American Red Cross offers NEW CNA Review Workshop

The American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter will be offering a NEW CNA Review Workshop course. This program is designed for CNA’s that are eligible to renew their state certification.

 This Review Workshop is for students who have previously completed any Certified Nurse Assistant training program. This Workshop does not recertify individuals but helps to prepare candidates to take the Wisconsin state registry exam. Participants must check their eligibility to take the state registry exam prior to registration.

 The purpose of our program is to provide candidates with a quality education so that they in turn can provide the highest quality of patient care and service to all residents.

 The American Red Cross CNA Review Workshop will give employees the confidence to retake the CNA state certification test, while brushing up on some of their skills that they aren’t required to use as often. The cost of the class is $100.00 for 16 hours with teacher-led instruction.

 Date:  May 11,13,18,20

Time: 4pm-8pm

Location: American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter

121 Bader St

Green Bay, WI 54302

 To register: call 920-227-4290 or check it out online at www.arclakeland.org

Our Heroes Invest in Something Positive

The American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter is calling on heroes to raise money for their community. Money raised by heroes supports programs that help, victims of disasters get crucial help in their time of need, military members and their families get connected during a personal crisis, train people in our community in the lifesaving skills, provide transportation to senior citizens and those with disabilities, collect and distribute lifesaving blood –and much more.

Community heroes including business owners, co-workers, family, friends and neighbors, support the American Red Cross everyday. Every donation is important, just as every donor is one of our Heroes. The support for Haiti has been amazing. Now we need our neighbors to support local operations.

The Heroes for the American Red Cross campaign is a grassroots effort asking people, who make heroism an everyday thing, to commit to raising $1,000 dollars to support their community.

Our goal is to raise $25,000 by end of May through the efforts of 25 local Heroes.

The Lakeland Chapter serves an eight county area: Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Marinette, Menominee (WI), Oconto, Shawano and Menominee (MI). We have over 450,000 people living within this jurisdiction that covers 5,746 square miles.

Join the Heroes for the American Red Cross by finding your own way to help:

• Involve your friends and family
• Ask your employer about a matching gift program
• Larry Staszak, Disaster Volunteer,  raised money last year by putting donation boxes around his home town of Suring.
• Use your talents such as music, art and baking. The last few years Chad Resar, Board Member, used his professional talents as a lawyer providing last will and testaments to those who made a donation.
• Host a “Jeans to Work” day where every participant donates to take part
• Ask vendors, suppliers and civic groups to support your efforts.
• Request a fundraising banner and fill it with “sold” squares
• Host a garage sale or bake sale to raise money
• Host a fundraising party

Invest in something positive. Be a hero for the American Red Cross and indulge in helping others. To get started contact Mauree Childress at 920-227-4286 or childressm@arclakeland.org. You can also go to the Online Heroes TeamRaiser site http://american.redcross.org/heroes

Birthday Celebrations!

Happy Birthday to Volunteers Joyce and Grace. Joyce turns an amazing 93 years old on May 2, while Grace turned 75 on April 27. Both ladies work in the blood center every Tuesday to assist with donor registration and the canteen area. We had a great day of cheers and treats to celebrate two great women!

Grace and Joyce

Joyce with her flowers

American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter Responds to 8-unit Apartment fire in Pulaski

Firefighters rolling up their hose, after they extinguished the fire.

The American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter responded to an 8-unit apartment fire on Karcz Dr., in Pulaski on Sunday, April 25 around 6:00pm.  The fire displaced seven adults and four children.

Eight American Red Cross Disaster workers assisted the families with their immediate emergency needs. Assistance provided includes: One adult, lodging and monetary assistance for food and clothing. Three adults and four children with monetary assistance for food and clothing. These three families are staying with relatives. One adult did not need our services, and at the time of the fire, the American Red Cross was trying to get in contact with the other two adults to see if they needed assistance.

Disaster Volunteers, Tom and Cathy writing out the paperwork to help the clients.

Disaster volunteers also provided the families with home-made quilts, and comfort kits (which include soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, comb, facial tissue, deodorant, razors, shaving cream and lotion).

Red Cross disaster assistance is free and is made possible by community donations. You can help individuals of this disaster and others by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter’s local disaster relief fund. For information call the Lakeland Chapter at 920-468-8535 or visit www.arclakeland.org.

Fatal Fire Survivor to Speak at Red Cross Concert

Click here for WBAY TV-2 story on  Billi Jo Baneck as she shares her story to help raise funds for the American Red Cross.

American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter Assist Two Adults and One Child Affected by a House Fire in Green Bay

Click image for Fox 11 News story.

The American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter responded to a house fire on Badger St. in Green Bay around 3:30am on Saturday, April 24. The fire displaced two adults and one child.

Two American Red Cross Disaster workers assisted the family with lodging and monetary assistance for clothing and food. We also provided comfort kits (which include soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, comb, facial tissue, deodorant, razors, shaving cream and lotion) and homemade quilts.

Red Cross disaster assistance is free and is made possible by community donations. You can help individuals of this disaster and others by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Lakeland Chapter’s local disaster relief fund. For information call the Lakeland Chapter at 920-468-8535 or visit www.arclakeland.org.

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 www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Severe Weather Awareness Week: Tips and Technology from WLUK FOX 11

Inside the National Weather Service

Good Day Wisconsin weekend meteorologist Doug Higgins joined Jeff Last of the National Weather Service for a look at the technology used in forecasting severe weather. Click HERE for video of story.

Interested in becoming a storm spotter?  Learn how at an upcoming class.  Here’s the schedule: 

+ April 27 7 pm, UW-Green Bay, MAC Hall 210
+ April 29th 6:30 pm,Oshkosh, Coughlin Building 625 E County Rd Y
+ May 6th 6 pm, Wautoma, Fire Dept. 568 S. Fair St.

Second Annual Kraut Feast Sponored By Nicolet National Bank

The Marinette Menominee American Red Cross held their 2nd Annual Kraut Feast on March 21st at Holy Family Parish Center in Marinette. Our thanks to Nicolet National Bank for their sponsorship and for suppling volunteers to pitch in.

Shelly Vanvooren & Cindy Bailey working in the kitchen pulling the pork apart

The menu included BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, sauerkraut with noodles and pork casserole, hot dogs & chips. Three sheet cakes were made by Menominee High School. Entertainment was provided by Erv Krukowski & his famous concertina. Everyone who attended had a great time and enjoyed the food along with Erv’s endless polka music.

Money raised from this event will provide immediate emergency assistance to individuals affected by a disaster and support to the emergency response workers. Teach First Aid, CPR/AED and other life saving skills, supports members of the armed forces and their family and helps us conduct educational presentations to the community on how to prepare for and prevent emergencies.

Nicolet National Bank Crew - Thank YOU!

Sheet cakes made by the Menominee High School - YUMMY

Red Cross: Facebook, Twitter becoming popular tools during disasters

By Jennifer Swift – 04/19/10 05:06 – THE HILL’S Technology Blog

While social media isn’t the only technological tool in a time of disaster, it’s become one of the more effective options, according to Joe Becker.

Becker, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services for the American Red Cross, says our use of social media has drastically changed the way in which we respond to and prepare for disasters.

In past decades, Becker said, the U.S. has responded to disasters with a “closed system,” including technologies used by first responders such as police, fire and medical teams.

But over the past year we’ve morphed into an “open system” when handling disasters, with tools like Facebook and Twitter serving as an open line of communication between families, neighbors, bystanders and volunteers. These Web-based technologies even inform people of how to help.

“It’s not about the proprietary systems, the big IT spends, the big IT investments that we tend to make in government and sometimes in the nonprofits—-it’s how we leverage the technology that people use in their daily lives to become part of the response.”

“The systems people use in their daily lives become the disaster systems, or become part of the disaster system technology solutions,” Becker said at a Brookings Institute panel on Monday.

According to Becker, the most effective way to help is to “communicate with people the way that they already do,” such as through text messaging or utilizing pre-existing social media sites instead of creating your own.

He said the American Red Cross has sent out 30-35 million text messages telling families where to find help or what they themselves can do to help. And although the American Red Cross has had a system in place to help families find others in times of a disaster, the connections they were able to make were “dwarfed” by those made on Facebook.

“These are the normal systems that people have, and I think a lot of the social media tie-ins are changing how we do business,” he said.

During disaster situations, social media allows organizations to tell people how to do so. As an example, Becker cited the Dupont Snowball Fight of 2010, which was mainly organized on Facebook.  In a similar way, Becker stressed that organizations could use tools like Facebook to organize ways for people to help out in a disaster.

While a “tweet” doesn’t replace a fire engine, it gives people an easy, effective and quick way to reach out for help or offer it.

Simply putting a Twitter or Facebook feed on a county’s web page, “it empowers people to become part of the disaster solution in ways that weren’t possible a very short time ago.”

But putting yourself out there on these social medias, you are also making a promise to your residents, says Becker.

“The good news is we can learn and be in dialogue with the effected people very quickly on an incredible scale,” he said. “The bad news is that creates incredible expectations of a finite police force, of a finite medical response, of a finite fire response in those earliest hours.”

He puts charity to work — at work

Written by Tom Kelly | For The Compass

Thursday, 15 April 2010 07:59

Gonzalez says work with Red Cross is an extension of his Catholic values

Tony Gonzalez (Photo by Tom Kelly | For The Compass)

APPLETON — For Tony Gonzalez, working as the leader and manager of the Outagamie Chapter of the American Red Cross offers immense gratification; for himself, his staff, affiliated organizations and more than 375 volunteers who help people in need and the families of those who serve in the military.

“Serving others through a nonprofit is meaningful,” he states. “It matters.”

Gonzalez says his work is all about prevention, preparedness and response. “It has a great deal to do with my faith. Compassion is rooted in my values. It’s gratifying to have the opportunity to do God’s work and I hold on to that belief — firmly but quietly,” he says, “especially when something really big happens.”The organization provides timely relief to victims of floods, hurricanes and other disasters. Every year there are 70,000 disasters in the United States. Of these, 97 percent are house fires. So when there’s a fire, Red Cross first responders are there.

Cardiac arrest is the number one cause of death among American women and men, and drowning is one of the top two causes of accidental death. So the Red Cross offers certification for certified nursing assistants, trains community members in CPR, and supports water safety and lifeguard training in partnership with organizations such as the YMCA and local community park and recreation departments.

He explains how the Red Cross is the only nonprofit organization that’s congressionally mandated to provide certain services — not only disaster relief services for the general public, but also support services to the nation’s armed forces.

So they support the armed forces and their families when there’s a death or accident — not only financially when needed, but also logistically when military personnel need to be with their families.

The Red Cross also offers shopping and errand services for homebound and disabled persons, which gives them independence, peace of mind and friendship.

Like many organizations that serve those in need, the two-pronged economic pressures of greater need and a growing difficulty in generating support continue to challenge the Red Cross. “But when a disaster strikes anywhere around the globe, it is our disaster,” says Gonzalez.

He adds that, by far, financial support is most needed. “There are many well-meaning benefactors who donate other items that have sometimes been lost, spoiled or delayed through channels that do not have the global logistical agility of the Red Cross. We’re prepared. And when roads are closed and hotels are full we have plans in place with area churches such as St. Thomas More and the YMCA for lodging and hygiene, and Thrivent for Lutherans and Kimberly-Clark Corporation for their food service capabilities.”

He describes how the local Red Cross chapter responded to the Haiti earthquake in January with a radio-thon as well as a fund-raising concert at Lawrence University. “The integrity of our delivery system ensures that funds people give will reach their intended recipients,” he says. “Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 and chemical spills are a few such examples. With food, water, clothing, shelter, counseling and financial support, we strive to be ready for anything.”

Previously, Tony worked with Lutheran Social Services serving people with mental illness and developmental disabilities in group homes to gain more exposure to the world to heighten their quality of life.

Through all of this nonprofit experience, Gonzalez has been greatly gratified by what he calls the gift of receiving. “Asking for help is helping others, and I ask many for funding,” he says. “When something really big happens, God is the first one I ask. With each gift I ask for and receive comes the serious responsibility of making sure we are being good stewards of everything we receive, cutting out costs without cutting support to those who need it.”