources for a single natural disaster involving thousands of trained disaster relief workers, tons of supplies—and shoulders on which to lean.

Even with the rapid and generous support from our partners and the public, a nationwide, coordinated fundraising effort is necessary to ensure we have the resources to deliver the critical services that Americans trust us to deliver. Effective immediately, we will begin a nationwide Disaster Relief Fund Campaign. Your service area will be working with each chapter to determine the most appropriate goal for your unit.

We anticipate a sustained disaster relief effort, unlike any other in our history, lasting many months. Already, the Red Cross has provided a safe haven for nearly 70,000 evacuees in more than 230 Red Cross shelters - from the panhandle of Florida, across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas. However, because Katrina is still wreaking havoc as she tracks northward, we do not have a full report of the damage and services needed, and we do not yet have a firm nationwide fundraising goal. Early estimates indicate that this response could cost as much or more than the sum of the four combined hurricanes during last year’s hurricane, which cost approximately $130 million. The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is still to come.

I want to stress that the initial $130 million target is only an estimate and may change, depending on updated damage assessment figures and the amount of assistance needed by the families affected by this event. The Red Cross is committed for the long haul. We will meet the immediate emergency needs of disaster victims in the weeks and months ahead. We are asking field units to continue to educate the public that we anticipate the costs of this disaster to be significant and that we need their help

Upstate volunteers help Katrina relief effort

Two volunteers, Joe Hawkins and Wayne Deitz, left on Sunday morning driving the Emergency Response Vehicle. They went to Little Rock where they will be dispatched to an affected area. Three more volunteers will be leaving on Tuesday.

Gary Yearwood will go to Montgomery, AL, where he will be sent to an affected area to work as a computer technologist. You can read more about Gary's work in today's Greenville News.

Frances Thompson is going to Houston where he will be assigned to a shelter operation and Jean DuRant from Anderson is going to Falls Church, Virginia, where she will be working at the call center. We may have more volunteers leaving in the next day or two.

You can make a donation here.

Youth Council Leadership Volunteers Plan for FY '06

Just got an update from Kelly Davis about plans for next year. You can read the whole story here.

Electronic Greetings Cards

Did you know that you can send Red Cross themed electronic postcards? Neither did I, but they're pretty cool.

Update on National Youth Council volunteering

I'm sure you all remember Kelly Davis who is our our volunteer on the National Red Cross Youth Council, and was formerly the President of the Furman University Red Cross club and member of our Board of Directors. She was at the Chapter recently and gave Ann an update on her current activities.

Excitingly she has been asked to stay on the Council an additional year, so she is now one month into her fourth year on the council. This year she will be the project lead for the Navin Narayan College Scholarship, the Navin Narayan Convention Youth Speaker Award, and the Convention scholarships. She will also work on one more project committee which will probably be the Convention and Youth Institute committee.

In the past she's worked on the Convention and Youth Institute committee and the Measles Initiative committee; she was the project lead for the Navin Scholarship last year as well. She says she's enjoyed meeting the Board of Governors members; her adopted BoG is Doug Dettrick. She has greatly enjoyed the company of BoG members Karen Goodman and Rick Grinnan.