Did dad burn toast again, or is the house on fire?

We go to schools, local companies, organizations, clubs, community centers, churches and just about anywhere else you could think of to present to the community about how to be “Red Cross Ready.”  These presentations are largely to inform you about what we do at the Red Cross, what constitutes an emergency, how to develop an emergency plan and kit and to help you start thinking about how you’re going to get information during an emergency and survive.   

But these presentations aren’t just for you, they’re also for us. 

All of the questions and comments that you make during these presentations open our eyes to what the community is thinking, and also how we should be focusing the material we are presenting.  For example, in an elementary school today a student asked if they’re supposed to leave there home every time the smoke alarm goes off… because their mom burns dinner a lot! And that is an interesting question that we hadn’t really thought about before.  We often just assume that our smoke alarms are going off because   someone is burning something, and because of that, we don’t respond and react as we normally would. 

Personally, if a smoke alarm wasn’t turned off within a minute, I would go check for smoke, fire or a really bad cook, but you don’t want your children looking for fire when they should be evacuating! 

So, this is a conversation that parents should be having with their children.   If your household has any exception to the evacuation rule, such as if mom or dad is in the kitchen cooking and the smoke alarm goes off for 20 seconds before they can reset it, then you don’t need to evacuate.  However, if it is 11:00pm, no one is yelling “it’s alright,” and the smoke alarm is going off for more than a minute, then you need to evacuate and go to the outdoor family meeting place.

So be sure to have these conversations with your family.  If no one is on the same page now, it will make an emergency a lot more confusing.  So make a plan, get a kit and stay informed!!

For more information, please visit our emergency preparedness section online and to schedule a presentation for your work, church or other organization please contact Denise Herkey-Jarosch, Regional Coordinator, NYS Citizens Preparedness Program at (716) 878-2231 or Herkeyjaroschd@usa.redcross.org to set up a presentation, or visit the Chapter online for preparedness tips.

Welcome Eliza!

Here at the Red Cross, we welcome the opportunity to help students gain valuable experience in the work place, which is why semester after semester we offer internships to our local colleges. 

This semester, we are lucky enough to have Eliza Osmani join our team to help us with the upcoming BASH season!  If you have ever attended BASH, thank you for supporting us. We expect that you had a fantastic time.  However, that event takes a lot of planning, and we are happy to have Eliza to not only help us make that event even more enjoyable, but also give her experience in event planning as well as PR so that she can make the most out of her degree in Communications at UB. 

When Eliza isn’t in BASH mode here at the Red Cross, or studying to finish off her final semester, she enjoys reading, yoga and hanging out with her friends.  She’s very excited to graduate and get into a master’s program, and she’s hoping that having the Red Cross on her resume will give her a competitive edge. 

Eliza’s Red Cross Moment

“I think my Red Cross moment came 1 year ago, the first time I gave blood. I realized the quality and the humanity involved in the American Red Cross. Every time the Red Cross does something, there is a certain kind of standard they set, which is not only tough to beat, but makes you rise to the occasion yourself, whether it’s giving blood or helping with disaster relief.”

If you’d like to get more information about our volunteer opportunities at the Chapter please visit us online or contact Mary Walls at 716.878.2140 or wallsma@usa.redcross.org.   

To share your Red Cross Moment, please contact Jay Bonafede at bonafedej@usa.redcross.org. 

Help! My dog is... choking?

If Snuffy the puppy were choking or stopped breathing, would you know how to save her? Well, if not, you’re in luck, because we can now help you answer “yes!” 

The American Red Cross is known for providing lifesaving training that helps families stay safe and healthy, and since pets are part of the family, we offer training that will keep them safe and healthy as well! Our three-hour Pet First Aid course provides hand-on training in emergency care procedures for cats and dogs.   This session will teach you step-by-step so that you can learn how to:

·         Identify a normal heart rate

·         Safely approach an ill or injured animal

·         Safely restrain a cat

·         Properly muzzle a dog

·         Administer CPR and much more!

To learn more about our Pet First Aid program, view our flyer, or register for this $25.00 course, please visit the Chapter online or call us at 716.878.2377. 
A portion of the course fee goes towards the Pet Emergency Fund.
      
Don’t forget to check out our own Shoshone Snyder-Dentice who gives more details about our Pet First Aid program on AM Buffalo’s Pet Talk Tuesday! 

Red Cross Moments

The Red Cross has been built on the generosity and support of its neighbors in communities around the world, and because of that, we have been able to touch the lives of many.  Our community involvement has created many memories of the Red Cross for our neighbors, and we want you to know what those are.  These memories will help reinforce our mission in our community, and also help bring us back to why we are here as the Red Cross--To help. 

My Red Cross Moment

“When I was in fourth grade, I walked home from school and found a slew of fire trucks outside of my home.  We had a house fire.  Luckily no one was injured, and my home only had minor damages, but the Red Cross was there to offer their support.  To this day, my family still talks about how thankful they were to know that if they needed a place to turn, the Red Cross would have been there.”

To share your moment, please e-mail your thoughts about what the Red Cross is, a past experience you have had with the Red Cross or what comes to mind when you hear the words “Red Cross,” to bonafedej@usa.redcross.org.