From left to right: Canadian Red Cross Secretary General and CEO Conrad Sauvé, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Jeff Boyd, Regional President of Ontario North and East, RBC Royal Bank (sponsor of Conrad’s torch run).

I LOVE the Winter Olympics; the competition, the passion, the dedication and drive. I love the athletes and their stories, I love what the games stand for, and of course, I love the cowbell. Needless to say I’ve been glued to the television since the Opening Ceremony last Friday. So it may come as no surprise that Olympic fever got us looking for a Red Cross connection (a favorite game cherished by staff members and volunteers alike). A few days and a little investigative work later, Katie Nagus is awarded with a Gold Medal of her own for stumbling upon this Red Cross nugget.

Last week, Katie spoke with Heather Badenoch, the Senior Public Affairs Advisor, at the Canadian National Red Cross, and Heather was able to fill us in on how the Canadian Red Cross is helping out.

Since the Canadian Red Cross is a disaster response organization, they will only be activated at the Olympics if disaster strikes. However, Heather told us that for the past year “the Red Cross has been working closely with the Olympic Host communities (Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Fraser Valley; and Squamish and Whistler) in preparedness planning.  Specifically, Red Cross Volunteers have been providing Group Lodging workshops for the local authority Emergency Social Service Teams, …[and] training municipalities on how to set up group lodging sites (ie: at community centres) if a disaster strikes and no hotels/motels are available for clients during the Olympics.”

And as if that weren’t cool enough, it turns out that Conrad Sauvé, Canadian Red Cross Secretary General and CEO (our equivalent to National American Red Cross CEO, Gail McGovern), had the honor of running the Olympic Torch as part of the cross-Canada torch relay!! Heather said that “Conrad’s 300m relay run was the second-last of the day and he passed the torch flame to former National Hockey League player and Olympic silver medalist Joé Juneau. Conrad’s run took place on Wellington Street, steps from Parliament Hill, where thousands had gathered for an evening of ceremony and celebration. Staff and members of the Red Cross Board of Governors were on hand to cheer Conrad along the way.”

According to Heather, “Red Cross Violence and Abuse Prevention spokesperson, and former NHL hockey player, Sheldon Kennedy also participated in the torch relay. The International Olympic Committee had saved a spot for the IFRC and Sheldon was selected to represent us during the run. His on-going work in abuse prevention in Canada has raised the profile of this sensitive issue and has contributed significantly to Red Cross programs.”

So next time you flip on the Olympics to catch Shaun White sailing down the halfpipe or Apolo Anton Ohno speeding past his competition on the ice, remember that the Red Cross is there.

Lindsey