Volunteers Needed: Water Station for Fox Cities Marathon

Volunteers…Making It Happen!

  

The American Red Cross is teaming up with the 2011 Community First Fox Cities Marathon to staff a water station.

With your support the American Red Cross will receive a donation of $500 for providing the 25 volunteers needed to staff water station #4.

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, September 18th, 2001

Time: 6:30am-9:30am

Where: Water Station #4 – American Red Cross Northeast Wisconsin, located near Colony OaksCare Center, Newberry St (Appleton)

Sign up: Click HERE to sign up:

Scroll down to the jobs on Sunday, check the box for Water Station #4, click sign up at the bottom of the page and fill in your contact information. You will be sent a confirmation e-mail once you sign up. Please be sure to put America Red Cross in the box for organization affiliation.

 Contact: Jody Weyers, American Red Cross, Director of Volunteers, 920-619-8387, weyersj@arclakeland.org

 All volunteers receive a free t-shirt, invited to volunteer appreciation party and you can feel great about helping a great community event and your local American Red Cross!

Volunteer Today!

Recoveron Packers Tailgate Party is Back……

Recoveron Restoration is sponsoring a Packers Tailgate to raise funds for the American Red Cross! They will be serving food and refreshments. Donations are encouraged by Recoveron guests and the general public to help the American Red Cross humanitarian efforts.

The tent set up 3 hours before the next five home games:

 Thursday, September 1st vs.Kansas City(7:00 p.m. kickoff)

Thursday, September 8th vs.New Orleans(7:30 p.m. kickoff)

Sunday, October 2nd vs.Denver(3:15 p.m. kickoff)

Sunday, October 16th vs.St. Louis(12:00 p.m. kickoff)

Monday, November 14th vs.Minnesota(7:30 p.m. kickoff)

 The tent will be located at2036 S. Ridge Road (one block south of Kroll’s West).

Please stop in and say hello and thank you for the support!

Bringing Comfort and Warmth to Those in Need

Minnie (from Pulaski) made these stuffed animals and baby quilts for the American Red Cross disaster clients in Northeast Wisconsin.  She is 82 years old and is a very creative and talented lady.  Her talents far exceed her age.  Everything from baking, writing poems and having them published, quilting, sewing and even painting.

Local Red Cross Volunteers Poised to Help

Olga Halaburda Channel Five News  — CLICK HERE for video of story.

“It’s stressful. It’s exhausting. But at the same time, it’s very fulfilling. I’m glad to be going,” said Pam Kanikula, a Disaster Mental Health Volunteer with the Red Cross.

Red Cross volunteer Pam Kanikula is packed and ready to help disaster victims on the East Coast. She’ll fly into New York City Tuesday.

“They don’t know exactly in New York what the extent of the damage is going to be,” Kanikula said.

She’s helped Hurricane victims once before. Working in evacuation shelters, Kanikula provided disaster mental health services in Louisiana after Ike and Rita hit.

“There were anywhere from 20 to 150 people staying in the shelters. Small children, disabled people, older people, families,” said Kanikula.

This weekend, as Irene showed her strength, more than 27,000 people slept in Red Cross shelters along the East Coast. As soon as conditions allow, volunteers like Kanikula may be going into neighborhoods to provide disaster counseling and to distribute food. The Red Cross has a call out for financial donations to help provide for those affected. It’s also calling out for donations of blood.

Irene has canceled 50 blood drives along the east Coast. That amounts to a loss of about 1,500 pints of blood.

“We need to keep a constant ready supply to support surgeries, accidents and things like that are continuing to go on across the country so if we’re losing people donating at blood drives in the entire East Coast we need people throughout the rest of the country to step up,” said Jody Weyers, Regional Director of Volunteers and Communication with the American Red Cross of Northeast Wisconsin.

Kanikula has stepped up to offer her talents to help others.

“These people are hurting so much and to be able to in some way provide them with comfort, help them to deal and heal it’s very satisfying to be able to do that,” Kanikula said.

Blood Drives are set up throughout the area. Check your local Red Cross Chapter for details. To make a quick $10 donation, text the word REDCROSS to 90999.

Olga Halaburda Channel Five News HD Peshtigo.

3 adults, 4 children displaced after fire ravages Bellevue home

Written by Hannah O’Brien Green Bay Press-Gazette

fighters battle a structure fire at a residence at 2217 Kensington Lane in Bellevue, Sunday, August 28, 2011. / H. Marc Larson/Press-Gazette

BELLEVUE — A fire that likely started in a garage ravaged a house Sunday at 2217 Kensington Lane.

No occupants were home when the fire started, and there were no injuries.

The Bellevue Fire Department was called to the home about 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Capt. David Dellemann said the garage was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived.

 “This was an intense fire. It was always ahead of us,” he said. “The fire was fully involved, which gives the advantage to the fire.”

 The cause of the blaze is unknown, and the house, as well as a vehicle inside the garage, appear to be a total loss.

 The Northeast Wisconsin Region of the American Red Cross said it is assisting the family of three adults and four children.

 The property is owned by Chi Nguyen and valued at $187,700, according to Brown County land records.

 The fire is the second in Bellevue in four days. A trailer home on Bellevue Street is a total loss after it was engulfed in flames Thursday afternoon.

— hobrien@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow her on Twitter @HannOBrien.

Widespread Flooding in Multiple States as Storm Moves North

WASHINGTON, August 28, 2011 – More than 27,000 people spent Saturday night in shelters opened or supported by the American Red Cross as Hurricane Irene moved up the East Coast. The storm is shaping up to become a large flood relief operation and thousands of people across multiple states have already turned to the Red Cross for help.

“Our main focus right now is providing people with a safe place to stay and food to eat,” said Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of Disaster Services for the Red Cross. “There have been mandatory evacuations all along the East Coast and millions are without power because of this hurricane.”

While it is too early to know the full extent of the storm’s damage, the Red Cross expects to be helping people for the next several weeks.

The Red Cross has relief operations ongoing in more than a dozen states and thousands of disaster workers helping people fromNorth CarolinatoNew England. Every Red Cross feeding truck east of theRocky Mountains- more than 250 – are set to go into neighborhoods as soon as conditions permit. Tens of thousands of pre-packaged meals are in position, and the Red Cross is working with its community partners to have feeding kitchens in place after the storm moves through.

“This is a big response involving multiple states and the response will cost millions,” Shimanski said. If people would like to help, they can click or text to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Donations can be made by visiting www.redcross.org or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions can also be sent to someone’s local Red Cross chapter or mailed to the American Red Cross,P.O. Box 37243,Washington,DC20013.

 Irene has already caused the cancellation of more than 50 blood drives, adding up to a loss of approximately 1,500 blood donations along the East Coast. Because each donation can be made into as many as three blood products, this translates to approximately 4,500 blood products not being available for patients who need them. Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), meet height and weight requirements (110 pounds or more, depending on their height), and who are generally in good health may be eligible to donate blood. To schedule an appointment, please call 1-800-RED CROSS or go to redcrossblood.org.

Those affected by the storm can let friends and family know where they are by registering on the Red Cross Safe and Well website at redcross.org. They can also call a family member or friend with internet access and ask them to do their registration.

Hurricane Irene – North Carolina Update

Rosendale man heads east with Red Cross

James Patrenets of Rosendale heads out east as an American Red Cross volunteer to prepare for disaster assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. Patrenets departed on Friday in an Emergency Response Vehicle. (Patrick Flood/The Reporter)

Written by Sharon Roznik The Reporter

Area volunteers with the American Red Cross departed Friday, heading east to support Hurricane Irene preparations and response.

Among them is James Patrenets, 63, of Rosendale, who is driving an Emergency Response Vehicle that traveled from Stevens Point and picked him up around noon at the Fond du Lac Red Cross headquarters, 272 N. Main St.

Emblazoned with the red and white colors of the Red Cross, the ERV will be loaded with food products that can be delivered to neighborhoods after Hurricane Irene hits land and passes through, said Steve Hansen, Red Cross regional chapter executive for Northeast Wisconsin.

 Irene is predicted to be the largest storm to hit the East Coast in more than 70 years and could threaten big population centers. The focus is on North Carolina.

More than 200 Red Cross mobile feeding vehicles, including another from Green Bay, are heading toward the coast to help people in the path of the storm.

 “With disasters of this magnitude, we deploy resources to provide canteen services to people affected by the storm,” Hansen said.

 The ERV’s and volunteers will arrive at a staging area along the East Coast. After damages are assessed, the vehicles will move in to affected areas, Hansen said.

 Volunteers will remain in the area for up to three weeks.

 For those with friends and family living along the East Coast, the Red Cross has set up Safe and Well, a secure easy-to-use online tool to help connect families in an emergency. People can register by visiting the Red Cross website or calling 1 (800) RED CROSS (1 (800) 733-2767).

 Donations can be made by visiting www.redcross.org.

Fast Facts: Hurricane Irene

Saturday night, the Red Cross operated or supported nearly 500 shelters with more than 27,000 residents. Shelters now stretch from North Carolina to Maine. We have been opening and supporting more shelters as the storm progresses, and we expect those numbers could increase with power outages and possible flooding.

Our main focus right now is providing people with shelter and food and we’re putting the full force of the Red Cross behind our response. That means we have:
• Relief operations in more than a dozen coastal states.
• Thousands of trained disaster workers helping people from North Carolina to New England.
• More than 250 feeding vehicles – or more than two thirds of our entire fleet – ready to go into neighborhoods as soon as conditions permit. This includes every Red Cross feeding truck east of the Rocky Mountains.
• Tens of thousands of prepackaged meals are being positioned along the coast and we are working with our partners to make sure that we have kitchens positioned in the right place after the storm moves through.

The Red Cross is urging immediate blood and platelet donations in areas unaffected by this storm and asks that community members in affected areas to consider donating blood once the storm passes through and it’s safe to do so. Irene has already caused cancellation of more than 50 blood drives and the loss of nearly 1,500 of blood collections along the East Coast at a time when the blood supply is already low.

People should register on the Red Cross Safe and Well website to let friends and family know where they are as Hurricane Irene hits the East Coast. They can register for Safe and Well by going to redcross.org.

This is a big disaster across multiple states, and the response will cost millions. If you can help, we encourage you to click, text or call to donate to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Visit http://www.redcross.org or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

State Red Cross volunteers head east to New York to deliver food and beverages, help with disaster

By Charles Davis  Green Bay Press-Gazette

Jerry Prellwitz all ready and heading to help.

Jerry Prellwitz is making the 17-hour drive to Middletown, N.Y., to help people there prepare for Hurricane Irene.

“I don’t know what to expect. I’m hoping to get out there and find not much to do,” said Prellwitz, a volunteer with the  American Red Cross who also provided disaster relief earlier this year after deadly tornadoes hit Mississippi.

Prellwitz, 62, of Green Bay planned to leave Friday in an emergency services vehicle with Neenah-area volunteer David Mooney.

The vehicle mostly is empty, except for cases to carry food and drinks. They expect to be joined on the East Coast today by Red Cross volunteers nationwide, as well as volunteers from Manitowoc and Fond du Lac.

Mooney served in relief in two trips to North Dakota in response to flooding there.

“I guess I just like to help people,” he said, “and the people who are involved are just tremendous. A lot of them have been doing this for years.”

Prellwitz and Mooney expected to be gone for up to three weeks. Although Middletown, N.Y., is the immediate destination, volunteers may be needed elsewhere on the East Coast after Irene passes.

Nick Cluppert, emergency services manager for the American Red Cross of East Central Wisconsin, said Mooney is one of four volunteers from the region headed east in response to the hurricane.

Another Neenah volunteer will travel to Massachusetts and will work on shelter projects.

“The scary part is the path of the hurricane and the number of people it could impact. You’re talking about a very densely populated area,” said Steve Maricque, director of regional operations for the Lakeland Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Maricque said he was notified Thursday by Red Cross headquarters that volunteers were needed from the area.

Jerry Prellwitz, Red Cross volunteer, being interviewed by Charles Davis, Green Bay Press Gazette, Reporter.

In the event of damage, Prellwitz will help set up shelters and drive to areas to provide food and beverages as needed, Maricque said.

Mental health workers could also join the effort to counsel victims, Maricque said.

He advised those in the area to donate blood in anticipation of shortages.

It’s possible Hurricane Irene could drop to a Category 1 storm — with 74 to 95 mph winds — by the time it’s projected to hit the New York area midday Sunday, Tasos Kallas, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Ashwaubenon, said Friday.

“At that point, it would be more of a rain and waves swelling,” Kallas said.

Possible dangers then would shift from wind damage to flooding, he added.

— cedavis@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @pgcharlesdavis.