Mock Disaster Volunteers Needed!

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Haiti Update

From the US Department of State Haiti website: (http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/ha/index.htm)

The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747 (due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording). Our embassy is still in the early stages of contacting American Citizens through our Warden Network. Communications are very difficult within Haiti at this time.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti was devastated in hurricane season 2008 and is just now showing signs of recovers. This is the worst earthquake in 200 years in the area. The epicenter was 10 to 16 km from the capital and the area is the most populated in the country. Several relief missions (UN, CARE, Save the Childern, etc) are active in the country and have been impacted (the UN HQ collapsed with several staff inside). Building collapse is wide spread. Casualties amounts have been placed in the hundreds to thousands. Countries from around the world are readying relief assistance. President Obama has offered both civilian and military assistance. Communications is down across the region, several reports are based off of information gathered before communications failed early on. The UN mission is communicating with satellite phones they were using for their in country activities to communicate.

Candle Safety Tips!

Candles are a wonderful source of light, fragrance, and warmth, especially during the holiday season. However, if used improperly they can lead to injury and even possible death. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) states that the number of candle fires in homes doubles during the month of December.

Here are some facts to keep in mind:

- Candle fires occur in the bedroom (45%), the family room (17%), and the bathroom (11%) most often.

- Materials typically ignited by candles include cabinetry, bedding, pillows, and curtains.

- 85% of candle fires were started because of misuse.

Tips to stay safe this holiday season:

1. Extinguish candle flames when leaving the room

2. Keep candles at least one foot from flammable materials

3. Use holders that are sturdy, large enough to catch wax drippings, won't turn over easily, and are made of material that cannot burn.

4. Keep candle wicks trimmed to one-quarter inch and extinguish taper and pillar candles when they are within two inches of the holder. Extinguish votives before the last half-inch of wax starts to melt.

Red Cross to honor humanitarian acts, service

The American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis is looking for nominees for their Hall of Fame Awards presented by Conseco.

The American Red Cross is the premier emergency response organization in the nation: we provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Red Cross is where people put their care, compassion and generosity into action to help their neighbors in need.

The American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis Hall of Fame honors individuals and organizations that embody the core humanitarian values of the Red Cross; those who saw a need and responded with specific acts of courage or kindness, ongoing contributions that enhance the community, or a lifetime of service.

Examples of qualifying nominees include:

· Someone who risked his/her life to save or attempt to save someone else.
· An individual or organization that leads by example.
· An individual or organization that gives of themselves/its resources in working with or for others.
· An individual or organization that helps shoulder the burden of others.
· An individual or organization that encourages others when they need it most.
· An individual or organization that seeks to improve the lives of others.
· An individual or organization that empowers people to help themselves.

Eligibility Requirements – nominees must meet all of the following:

· Individual nominees must reside in or be employed within one of the 11 counties the Greater Indianapolis Red Cross serves: Boone, Clinton, Hancock, Hamilton, Hendricks, Henry, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan and Shelby.
· Organizational nominees must have a branch or headquarters located within one of the 11 counties the Greater Indianapolis Red Cross serves: Boone, Clinton, Hancock, Hamilton, Hendricks, Henry, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan and Shelby.
· The humanitarian act or service must have taken place in one of the above counties.
· The humanitarian act or service must have taken place between January 1 and December 31, 2009.

Submission Deadline: January 22, 2010

For more information and a nomination form, visit www.indyredcross.org/halloffame

The Sprit of Anderson Awards

On Sat, Dec 12th, The Spirit of Anderson Awards honored the Madison County American Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT). The all-volunteer DAT team responds for house fires and other local emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide basics such as food, clothing and shelter as needed. The Heroes through Team Work Award was presented to volunteers Jerry Johnson, Vera Davis and Casey Grant in recognition of services given for 33 disaster events effecting 90 people. The DAT team was also recognized for having successfully increased the number of DAT volunteers from 5 to 28 active volunteers.

Mounds Mall also presented a check for $400 for the American Red Cross of Madison County.

Congratulations to all Madison DAT volunteers!

CLIENT CASEWORK ON NATIONAL DEPLOYMENTS

In order to be assigned to a national disaster as a Client Caseworker, it is now a requirement to be trained in the Client Assistance System (CAS). CAS is the ARC's computer database system for recording assistance given.

The CAS training is an online, self-study course of these three components:
CAS Basics
CAS Create a Client Case
CAS Needs & Assistance

Please contact Teresa Cummings at (317) 684-4327 to sign up for the courses and receive your user name and password.

DISASTER ASSESSMENT ON NATIONAL DEPLOYMENTS

Completion of both components of Fundamentals of Disaster Assessment is required for DSHR deployment and for promotion within the DSHR system.

This is a blended learning course consisting of two components: online and instructor-led. The online portion must be completed before taking the classroom portion.

Please contact Teresa Cummings at (317) 684-4327 to sign up for the courses and to receive your user name and password.

The Lumina Foundation Project

Lumina Foundation volunteers in the filled comfort kit storage room:
Left to right: Mary Williams, Heather Roberts Moss, Molly Martin,
Jeanna Keller, Apra Arnold, Lisa Dunham, Frank Swanzy Essien Jr.

The Lumina Foundation’s comfort kit project began with a very generous donation earmarked for purchasing travel sized toiletries for creating comfort kits. These kits contain soap or body wash, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, a razor, lotion, tissues and other assorted items. They provide the basic necessities for the first few days when families and individuals find themselves suddenly displaced by a house fire, flood or other disaster.

On Fri Dec 7th, seven Lumina volunteers, headed up by Lumina’s Frank Swanzy Essien Jr, arrived to assemble kits from the materials that were purchased with the Lumina donation. Together with ARC staffer Teresa Cummings, the volunteers sorted mixed boxes and baskets of soaps, shampoos and other items into an assembly line and then began to fill zipper baggies to create the kits. The kits were packed into cardboard book boxes that were donated by Borders Books and Music at River Crossing Blvd. Thank you, Borders!

Four hours later the job was completed. 739 comfort kits (53 cases) filled the storage space to the roof! This was by far the largest and most successful comfort kit project this chapter has seen in years.

Thank you Lumina Foundation! And a warm and heartfelt thank you to the individual volunteers! These kits will serve our communities’ disaster clients for months to come.

Learn more about the Lumina Foundation at http://www.luminafoundation.org/.

Going to a Colts home game?

Red Cross Public Service Announcements (PSAs) will be shown on two giant (9’x12’) outdoor screens before the next two Indianapolis Colts home games (December 13th and 27th).

The screens will be located:

At the corner of Capitol and W. McCarty
In the Blue Crew Tailgate Lot between Pennsylvania and Madison at South Street

Check our website to view the PSA!

Thank You

As you may or may not know, my AmeriCorps*VISTA year is set to end this Friday, December 4th. I want to thank all of you for making the past 12 months some of the most rewarding times of my life. I have met so many great people while working here at the Red Cross and I cherish each and every person I have had the pleasure of interacting with during my time.

Even though my future endeavors involve much more schooling, I plan on remaining a Red Cross volunteer for a long time to come. The Red Cross has proven to me that it is an amazing organization and the people that volunteer for the Red Cross are even more amazing. So, I want to thank you all for being Red Cross volunteers and I wish you all the best in the world of volunteerism.