American Red Cross Responds to

Recent Tornado & Flood Disaster

On a warm breezy July 11, a major storm hit the Ohio River Valley.  Our first call came from the Pike County Emergency Management Association who needed our help because three mobile homes had just been completely destroyed due to a tornado.  While your Ohio River Valley Red Cross volunteers and staff were assisting the Pike County Area, we received a call from the Scioto County Emergency Management Association who needed us to bring our cots to the Wheelersburg Schools to set up a shelter for the Best Care Nursing Home residents who were being evacuated due to flash flooding.  With the help of a great team of volunteers and your kind donations, we were able to assist these folks in our community when the bottom had just dropped out of their lives.
 
A typical month for your Red Cross.
 
On August 12, 2009 we had a wonderful event that honored over forty individuals from our community who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for our community.  Over 250 people gathered at the SOMC Friends’ Center in Portsmouth to honor 16 different Heroes.  See our website, www.ohiorivervalley.redcross.org, for photos and stories of these heroic people who have made your community a better place to live!
 
The mission of a Red Cross Chapter in a community is to prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters in its community.  Your Ohio River Valley Red Cross Chapter has fulfilled its mission by providing the following services to our community.
 
• In August, your Red Cross volunteers provided food, clothing, and shelter to eight families, which included 39 people, who lost everything they owned due to house fires.  We received a grant from the Scioto Foundation to help fund part of this project.
 
• With the dedication and generosity of so many volunteers (who give blood and volunteer their time and locations to the blood drives) we were able to collect 182 units of blood which is tested and then returned back to our community for use in the local area.  Recently the Red Cross awarded 18 schools in our area with scholarships totaling over $11,000 because they conducted blood drives at their schools.

• We made your community a safer place to live by offering 66 CPR & First Aid classes to community members. The fees from these classes are put back into our community to provide emergency services.  Visit our website to view the classes we have coming up at our chapter.
 
• In the month of July we helped 14 local families connect with their loved ones in the military when they had a family emergency. 

• We trained 4 more Disaster Action Team Members this month.  A Disaster Action Team Member is a volunteer who helps us give aid to citizens who have been afflicted by an untimely disaster.  We are building capacity in our team by conducting a training session on November 7, 2009.  The training will be provided at no cost to participants with help from The Marting’s Foundation.  If you are interested in being a part of our DAT Team, please call the chapter and talk to Mary or Terry.

The Red Cross is not a government-funded agency. We rely totally on the generosity of our community to fund the services we provide.  Thank you so much for helping us so we can in turn help you or your neighbor!
 
Our next friend and fund raising event will be in partnership with Shawnee State University and Sodexho catering.  Red Wine, White Wine, Red Cross is a wine tasting event on October 17, 2009 and will showcase Shawnee State University’s renovations of their University Center and Sodexho’s fine catering options. Please visit our website to learn more about how you can have a wonderful evening and also help your local Red Cross Chapter!

To learn more about your Ohio River Valley Chapter or about how you can share your time, talent and treasure, visit us online at http://www.ohiorivervalley.redcross.org or by calling us at 740-354-3293, or toll free at 888-354-3293.  You can also visit us at our new office at 1801 Robinson Ave in Portsmouth.