Month: August 2012

Red Cross Volunteers Responding to Isaac

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American Red Cross volunteer Cathy Miller is heading to Florida in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross

Six American Red Cross volunteers from the Northern Minnesota Region are heading to Florida where Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to make landfall in the next few days. Among those responding are Cathy Miller from Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Miller, a licensed psychologist, has served for four years as an American Red Cross disaster mental health volunteer. “I love the Red Cross,” says Miller, who is retired. “I like to feel like I’m contributing.”And she has. To date, Miller has deployed to numerous disaster, including the devastating tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, last year. Nicole Anderson, whose job it is to get Red Cross volunteers ready for deployment with few hours notice, says Miller is a “rock star” volunteer because “when I need her she’s on it.” In addition to moving hundreds of trained disaster workers into Florida, the Red Cross has 22 emergency response vehicles already in the state with an additional 78 on stand-by; five truckloads of disaster supplies in route; and more relief supplies ready to ship from warehouses in nearby states. To learn more about the American Red Cross, click here.

Be Red Cross Ready at the Fair

The American Red Cross  is counting on Minnesota state fair-goers to prepare our community for emergencies by helping replenish summer blood supplies and learning how to build an emergency preparedness kit at the Red Cross booth in the Health Fair 11 building. Currently, all blood types are needed and the Red Cross is hoping to boost inventory before and during the Labor Day holiday weekend.  New this year, fair-goers can race against the clock during a “disaster,” grabbing necessities and then learning how to prepare before disaster strikes.  Free blood pressure screenings will be available again this year.

WHAT: Give Blood – Give Life

WHEN:  Saturday, August 25; Sunday, August 26; Friday, August 31; Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2,  9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day (5)

WHERE: Just inside Gate 7, alongside the Dairy Building on Underwood Street
(It’s easy to remember – we’re right across from the Haunted House. Give us your blood instead of the vampires.)

HOW: Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org to make an appointment or for more information. Or, just stop by. Walk-ins are welcome.

But wait! There’s more!

WHAT: Be Red Cross Ready – Learn how to build an emergency preparedness kit and have your blood pressure screened. (We suggest getting a screening before you eat cheese curds!)

WHEN:  Every day of the fair! 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

WHERE: Health Fair 11 building on Dan Patch and Cooper

See you soon! Woot! Woot!

Red Cross Pugsley?

The other day while riding along the Minneapolis Grand Rounds bike path, we stumbled across Blaine Mogren. He loves bikes. He looooooooves bikes. Among the bikes in his collection is this fine (pictured left) Surly Pugsley. He has six of them. This particular one he calls Fire Engine Pugsley. We can see why. For starters, its BRIGHT RED. It also has loud horns,  flashing lights, and a fire-fighter rubber duck. And crosses, white ones (like on the Swiss flag). After a minute of chit-chat with Blaine this thought emerges: let’s make a Red Cross Pugsley!

After all, the Pugsley is (via Wikipedia) revolutionary: In 2005, Surly began selling the Pugsley, the first mass-produced mountain bike with extremely large volume tires, up to 4 inches wide, for deep snow and sand riding. The front and rear wheels share a common hub size and can be interchanged, allowing for additional gearing combinations. Noted bicycle technical authority Sheldon Brown said, “Pugsley is, in its way, as revolutionary as the original mountain bikes were in the early 1980s.” Bicycling Magazine wrote, “It’s not ideal for everyday use, but it can handle a wide variety of demands and conditions well.” Let’s repeat that last bit: a “wide variety of demands and conditions.” Sooooooooo, that could include disaster response in your hometown (or ours where it snows for months except last winter).

Tell us, what do you think? What would your Red Cross Pugsley look like? Would it be red with white? Or white with red? Would you have side bags for water and snacks that you would distribute to people affected by disasters or those responding to them? …..

Story and photos by Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross

 

Three Cheers for Paul!

So, the other day, this young man named Paul van Vliet stops by Red Cross offices in Minneapolis and drops off comfort kits for kids. How cool is that? He (Paul) comes up with his own project idea (making comfort kits for kids) and provides them (the kits) to us (Red Cross) so that our disaster relief workers can give the kits to kids affected by disasters (like fires, floods, & tornadoes).

Now, let’s give some credit to us (Red Cross) because we came up with the original comfort kits for adults and children idea, but we rely on motivated and generous peeps like Paul to make this kits and help reduce the suffering of people who escape burning buildings or high waters. Paul’s dad John was on hand for the comfort kits for kids drop off. He took a fine photo of his son Paul (top & bottom) and then sent us a nice note (excerpt below left).

“It was great to meet you at the Twin Cities’ Red Cross office today. Thanks for your interest in my son, Paul’s, Eagle Scout project. It was a wonderful surprise and honor to meet Phil Hansen, an Eagle Scout himself. I know Paul was very impressed and honored by Mr. Hanson’s enthusiastic reaction to his project. And I am sure Paul will remember this day for the rest of his life. Most important, he and I are gratified to know these comfort kits will benefit the littlest and most vulnerable victims of disasters.”

Well, John, we think your son is the bee’s knees. We could not do what we do without him and others like him. We wish Paul many happy days during his next adventure (college) and hope that he will make his way around the world and back to us some time in the future.