Local Red Cross hard at work
Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
In a year of unprecedented disasters, the local chapter of the American Red Cross is hard at work, executive director Ruthanne Hill said.
On a pretty fall day in northwest Arkansas, her chapter had eight volunteers still working with Hurricane Ike refugees in Texas. In fact, most of the volunteers had started in Louisiana with Hurricane Gustav and moved directly to Texas. In 2008 there was a disaster almost every month, she said.
Some disasters are almost predictable, she said. For example, she knows her organization will be called on to help victims of 350 to 400 house fires each year. The chapter responds all over northwest Arkansas. She also plans on staffing shelters three or four times each year for victims of tornadoes or floods.
"This year has blown us out of the water," she said, with tornadoes beginning in January. The national organization helps when local chapter runs low on money. Because of the spring tornadoes, local donors were generous this year, she said, but the northwest Arkansas chapter still needed to ask for help from national.
People don't always understand the role of the Red Cross, Hill said.
The Red Cross can pay for lodging after a home fire if the homeowner doesn't have insurance, she said. The organization can also supply many hygiene essentials, including care packages of tooth brushes, toothpaste and soap. Those products are often donated by area businesses, sometimes through the United Way
People who lose their home to tornadoes or floods can also ask for that same kind of help.
It's often the Red Cross that runs shelters like the ones used by hurricane evacuees and it's often Red Cross volunteers who staff them. In order to be ready for disaster response, training classes are offered year-round.
When Hurricane Katrina was in the news, the Red Cross trained more than 600 volunteers, but most of them weren't ready to help in New Orleans. When a disaster happens, it's really too late to prepare, Hill said. Some of those volunteers have worked in other areas, she said.
When volunteers come back from their assignments, they tell Hill about the feeling they get when they're able to give someone in need a warm meal or a friendly ear.
"It gives you goose bumps," she said.
While preparedness and disaster response are important parts of the Red Cross mission, there are other, lesser known, programs.
It's the Red Cross that helps get soldiers home for a family emergency, Hill said. Although in this day and age, soldiers can keep in contact with their family by cell phone or e-mail, the Red Cross is the agency that confirms an emergency and contacts a soldier's commanding officer. The organization can also notify a soldier with good news, like the birth of a baby, she said.
Congress depends on the Red Cross for this service, but unfortunately, Congress doesn't pay the organization. The Red Cross doesn't receive any government funds, Hill said.
The only program that brings in revenue is the Health and Safety program, but it doesn't bring in very much revenue. Usually the fees for classes cover only expenses, Hill said. If there is any profit it goes directly to disaster relief.
The classes begin with swimming lessons and continue through instructor training. There are classes for CPR and first aid - including first aid for children and pets and wilderness situations. The Red Cross offers a class on using an automated external defibrillator, which is for use on a person who suffers a sudden heart attack.
Most of the classes taught by Red Cross staff are organized at work places, Hill said. Companies want their employees to know how to save a life, she said.
The funds for all the Red Cross programs come from donations and grants. The United Way helps with some funding, Hill said.
The local chapter hosts one event, partly a fundraiser and partly a celebration of good news. The annual Celebration of Heroes recognizes everyday people who "do the things that Red Cross is all about," Hill said.
"It's a cool event because it's not contrived," she said. "We're not making up a reason to celebrate."
In 2008, the Celebration of Heroes had to be postponed. In April, the usual season, the Red Cross staff was still busy helping tornado victims. The celebration was finally held in August with five Lifesaver Awards, one Military Hero Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Her staff is small, only eight people, because she knows that donors want their funds to go to disaster relief, not the overhead for a local chapter.
"Almost everyone of us is a department of one," she said.
To learn more about the Northwest Chapter of the American Red Cross, call (479 ) 306-4688 or visit their Web site www. nwarkansasredcross. org.
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