Make being Red Cross Ready your New Year's resolution!

We here at the Chapter love being prepared for anything that may be thrown our way, which is why we all make the resolution to be a little more Red Cross Ready every New Years! 

What does being Red Cross Ready mean you ask?

Everyone that is Red Cross Ready has evacuation plans for their households, kits that can be grabbed in a hurry if they need to evacuate or take shelter in their home, and are informed about what is going on in terms of impending natural and manmade disasters. 

Being Red Cross Ready is all about being proactive, so that when there is an emergency, you’ve already planned and are prepared to survive the emergency.  So be sure to visit our website for tips on how to be Red Cross Ready, and also to schedule a Red Cross Ready presentation for your company or organization so that you can help your co-workers get prepared for the New Year!

Helpful reminder: We know that New Year’s Eve is a big day for celebrating! Be sure to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and also to keep the candle lighting to a minimum to ensure that you don’t bring in the New Year with a disaster.

Make a New Year’s resolution to support your Chapter!

When you turn on your favorite news station and see a fellow community member’s home being ravaged by a fire, you may say “what a shame” and think how that could never happen to you and your family.  However, it does happen to families every day here in Buffalo, and when it does, we’re there to help.  We wouldn’t be able to do this without you.  

Your donations of time and money allow us to do what we do best in the community, help.  Whether it’s through Emergency Services, Disaster Preparedness, Services to Seniors, Services to the Armed Forces or HIV/AIDS Services, we are here in Buffalo to help. 

So thank you for all of the support you have given to us this past year and we hope that we can count on your continued support in the New Year so that we can continue to help all of our neighbors. 

To make a donation please visit us online or call us at 716.878.2374.

Have you thought about becoming a SAF volunteer as part of your New Year’s resolution?

Some people don’t realize that the American Red Cross is still closely connected to its roots in terms of working alongside the military.  Through our Services to the Armed Forces (SAF) program, we help connect families here in the States with their family member in the service, stateside or across the world.  This is a great opportunity to get involved and give back to Service Members and their families, and great way to incorporate benevolence into your New Year’s resolution! 

SAF volunteers work directly with family members during major events, such as a birth or the death or illness of a close relative,  to verify their emergency, and then follow the correct avenues in order to get their message delivered to their family member in the service.  Depending on the type of emergency, where the service member is located, and if it is during a time of war or peace, the Service Member may be granted leave to come home or an opportunity to call home.

If you would like to become involved in this great service, you will need to complete the Services to Armed Forces- Emergency Communication Message Training through the Chapter.  This course is a basic introductory class that gives an overview of how to receive and process a case in the Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services program, and also has an online course component that provides more hands on training. 

To schedule training, please call us at 716.878.2387 or visit us online.

Make becoming CPR certified your New Year's resolution!

If your significant other or another family member were to choke on something or stop breathing, would you know what to do? Make it your New Year’s resolution to learn!

We all normally eat at least 3 times a day, which means all of us run the risk of ourselves choking or being in the room with someone that is choking more than 20 times a week!  This is why we here at the Chapter think that everyone should be prepared for these types of situations by becoming certified in CPR/AED! So breathe a little easier this 2011 and make getting certified in CPR/AED a part of your New Year’s resolution!

Already certified? Individuals need to be recertified yearly to make sure that they are up-to-date on all of the new techniques and qualifications, so, if you can’t remember if it’s 30 to 2, 50 to 3 or you don’t even know what that means… it’s time to come back in for a refresher course!

To register for a CPR/AED course through the Chapter, visit us online or call us at 716.878.2387. 

Have you thought about becoming a DAT volunteer for your New Year’s resolution?

All of us here at the Chapter take our New Year’s resolutions pretty seriously, and we only have 5 more days to choose what we’re going to dedicate ourselves to in 2011! Whether it has to do with losing weight, not drinking coffee, working out 3 times a week, reading a book a month, having more family meals together, or volunteering more often, we all try to take advantage of the New Year to better ourselves, and we challenge you to do the same!

The Chapter offers many opportunities for individuals to get involved and better themselves, and their community.  For example, you could become a DAT volunteer.

To become a DAT volunteer, you must be 18 years or older, have  a good understanding of spoken/written English, a working personal phone, a valid driver’s license, and be able to pass a background check.  If none of these things are a concern for you, then becoming a DAT volunteer may be the perfect resolution for you!

DAT volunteers are required to take a 3 hour entry level orientation that covers the Chapter, organization and DAT.  After taking the course you will understand the roles and responsibilities of a DAT volunteer, when and how to respond to local emergencies, policies and procedures, as well as how to sign-up for on-call DAT hours. 

DAT volunteers are generally called to respond to local house fires, and are responsible for a preliminary assessment of damage as well as an assessment of the needs of each individuals that was directly affected by the fire.  After this assessment, the volunteer will determine how much assistance, if any, each individual needs in order to ensure that they are in a safe, healthy environment, where they will be provided with additional assistance to find their way back on their feet. 

If you’re interested in becoming a DAT volunteer as part of your New Year’s resolution, or just because you want to give back and better your community, please call us to schedule your training at 716.878.2387 or visit us online.