Run for the Red Kicks Off Our 100th Anniversary!

The 100^th anniversary celebration of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross is officially underway! It started Sunday, March 23 with the Publix Georgia Marathon, which we call the Run for the Red. As of this writing, 160 “Team Red” runners raised almost $20,000, and donations are still being accepted! 

Here’s a quick recap featuring community members, blood donors and volunteers who wanted to show their support for everything Red Cross does. As a matter of fact, one of our volunteers shot and edited the video! 

Stay tuned – there’s a lot more fun ahead! Talk to us on Twitter using the hashtag #RedTeam100. Be sure to like us on Facebook and check out event photos on Flickr. Go Team Red! 

 

New Hurricane App Brings American Red Cross Safety Information to Smart Phones

Red Crossers proudly display their smartphones which are loaded with the new Red Cross Hurricane App

ATLANTA, August 1, 2012—The American Red Cross today launched its official Hurricane App, putting lifesaving information right in the hands of people who live in or who visit hurricane prone areas.

This free app is the second in a series to be created by the American Red Cross, the nation’s leader in emergency preparedness, for use on both iPhone and Android platforms. It gives instant access to local and real time information on what to do before, during and after hurricanes. Building on the Red Cross’ leadership in the social media space, the app also includes a number of features that allow people to monitor personalized weather alerts in locations where family and friends reside and share information with others in their social networks who might also need it.

“We want everyone to be to be ready for hurricanes,” said Nancy Brockway, Chief Emergency Services Officer for Georgia’s Red Cross. “The Red Cross Hurricane App allows people to receive and spread emergency information and to share their own status with friends and loved ones through social networks, anywhere, anytime.”

The launch of the Red Cross hurricane app comes just before what is traditionally the busiest period of the Atlantic hurricane season. Features of the app include:

• One touch “I’m safe” messaging that allows users to broadcast reassurance to family and friends via social media outlets that they are out of harm’s way.

• Location-based NOAA weather alerts for the United States and its territories users can share on social networks.

• Remote monitoring of personalized weather alerts where family and friends reside.

• Locations of open Red Cross shelters.

• Simple steps and checklists people can use to create a family emergency plan.

• Preloaded content that gives users instant access to critical action steps, even without mobile connectivity.

• Toolkit with flashlight, strobe light and audible alarm.

• Badges users can earn through interactive quizzes and share on social networks.

The app enables people across the country to receive alerts for locations in areas where they like to vacation or where loved ones live, giving peace of mind to travelers, people who winter in warmer climates, and those with elderly relatives or college students in coastal areas.”

National Red Cross experts in health, safety, and preparedness have thoroughly reviewed and field tested the information and advice provided in this app.

The Hurricane App follows the recently released Red Cross First Aid App which has had nearly 600,000 downloads in just six weeks. Testimonials and positive reviews have shown how dozens of people already have used the app to help in real-life situations.

The Hurricane and First Aid Apps can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross. Downloading the First Aid app is not a substitute for training. First Aid and CPR/AED training empowers people to know how to respond to emergencies in case advanced medical help is delayed. People can visit redcross.org/takeaclass for course information and to register.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies more than 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or join our blog at blog.redcross.org.

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Military Wife Touts Red Cross Reconnections Workshops, Sponsored by Walmart

The Creech Family (l-r): Sgt. First Class Ryan Creech, Mitchell, Amy and Dillon

My name is Amy Creech and I am a Red Cross volunteer and military spouse. My husband has been an active duty army soldier for 16 years and counting. I am extremely proud to be a military spouse but military life is not without its challenges, especially when it comes to deployments for the service member and the loved ones waiting at home. Homecomings bring tremendous happiness and a great sense of relief but are not always easy. That’s why I am so glad that the American Red Cross offers the Reconnection Workshops, presented by Walmart, which help our heroes transition back into civilian life.

This is a wonderful program of five standalone workshops which last approximately two hours each. They are for service members and their families and examples of topics covered include; Communicating Clearly, Dealing with Stress and Trauma, and Relating to Children. These workshops are free to service members and their families and are given by licensed mental health professionals.

We are also in need of facilitators to help us deliver the program. So if you’re a service member or family of a service member or you are a mental health professional who would like to volunteer as a Reconnection Workshops facilitator, I encourage you to check out our website at http://www.RedCross.org/ReconnectionWorkshops or by phone at (404)876 3302 and ask about the Reconnection Workshops.

Atlanta Red Cross Set to Launch Reconnection Workshops for Returning Service Members

ATLANTA, July 18, 2012 — The Atlanta Red Cross will host an information meeting for prospective Reconnection Workshops facilitators on August 1, 7 PM, at Atlanta Red Cross headquarters (1955 Monroe Dr. N.E./Atlanta,GA 30324). Launched nationally in 2011, the American Red Cross, with support from Walmart, has developed the Reconnection Workshops for all military families to assist service members, veterans, their families and other loved ones in the transition home after a deployment. Meeting attendees will receive an overview of the Reconnection Workshops program and be briefed on the details of being a program facilitator. Representatives from Care for the Troops, the Georgia Warrior Alliance and the Scott Rigsby Foundation are currently scheduled to attend the information meeting. Other prospective facilitators are also invited to attend.

Reconnection Workshops facilitiators are actively licensed and specially trained Red Cross mental health professionals who lead participants through information and discussions designed to help them identify and respond to the challenges of readjusting to and transitioning back to a changed family dynamic. The workshops are targeted to service members and their spouses, children, parents, siblings and significant others. Participants have the option of choosing any or all of the workshops. Topics include:

• Communicating Clearly
• Exploring Stress and Trauma
• Identifying Depression
• Relating to Children
• Working Through Anger

Each workshop is approximately 2 hours in length. Participants can take them in any order and select those most applicable to their situation. Workshops are free to military members and their families and occur in a supportive and confidential environment.

“Deployments are a fact of life in the military,” said Lauren Pearse, Service to the Armed Forces and Quality Assurance Coordinator for the Georgia Red Cross. “Whether a service member’s absence is due to a training exercise, sea duty, combat, or unaccompanied duty in a remote location, separation and reunification pose unique opportunities as well as challenges for all family members. The American Red Cross, with support from Walmart, developed a series of workshops to assist all military families in managing the family’s readjustment to the service member’s return.”

For more information about the Reconnections workshops or to register for future workshops go to http://www.redcross.org/reconnectionworkshops or contact the Atlanta Red Cross at (404)876-3302.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit http://www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

More Rain for Florida, Tropical Storm Activity Picks up in the Pacific

This information courtesy of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security (GEMA)
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Preparedness Bulletin #8
Thursday July 12, 2012

A tropical wave southeast of the Florida Peninsula is expected to travel through the Florida Straits and into the Gulf of Mexico through the weekend, increasing moisture over the Florida Peninsula and boosting chances for rainfall, according to the National Hurricane Center. Two other tropical waves have been identified: one is in the middle of the tropical Atlantic, nearing Puerto Rico; the other recently moved off the coast of Africa. None of these waves should become stronger tropical systems because there is too much dry air in the atmosphere and too much competing wind. This pattern of low tropical activity is not expected to change this week or next.

Meanwhile another tropical storm, Fabio, has formed in the Pacific. This storm could become a hurricane within the next couple of days, but is expected to offshore of Mexico. Hurricane Emilia strengthened again to near 115 miles per hour, but is expected to gradually weaken in the next 12 hours. That storm is currently southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California and is moving west at 12 miles per hour.

Come on El Niño
An increase in Pacific tropical storm activity may be an indicator of a building El Niño. Accuweather.comhas an in-depth article describing the effects of this weather pattern, but the end result is that the Atlantic could have fewer tropical storms and hurricanes. Or maybe not.

Chatham County’s Evacuation Assembly Area is Ready for Hurricane Season
Chatham County EMA recently updated its websitewith comprehensive information on its Evacuation Assembly Area. The webpage includes a video identifying what evacuees should bring to the assembly area and how it can accommodate individuals with unique needs or those with pets.

Question of the Week
While I was on vacation Ken made a Herculean effort to stump our weather aficionados, generating responses from The Silver Fox, B.C. of Rockdale and L.D. The question was “What was the first hurricane to be photographed from outer space?”
In 1961 Trios 111 took the first satellite pictures of a hurricane, photographing Hurricane Anna and then hurricanes Betsy, Carla and Debbie. Hurricane Esther was the first such storm to be discovered using satellite imagery. In all cases, the Trios pictures provided important supplements to reconnaissance aircraft observations and to data obtained by ground-based observations, by fixing the position of the hurricane center and showing the extent of the spiral cloud bands.

This week’s question requires a little background: 1999’s Hurricane Floyd caused the third largest evacuation in US history. That storm started as a Cape Verde-type hurricane, which is usually the largest and most intense one or two storms of the season because they often have plenty of warm open ocean over which to develop before encountering land. The question is “What was the last Cape Verde-type hurricane to make landfall as a Category 5 storm?”