American Red Cross

   When someone says American Red Cross, what do you think of?   Disaster relief, maybe blood drives.  You would be right.  But ARC is much more.  As I spend more time volunteering at ARC, I discover more facets of the organization. 
    ARC does send teams to sites of major disasters.  Several teams went down to California to help fire victims.  One of the volunteers I worked with a couple of weeks ago had been on a team after Hurricane Katrina.  ARC does conduct blood drives at various locations and businesses.  Blood donors are always welcome at the Headquarters in Portland as well.  The blood is processed at the Portland lab in the building where it is tested, sometimes separated into plasma, platelets, etc.  Then it is stored until needed.  I think I mentioned that 75% of blood used in the Pacific Northwest is supplied by ARC.  This is the only service/product in which ARC charges a fee.  All other services are FREE !
     A major program that is going on right now is the installation of smoke alarms in homes throughout the country.  If you are interested in getting or replacing your smoke alarms or helping to install smoke alarms in homes of your townspeople, call your local ARC facility or Google it for further information.
    Another program that I am going to explore next week is the DAT  (Disaster Action Team).  DAT teams respond to local emergencies 24/7.  These are normally home fires but other events could be storms or floods.  The team provide a person to talk t0, a shoulder to lean on. They can fill a need for immediate shelter or supplies.  They can help the victim connect with long-term recovery services.
   There is a meeting on Tuesday evening that I will attend that will explain more about the DAT program and whether I am qualified to become a DAT volunteer.  Stay tuned.