SGPV Members Respond to Their First DAT Call

On February 21st, an emergency call came into the Red Cross office in Pasadena. A fire in Monrovia had destroyed the garages of two houses and damaged the homes themselves, leaving two families out in the cold. Safe Corps members Lindsay and Jennifer donned their hard-hats and vests, responding to the scene to interview the clients and assess damage. With the help of their more experienced fellow DAT members they filled out all of the forms necessary to provide each family with lodging and food for a few nights. The families were in shock as they returned to their homes to find holes in the roof and many possessions damaged or destroyed. Lindsay and Jennifer helped comfort the clients as they collected belongings to see them through the next few days. After all of the families were safely heading to their lodging for the night, the CSC members entered all of the information into the Red Cross’s Client Assistant System, enabling the clients to get the help and follow-up that they needed.

SD CSC Members Teaching Others to Teach CDE

In February, the San Diego California Safe Corps (CSC) members, Dora Arnold and Mariana Vasconcelos co-taught for a Speaker’s Bureau Training for the staff of Jewish Family Services. Jewish Family Services is a resettlement agency which serves refugees and fixed income senior citizens. During the training they taught the staff how to give the American Red Cross Community Disaster Preparedness (CDE) presentation which includes how to I. Make a Plan, II. Build a Kit, and III. Be Informed. The training the staff received will allow them to teach the clients and staff at Jewish Family Services how to prepare for a disaster.

OC Volunteer Opportunity Fair

The success of the Red Cross cannot be attributed to anyone more deserving than the amazing volunteers who dedicate their time, talents, and money to the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross. They make up the identity of the Red Cross and without them, the organization would not be where it is today. That is one of the reasons engaging and recruiting volunteers is such an essential chapter function.

In pursuit of this, CSC member Grady Murphy coordinated the first all-chapter Volunteer Opportunity Fair showcasing our chapter’s new Volunteer Mentoring Program. On February 26th, 2011, over 20 functions and activities across a variety of departments were represented at the event. Function leads were given the opportunity to showcase how their functions contribute to the mission of the American Red Cross to new volunteers looking for ways to donate their talents and time. 25+ new and potential volunteers attended to find out how what their best fit would be within the many opportunities for voluntary service in the organization. CSC member Monique Phan attended to support the Preparedness Education function and recruited a volunteer who is now working to engage the local Indian population. The Volunteer Mentor Program also used the event to kick off their new program which provides experienced volunteers to serve as mentors for new chapter members as they find their place in the mission of the Red Cross. Due to the Fair’s success, the chapter has elected to hold this event 2 more times before the end of the calendar year and on a quarterly basis from then on.

Apartment Fire Response in Humboldt

February started off with a bang for the Humboldt County Safe Corps team. An apartment fire on February 2nd in Arcata left 16 people displaced, 12 of which were college students. There were no serious injuries, but one man did break his wrist after jumping off the balcony to escape the fire. The Safe Corps team worked with the local college to provide immediate care for all the victims, including housing, food, and clothing. The Tri-City-Weekly posted an article about the American Red Cross involvement in the fire: http://www.times-standard.com/tcw/ci_17386775 .

Safe Corps members teach CPR to Project Apple AmeriCorps

In January the California Safe Corps members of LA conducted their first large CPR/FA course to another local AmeriCorps group called the Bellflower Project Apple. Project Apple members work with an after school program of the Bellflower school district. As a result of the large size of the group, the course took three separate Friday sessions. Logistics and course preparation was led by CSC member John Vidaurrazaga who worked with the group contact, Shanti, over the month prior to the initial day.

The Project Apple participants were attentive and generally well humored. John led through the first two Friday sessions and made use of his own great sense of humor to keep the relatively young group engaged. The rest of the LA 7 CSC members checked skills and supplemented information as the course went on. Jean Milan from the Santa Monica chapter came out for the first Friday session which covered the longer section, CPR. As a result the second Friday went by faster since it only covered the First Aid components.

To bring the course to a wrap CSC members Charles Allen and Hildi Cruz went out for a third Friday to cover a make up session. Overall it was a beneficial experience for all of the LA CSC members as instructors and as team players.