Downtown Detroit-January 12, 2012

This winter “Be Red Cross Ready” for anything Mother Nature may throw our way with the American Red Cross Preparedness Checklists.  These checklists deliver safety tips and information on Flooding, Winter Storms, Power Outages and general preparedness tips that will help you keep your family safe this winter.

Currently, The American Red Cross is responding inTexas and North Carolina after unusual January tornadoes touched down, and is prepared to offer help as a winter storm moves toward the Northeast.

In North Carolina, numerous injuries were reported and multiple homes damaged or destroyed after at least two tornadoes touched down. The Red Cross opened a shelter, describing the area as “packed with emergency vehicles and people needing help.”

InTexas, possible tornadoes and flash flooding in theHoustonandGalvestonareas stranded motorists, caused a mall roof to collapse and left thousands without power. The Red Cross provided shelter and food for those affected by theTexasstorm.

As residents of the South clean up after the storms there, all eyes are on a winter storm expected to bring heavy snow and freezing rain to portions of theGreat Lakesand Northeast over the next couple of days. The Red Cross urges residents to watch this storm and get prepared for the winter weather. 

Be prepared…in Michigan you never know what the weather may bring.

1. Prepare vehicle for traveling to grandmother’s house. Build an emergency kit and include items such as blankets or sleeping bags, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, compass and road maps, shovel, tire repair kit and pump, extra clothing, flares, and a tow rope.

2. Drive the sleigh and reindeer safely. Avoid driving in a storm. If travel is a must, let someone know the destination, the route being taken to get there, and how long it should take to arrive. If the car gets stuck along the way, help can be sent along the predetermined route.

3. Help prevent the spread of the flu. Stay home if sick. Wash hands with soap and water as often as possible, or use an alcohol-based hand rub. Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, and throw the tissue away after use. If a tissue isn’t available, someone should cough or sneeze into their elbow, not their hands.

4. Follow Santa’s fashion lead – dress in layers. When it’s cold outside, layered lightweight clothing will keep a person warmer than a single heavy coat. Gloves and a hat will prevent loss of body heat.

5. Use a Red Cross-trained babysitter when attending holiday festivities. Red Cross-certified babysitters learn to administer basic first aid; properly hold and feed a child; take emergency action when needed and monitor safe play. Some may be certified in Infant and Child CPR.

6. Avoid danger while roasting chestnuts on an open fire. Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. If leaving the kitchen even for a short period of time, turn off the stove. This is important because unattended cooking causes nearly 90 percent of all kitchen fires.

7. Be a lifesaver during the holidays. The Red Cross recommends at least one person in every household should take first aid and CPR/AED training. Visit www.redcross.org/training for details and to register.

8. Designate a driver or skip the holiday cheer. Buckle up, slow down, don’t drive impaired. If someone plans on drinking, designate a driver who won’t drink.

 9. When the weather outside is frightful, heat the home safely. Never use a stove or oven to heat the home. Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Install smoke alarms.

10. Cut down on heating bills without being a Grinch. Get the furnace cleaned and change the filters. Make sure furniture isn’t blocking the heat vents. Close off any rooms not in use and turn off the heat in those rooms. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

11. Home for the holidays? Travel safely. Check the tire air pressure and make sure the windshield fluid is full. Be well rested and alert. Give full attention to the road – avoid distractions such as cell phones. If someone has car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible.

12. Resolve to Be Red Cross Ready in the New Year. Get ready now in case someone in the household faces an emergency in 2012.

The 2011 American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog, now available online at www.redcross.org/gifts, contains over 25 meaningful “symbolic” gifts that can be given in honor of friends, family members and business associates. Gift-givers can provide a full day of emergency shelter for victims of disaster, purchase hospital comfort kits for wounded service members, or pay for critical vaccinations that will save children’s lives. With each gift purchased, the gift-giver receives a greeting card that can be presented to friends and family explaining the gift given in their honor.

“Selecting a gift from our Holiday Giving Catalog is a wonderful way to live-out the spirit of the season,” said Kim Baker, chief development officer in the Southeastern Michigan Region. “Holiday donations help save the day when fire destroys a neighbor’s house, when a patient needs blood, or when a member of the military has a family emergency back home.”

This year in Southeastern Michigan, 681 local Red Cross volunteers responded to 1,163 emergencies, helped 9,611 individuals in time of crisis, and served 8,314 active military, veterans, and family members. Nationally, the Red Cross responded to more than 68,000 disasters, including wildfires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres, tornadoes that destroyed entire towns, and flooding that left communities under water from the Dakotas to the East Coast.

Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces workers provided assistance to more than 386,000 members of the military and their families, veterans and civilians. And Red Cross Blood Services distributed more than nine million blood products for patients in nearly 3,000 hospitals across the United States.

“History has proven that Americans respond generously when people are in need,” said, Baker.  “Giving through the American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog is an opportunity to help us be ready to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whenever the need arises.”

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

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The Holiday Mail for Heroes program has also been going strong at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, where volunteers from the Washtenaw-Lenawee Chapter have been on-hand each weekend with cards available for shoppers to fill out and decorate.

If you would like to send a holiday greeting to a member of the military this holiday season, visit redcross.org/holiday mail for details and information.  All cards much be postmarked by December 9, 2011 to be included in the program.

This Sunday, the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes volunteers will be at Ford Field during the Detroit Lions game with an opportunity for fans to send a card to a veteran or a member of the military this holiday season. In conjunction with the Detroit Lions Veterans celebration, the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign gives the community the opportunity to send a note of warmth to those who need it.

For more information on how you can send a card to members of the military, visit redcross.org

An important holiday worldwide, Veterans Day is especially significant throughout the Red Cross because of the organization’s ties, through the Services to Armed Forces (SAF) program, to the United States Military.

- The Red Cross provides pre-deployment briefings on the support systems and resources available to service members and their families while service members are away.

- The Red Cross provides – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year – a lifeline between service members and their families by verifying and transmitting emergency messages.

- Additionally, the Red Cross provides military families with access to financial assistance in partnership with military aid organizations as well as referral information and assistance to veterans.

So this Friday, take a few moments to thank those who have bravely and generously served our country through membership in the Armed Forces.

- Post a thank you message on Facebook or tweet a thank you message on Twitter.

- Participate in the Holiday Mail for Heroes program by making a holiday card for a service member, veteran, or military family. (Click here for more information about the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.)

- Donate blood at one of the hundreds of Veterans Day blood drives going on throughout the country. (Click here to find a Veterans Day blood drive in your area.)

- Donate a monetary gift, in honor a service member, veteran, or military family, through the Red Cross Holiday Giving catalog. Even a small amount ($50 = 1 military comfort kit, $20 = 1 military phone card, and $30 = hygiene kids for 3 homeless veterans) can make a tremendous different in the life of an active duty service member or veteran. (Click here to shop the Red Cross Holiday Giving catalog.)

The American Red Cross recommends that everyone take the time to get prepared for fall and winter by checking their emergency preparedness supplies – a step that could save time during an emergency.

Shop the Red Cross Store for all your preparedness needs.When turning the clocks back, people should also check the batteries in their smoke alarms, and make sure the alarms work by pushing the test button. It’s also a good time for everyone to check their carbon monoxide detectors. Folks should replace the batteries in both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors at least once a year.

Other steps people can take to get prepared include:

Updating the emergency contact information in their family communications plan. Choose an out-of-area emergency contact that each person in the household can call if he/she becomes separated during a disaster situation.
Making sure their emergency preparedness kit still includes at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food items and water (one gallon per person per day), a flashlight, a battery-powered or crank radio, can opener, first aid kit, copies of important documents, and special items such as medications, diapers, and infant formula.
Checking their emergency preparedness kit for expired food items; refreshing staples such as water, food and batteries. If there have been changes in prescriptions or dietary needs, add new foods and medications as needed.
Taking simple actions like these can help people be better prepared for a disaster situation. More information on how families can get ready for an emergency is available on www.redcross.org So, when turning back the clock this weekend, people should take a few extra minutes to ensure that their loved ones are better prepared for the unexpected.

Last Thursday, the American Red Cross and the DTE Energy Foundation awarded the students and teacher at Osborn for their successful participation in the Team R.E.D. (Ready for Emergencies in Detroit) program, funded by the DTE Energy Foundation.  The program is designed to teach area students safety and preparedness in case of emergencies, especially home fires. The program will be implemented in other high schools throughout the Detroit area.

Great Job Osborn!

This pumpkin, decorated by a Red Cross Volunteer is our entry into the Oakland County Workplace Giving Pumpkin Auction. This annual auction will benefit the 9 charities in their workplace giving program.

We think ours is a winner!