2010-11 Californa Safe Corp Program starts November 8, 2010

The 2010-11 California Safe Corps (CSC) program year starts Monday November 8. The 2010-11 CSC team is comprised of 20 new members, 3 returning members from the 2009-10 CSC program year, and 1 returning member from the 2008-2009 program year. These 24 members will serve at 7 Red Cross Chapter throughout the state of California

These 24 members have committed themselves to a very challenging and intense full-time AmeriCorps program for the next 10.5 months. Starting November 8, 2010 these 24 CSC members will engage in an intense 3 week long training where they will be empowered to serve their chapters’ local community and the state of California.

American Red Cross of Humboldt County
Martins, Wayne
Anderson, Philip

American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles
Cruz, Hildemar
Matz, Felicia
Kim, Kimberly
Allen, Charles
Vidaurrazaga, John
Brudzynski, Rebecca
Gamboa, Angelica

American Red Cross of Orange County
Murphy, Grady
Phan, Monique
Feliciano, Shelby

American Red Cross of San Diego/Imperial County
Arnold, Dora
Vasconcelos, Mariana

American Red Cross of San Gabriel Pomona Valley
Lazo, Jennifer
Youngquist, Lindsay
Montgomery, Catherine

American Red Cross of Santa Monica
Kim, Jun
Quintana, Jonathan
Adams, Elizabeth

American Red Cross of Silicon Valley
Ali, Amel
Kresha, Autumn
Garcia, Crisanta
Snyder, Sarah

OC Incident 29: From Novice CDO's Perspective

After a quiet holiday break, the first disaster call of 2010 came in at 8:30 p.m. on a Saturday night. I am one of the chapter‘s AmeriCorps members and was on my first rotation as the acting chapter duty officer (CDO).
Over a static-choked connection, I scribbled out the details from Louisville onto an empty shelf in Wal-Mart‘s home wares aisle.

As the call center relayed particulars, a picture of crowds in pajamas and buildings ablaze began to emerge on the paper a description of an apartment fire, possible involving eight to ten units, with unknown family sizes.

An omen of the confusion to follow; Louisville gave the contact number for the incident as multiple police officers and departments. The openendedness of the details left room for speculation that things were changing faster than the flow of information could accommodate.

Remembering the words of advice from the professionals on staff at the chapter, I tried to remain calm and patient as I left the checkout line to my girlfriend and headed to the car where my re-source handbook and blank notepad were waiting.

Before I could locate a field supervisor, there were five different reports from the scene. With each call – from the on-scene police officers, to the fire battalion chief, to the three separate calls from the after-hours center – the situation seemed to grow by leaps and bounds. Within 25 minutes the incident rose from eight apartments to 20 – wait, no! 40; yes, 47 apartments, with unknown occupancy numbers or family sizes.

As a master‘s student and a high-seas sailor, I am no stranger to the need to remain calm in rapidly deteriorating and uncertain circumstances, yet I couldn‘t help but ponder how I had once again managed to put myself into such a predicament.

With no way home but into the distant unknown, I began recalling the words of advice and gems of information that I‘d been trying to collect over the past five months.

Now the moment was upon me, and the advice that had been echoed by Michael and Ray and Bill and Stanley over the past few weeks quickly sank in; ―Remember; everyone wants to be called. That‘s why they‘re on the list. So it was with resolve and focus that I began the process of locating a response team and equipping them with the information to help those in need.

The position of ―Field Supervisor was accepted by Austin Miller, a seasoned Red Cross volunteer, who would serve as the eyes and ears at the scene for the remainder of the event.

Photographer for photo Daniel Cima/American Red Cross

SM CSC Members Delivers Kits to MOW Clients

Angela McAtee a CSC members at the Santa Monica Chapter worked with Meals on Wheels West (MOW) in Santa Monica to provide disaster supplies kits along with a disaster preparedness presentation to over 250 home bound MOW clients (people that are home bound due to age or a disability). SM AmeriCorps members also gave disaster preparedness presentations to MOW volunteers; the volunteers took this information and used it to make the MOW clients' homes more prepared for a disaster.

CSC Member's PSA

Eric Strunz, one of the Santa Monica ARC Chapter CSC members, helped create a Health and Safety PSA on Flu Preparedness that aired on CityTV (Santa Monica local access channel) that reached over 24,000 household.

CSC continues Pathway Partnership

CSC has continued its diversity inclusion efforts by working with the Tarjan Center and Pathways to place a Pathway "Intern" at the Los Angeles ARC Chapter. Pathway is a post secondary program for people with intellectual disabilities. Pathway Interns are placed at different organizations to gain vocational skills and training. The Pathway Intern is supervised by Kaitlyn Loranger, LA CSC member. Kaitlyn sets up and coordinates disaster preparedness education presentations to audiences with developmental disabilities for her and the pathway intern to present.