News

6/1/2007 - Local Red Cross Helps Fight Measles in Africa

The American Red Cross is not only committed to solving problems locally but internationally as well. To increase awareness about the need for measles vaccinations in Africa and South Asia, and to raise the necessary funds to save children's lives, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter is very involved in the Measles Initiative. To educate the community on the importance of the Measles Initiative, the Red Cross recently hosted a lecture by Dr. Samuel Katz, world-renowned co-developer of the measles vaccine which is currently being used world-wide.

5/30/2007 - Red Cross Launches Major Corporate Partnership

The American Red Cross featured a major new partnership during a recent KJFF Radio interview with Omar Ruiz, the supervisor of the Jefferson County Service Center in Arnold. The St. Louis Area Chapter, Grainger and Anheuser-Busch recently launched "Ready When the Times Comes," a new program designed to recruit and train corporate employees to serve as Red Cross volunteers during a large-scale, local disaster. During the interview, Ruiz discussed the program in depth, provided an overview of Red Cross emergency services and discussed the recent deployment of local Red Cross volunteers to Kansas and South Dakota.

5/16/2007 - Red Cross Receives $20,000 from Energizer

The American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter said Tuesday that it received a $20,000 gift from Energizer Holdings for its disaster preparedness and emergency response services. The total includes $10,000 in funding for community disaster education presentations and $10,000 in products for response to local emergencies, according to a release. Last year, the nonprofit's local chapter trained 72,000 people through its community disaster education program.

5/15/2007 - Red Cross to Launch Corporate Volunteerism Program

The American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter plans to announce a new program Saturday to recruit and train corporate partners as local Red Cross volunteers before a disaster strikes the metropolitan area. The local Red Cross chapter has joined with distribution firm Grainger and St. Louis-based brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE:BUD) on the "Ready When the Time Comes" training program. The program is designed to help the Red Cross quickly mobilize volunteers for deployment in the event of a large-scale local disaster.

5/7/2007 - Red Cross Aims for 250 New Volunteers

The American Red Cross is trying to recruit and train hundreds of volunteers before the next disaster strikes the metro area. With the help of a $1 million grant from Grainger, an Illinois-based distribution firm, the Red Cross has set up the "Ready When the Time Comes" program in St. Louis and 15 other American cities. The St. Louis Area Chapter of the Red Cross announced the local initiative Saturday at St. Raphael the Archangel School in south St. Louis. The school is one of 600 sites designated as emergency shelters across seven counties in the St. Louis area.

4/30/2007 - Red Cross Highlights Senior Adult Services in County

The American Red Cross is here to help our community prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies. As part of that lifesaving mission, the Red Cross reaches out to senior adults in the community with programs and services that are tailored to meet their needs. On April 13 during an interview with KJFF - 1400 AM Radio, Omar Ruiz of the Jefferson County Service Center joined Jean Romine from the St. Louis Area Chapter to highlight the Lifeline program, disaster preparedness presentations for seniors, and the Family Caregiving program.

4/24/2007 - Francis Howell, You are a Lifesaver

To the American Red Cross, the Francis Howell School District is a "lifesaver." The organization on March 29 gave the district it's Lifesaver Community Award for training employees in emergency response and installing automated external defibrillators in every school. District nurses received recognition during the ceremony for the role they played. The district annually trains more than 300 employees in CPR, first aid and defibrillator operation. The district requires all incoming freshmen to become certified in CPR. Seven employees are trained Red Cross curriculum instructors. The district hosts multiple blood drives in all schools each year.

4/19/2007 - Volunteerism: Helping Hands

National Volunteer Week is a good time to thank those who give of themselves unselfishly. It also is a good time to consider rolling up your sleeves and joining in. An estimated 61 million Americans performed volunteer work last year, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. That's more than a quarter of the nation's population. Volunteer rates here are higher than the national average - 32 percent in Missouri and 29 percent in Illinois - according to a recent report. That's great news. But the need for volunteers is ongoing. Among the more than 40,000 residents in Missouri and Illinois who volunteer for the United Way of Greater St. Louis and its member agencies are people like Amit Shintre, 17, a Parkway North High School student, who helped form an American Red Cross Club at his school. He has recruited club members, written articles for the YouthCorps newsletter and led planning efforts for YouthCorps service projects and events.

4/11/2007 - Efficiency is Aim of Improvements to County Service Center

To better serve Jefferson County residents, the St. Louis Area Chapter of the American Red Cross wants to raise $60,000 for improvements to the Jefferson County Service Center and for local disaster relief services. Improvements to the center, located at 3880 Jeffco Blvd. in Arnold, will include new classroom space, indoor and outdoor signage, chairs, tables, other furniture and a washer and dryer. The estimated costs for these projects total $41,600, and work on the center is already underway. The other $18,400 will be designated for disaster relief, including food, clothing, shelter and counseling.

4/9/2007 - Red Cross Honors Local Heroes

Last March, a car hit a utility pole in the 1700 block of Yellow Hammer Crossing in Edwardsville. The impact caused the pole to break and power lines to fall onto the car. The car contained a group of teenagers, including Molly Carver. As Carver tried to exit the vehicle, she was shocked by the downed power lines. The jolt left her lifeless. But thanks to those who responded and gave her CPR, Carver's life was saved. Those who played a role in saving her life included: Edwardsville firefighters and paramedics James Anderson, Brett Milton, Robert Morgan and Mark Parker along with an off duty emergency room physician, Dr. Keith Byler, and a passenger in the car, Stuart Marshall. To honor their efforts, the American Red Cross presented each with the Red Cross Lifesaver Award. In response, Fire Chief Brian Wilson said the ceremony brought back memories of that evening and reminded him of the heroic effort made by all responders.

3/30/2007 - Being Prepared Focus of Red Cross Month

March is National Red Cross Month. On March 9, during an interview on KJFF Radio (1400 AM), the St. Louis Area Chapter encouraged local residents to use this unique opportunity to prepare for disasters and emergencies by embracing the three easy steps of the new "Be Red Cross Ready" program: 1. Get a Kit, 2. Make a Plan, and 3. Be Informed. Omar Ruiz of the Jefferson County Service Center was joined by Laurie Roberts, a Red Cross health and safety specialist, to discuss each step in detail and to introduce the new Red Cross lifeguard program.

3/30/2007 - JCRC Rallies Support for Captured Soldiers

The JCRC has met locally to advocate for the missing soldiers. In March, Terry Bloomberg, president of JCRC, Batya Abramson-Goldstein, executive director of the JCRC, and Jeffrey Stiffman, JCRC's Israel Advocacy Chair and rabbi emeritus of Shaare Emeth, met with officials from the American Red Cross at the St. Louis headquarters in Creve Coeur. As Bloomberg started out the meeting, she stressed the importance of prompt action by individuals and humanitarian organizations and thanked the Red Cross for their work so far. The Red Cross officials told the JCRC contingent that they were supporting International Red Cross officials who have been working to help the situation, and have been particularly working with the Arab counterpart to the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, to begin dialogue with Hamas and Hezbollah on behalf of the soldiers. "We want you to know that we are doing everything we can to advocate for these soldiers," said Joseph White, CEO of the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter. Rabbi Stiffman presented Joseph Pereles, a member of the Board of Governors for the national American Red Cross organization, with reproductions of the captured Israeli soldiers' dog-tags, as a reminder of their plight.

3/26/2007 - Families Escape Burning East St. Louis Home

Carmen Mosley said she knows she is blessed that she, her four children, her upstairs tenants and their nine children made it out alive when they awoke to find their home engulfed in flames. Through tears, Mosley said she lost everything in the fire, as well as the house she has called home since she was 7 years old. She and her four children, ages 14, 11 and 9-year-old twins, now are homeless. So are Mosley's tenants and their nine children, who range in age from 6 to 15 years old. The American Red Cross sent a disaster action team to the site of the fire. Its caseworkers are assisting the families with shelter, food, clothing and the first month's rent when the families relocate.

3/21/2007 - Project Drives Companies to New Offices, Technology

The American Red Cross is always focused on emergency response, so it's accustomed to planning for huge events such as the Highway 40 project. Nancy Bates, the St. Louis Area Chapter's executive officer of emergency services, said that in response to the construction, the local Red Cross will add a disaster action team closer to the city than its current headquarters in Creve Coeur. The team will be based at the Red Cross' Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Region building at 4050 Lindell Blvd.

3/7/2007 - Measles Vaccine is Cheap and Life Saving

Each year, measles, a disease that has virtually been eliminated in the Western Hemisphere, kills nearly 345,000 people globally. Of those, most are children younger than five. Measles is a leading vaccine-preventable childhood killer, and millions of children remain at risk. The good news is that measles can be prevented with a simple vaccination that costs less than one dollar per child, and the American Red Cross is actively involved in grassroots fundraising and education to enable a widespread vaccination campaign. On Feb. 9, Kathy Lass, director of international services for the St. Louis Area Chapter, joined Omar Ruiz of the Jefferson County Service Center to discuss the Measles Initiative and other Red Cross international services during a live interview on KJFF Radio (1400-AM).

3/6/2007 - Red Cross Presents Fairview Heights Man with a Lifesaving Award

The American National Red Cross honored a Fairview Heights man Monday by presenting him with a lifesaving award signed by President George W. Bush. Jim Cusic, a YMCA employee, Red Cross volunteer and former military paramedic, received the Lifesaving Award of Merit from the American National Red Cross. It was presented to him by the St. Louis Area Chapter of the Red Cross. The award recognizes Cusic for using CPR and an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to rescue East Belleville YMCA visitor Jim Corsi, who had collapsed after a workout in February 2006.

2/6/2007 - Support Helps Red Cross Serve Area

The American Red Cross is a private, not-for-profit organization chartered by Congress to provide national relief during times of crisis. The Red Cross is here to serve the metropolitan area, and the St. Louis Area Chapter depends on community support for the necessary resources to prepare for and respond to emergencies. During a recent live interview on KJFF Radio (1400 AM), Omar Ruiz of the Jefferson County Service Center and Corie Wirth of the St. Louis Area Chapter emphasized three unique opportunities for the public to personally invest in the Red Cross mission: the Clara Barton Society, corporate partnerships and Operation CARS.

1/30/2007 - Honoring Local Heroism: Residents Awarded for Acts of Valor

Nearly a year ago, an Edwardsville teenager was a passenger in a car that veered off the road and struck a utility pole. The force of the crash splintered the pole, dropped live power lines onto the vehicle, and she received a near fatal jolt of electricity when she tried to step out of the car to safety. When a team of local firefighters and paramedics responded to the car crash, the girl was unconscious and not breathing. But the emergency responders were able to save her life thanks to the rounds of CPR previously administered by two bystanders - neighborhood doctor Keith Byler and Stuart Marshall, who was also a passenger in the automobile. On January 22, the St. Louis Area Chapter of the American Red Cross recognized 12 local residents as Lifesaver Award recipients. Edwardsville Fire Department Capts. James Anderson, Brett Milton, Robert Morgan and Mark Parker were also am