Holiday for Heroes

The Red Cross Holidays for Heroes program enables Americans to “Give Something That Means Something” this holiday season and beyond! New this year, you are invited to share appreciation to active military, reservists, Veterans and their families throughout the year. The Red Cross collects holiday cards, and new this year overall “thank you” cards with a goal is to present to local service members and Veterans multiple times a year.  You can join in the fun with your club, civic organization, business and family by making the cards and we will deliver them for you.

 When preparing cards:

Do…

▪ Choose or create cards for a wide audience such as Happy Holiday or Seasons Greetings or Thank You!

▪ When using store bought cards try choosing a variety of designs to make the gift all the more special.

▪ Include your heartfelt sentiments and sign all cards.

▪ Entitle cards with generic terms such as “Dear Service Member or Veteran”

▪ Bundle groups of cards in single, large envelopes (you do not need to include the individual envelopes for cards when mailing in multiple cards)

Don’t…

▪ Send inserts of any kind, letters, care packages, money or gift cards

▪ Include personal information such as home or email addresses

▪ Use glitter – excessive amounts can aggravate health issues of wounded recipients

▪ Send personal photos

You can also personally deliver them to the Black River Falls, Wausau, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Madison or Milwaukee offices by December 16th.  Cards delivered to the Altoona office should arrive no later than December 9th as they have a sorting event on December 13th which allows enough time Veterans Home in Chippewa Falls Holiday gathering on December 20th.

Cards can be mailed to: American Red Cross, 4860 Sheboygan Avenue, Madison, WI 53705.  Attn: SAF – Holiday For Heroes

In addition, we will also collect messages on jumbo holiday cards  and will then distribute them to military installations, VA Hospitals, State Veteran Homes and more to say thank you.

Volunteers at Lambeau Field on Nov. 6th have fans sign Holiday cards.

 

For more information, please contact John.Kost@redcross.org if you have questions about cards or want to participate in card sorting and delivery!

4th Annual Disaster Training Conference

Last week, the Wisconsin Region conducted our 4^th  annual Disaster Training Conference. Though the conference was held on the shores of Green Lake, attendees paid little attention to beautiful autumn scenery outside. The 183  attendees, Red Cross volunteers and staff from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois, enjoyed four days of learning, sharing and networking.

The broad range of classes provided opportunities for brand new volunteers and seasoned veterans. The newest volunteer had been with the Red Cross for only two days and several in attendance had more than 20-years of service. Classes were offered to provide instruction on delivering the Red Cross mission, supervision & leadership along with diversity & inclusion. Workshops built upon classroom instruction and provided hands-on opportunities to set-up a shelter, conduct damage assessment and manage a disaster relief operation.

On Wednesday night, Red Cross volunteers partnered with the Berlin Fire Department to make homes in Berlin safer. They visited homes and provided smoke alarms testing, free smoke alarm installation, home evacuation planning and fire safety tips. 25 homes were visited and 69 smoke alarms were installed.  Community outreach like this is happening around the state and more than 10,000 smoke alarms will installed this year alone!

By all reports, the Disaster Training Conference was a wonderful success! It was wonderful to see so many Red Crossers come together to learn and celebrate together. Plans for next year’s conference are already underway. We hope to see you there!