A Special Thanksgiving Message from the CEO

As Thanksgiving approaches, family and friends gather to give thanks for their good fortune over the past year.

The Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross gives thanks to our volunteers who so generously give their time, energy and spirit to our financial donors who enable us to effectively carry out our mission to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

Thousands of volunteers and members of our community have given their energy, talent and generosity over the past year to help those in need. As a result, your Jersey Coast Chapter was able to provide disaster relief to over 300 residents in Monmouth and Ocean counties and assisted 119 residents of the hurricane affected Gulf States that relocated to our two county region.

With your donated time, we taught over 45,000 members of your community life-saving skills such as CPR, First Aid and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training. We also taught your children how to swim, educated your neighbors about disaster preparedness and provided worldwide emergency communications for local military personnel and their families.

These vital services would not have been possible without the valuable contributions of our financial donors. Together, our volunteers and donors are the heart and soul of the American Red Cross. You turn America's caring and concern for the victims of disaster into immediate action.

Whether the disaster is a single family fire or a highly-publicized hurricane, flood or act of terrorism, we thank our volunteers and donor who stand ready to provide vital relief services to our community. It is your continuous commitment to providing warmth and support to other members of our community for which we at the Jersey Coast Chapter are so thankful.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and know that you have truly made a positive difference this year.

Sincerely,

Bill Murray 

 American Red Cross "Safe & Well" Website

The Red Cross consistently urges all Americans to plan ahead for the possibility of becoming separated from family and friends during times of crisis. Following the 2005 hurricane season, the Red Cross developed the Safe & Well Website that enables people within a disaster area to let friends and loved ones outside of the affected region know of their well-being. Use of this website should become an integral part of a Family Communications Plan. The website is accessible at all times via http://www.redcross.org. Families are encouraged to develop methods for communicating during emergency situations and share their plans beforehand with those who would be worried about their welfare.

How does the Safe & Well Website Work?

Via the internet, people within a disaster area are able to select and post standard "safe & well" messages on the Safe & Well Website. Concerned family members who know the person's phone number (home, cell or work) or a complete home address can search for the messages posted by those who self-register. Sample standardized message for posting include:

• I am safe and well
• Family and I are safe and well
• Currently at a shelter
• Currently at home
• Currently at friend/family member/neighbor's house
• Will make phone calls when able
• Will email when able
• Will mail letter/postcard when able

The Safe & Well Website complies with all privacy and child protection laws. Because of these concerns, no location information will be publicly displayed on this website. Every person maintains the right to determine how best to communicate their contact information and whereabouts to family membes.

Become a Volunteer Instructor for the American Red Cross Jersey Coast Chapter! You will experience a great reward...the ability to aid in saving lives.

The initial Instructor Course certifies you to teach First Aid and CPR/AED for the Lay Responder, but there are other teaching certifications that you can add:

• CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer
• Babysitter's Training
• Pet First Aid
• Oxygen Administration
• Bloodborne Pathogens

Once you become an instructor, our flexible schedule will allow you to teach in a variety of locations within Monmouth and Ocean counties.

***Please contact Allison Lindblom, Health & Safety Community Coordinator, at (732) 493-9100, ext. 244 or via email at allisonl@jerseycoast-redcross.org***

Warm Up To Winter

Tips From The Jersey Coast Chapter To Make The Most Of The Season

With frosty temperatures about to descend upon the Northeast, now is the time to get ready for winter. The following American Red Cross guidelines can help individuals and families prepare for a safe season this year.

• When you come in from the cold, get out of wet clothes immediately and wrap up with a blanked. Layers provide warmth. Pile on the clothes to raise or maintain your body temperature. Drink warm fluids like hot cider or soup.
• Be ready with an EMERGENCY SUPPLIES KIT:
  • First Aid kit and essential medications
  • Battery-powered NOAA Weather radio, flashlight, and extra batteries
  • Canned food and can opener
  • Bottled water (at least on gallon of water per person per day to last at least 3 days
• If experts indicate severe weather could be headed your way, stay updated on conditions. Check TV and radio reports regularly. Know the difference between a winter storm and a winter storm warning. A storm WATCH mean s that the winer weather is possible in your area. A storm WARNING means a winter storm is headed your way. A blizzard warning indicates strong winds, blinding wind-driven snow and dangerous wind chill are expected and you should seek shelter immediately.
• The length and severity of winters in the Northeast can often be a challenge to adequater blood collections. With supplies just ahead of demand under the best circumstances, please give blood regularly to lessen the impact when inclement weather strikes. Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE for more information.
• Make sure to learn the life-saving skills of First Aid/CPR. Contact us at (732) 493-9100 for details.

Want To Help Victims of Disaster in Monmouth and Ocean Counties?

Volunteers Needed!!!

We are looking for marketing aides to assist us with our Clothing Bin Program from which proceeds go to support our local disaster relief program.

Research and identify potential site sponsors and increase community visibility of the program.

Hours are flexible and project may even be done from home.

Interested?

Please contact Nancy Orlando, Director of Volunteer Services at (732) 493-9100, ext. 222 or via email at nancyo@jerseycoast-redcross.org

American Red Cross Around The World

Empowering Communities, Restoring Hope

The American Red Cross is meeting the urgent needs of vulnerable communities around the world and in Africa by responding to disasters and health emergencies. Through the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's network of 97 million volunteers located in nearly every country in the world, we are uniquely positioned to save lives.

Building on the success of saving 1.2 million live through the Measles Initiative in the past five years, the American Red Cross is stepping up its long-term commitment to Africa through disease prevention, disaster response, mother and child health, and clean water programs.

Besides initiating numerous health programs to improve maternal survival and child health, the American Red Cross initiated the Measles Initiative with its partners -- the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO). In the first five years of the program, the Measles Initiative has resulted in the vaccination of more than 200 million children in more than 40 African countries, reducing measles-related deaths by nearly 60% throughout the continent.

The Measles Initiative has been so successful in reaching children that the partnership began efforts to combat malaria by distributing insecticide treated bednets during vaccination campaigns. Use of these bednets has been shown to reduce malaria deaths among young children by 20%.  The American Red cross has distributed over 3 million nets and is initiatiating follow-up programs to ensure continued maintenance and proper usage of the nets.

Responding immediately to the severe floods affecting more than 370,000 people in Ethiopia and Sudan, the American Red Cross is supporting emergency relief efforts and is assisting in families' long-term recovery. The American Red Cross is working closely with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and supporting African national Red Cross/Red Crescent societies to address food security as a critical component of disaster risk reduction. Thus far this work has improved relief distribution, beneficiary targeting and logistics, as well as longer-term interventions aimed at reducing vulnerability to drought and other slow onset disasters.

The American Red Cross is supporting long term needs for clean water in Kenya and Ethiopia -- providing the everyday needs of more than 389,500 people and permanent staff to help manage the programs with local partners. In southern Africa personnel and $1 million in financial assistance has been provided to help communities recover from the recent food crisis and support local Red Cross partners in responding to chronic and cyclical disasters.

Committed to mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS, which kills more than 6,000 Africans everyday, the American Red Cross is supporting community garden programs for AIDS sufferers and their families. The programs not only improve the nutrition of AIDS patients and their children, but also provide them with an additional source of income with which to keep children in school and provide necessities of day to day living. The American Red Cross is also working to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS through its peer education program called "Together We Can". The program will reach more than 450,000 youth ages 10 to 24 with curriculum, peer-to-peer outreach, "edutainment", and mass media-based HIV prevention messages. Work is taking place at both the individual and community level to provide a holistic, grassroots response to the HIV pandemic.

The American Red Cross will continue to support the efforts of partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as we work together to respond to disasters and to improve the health and livelihood of the most vulnerable throughout the contintent.

Learn more about the American Red Cross response to the immediate and long-term needs of people in Africa and what you can do to help at http://www.redcross.org/actionforafrica or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or 1(800) 257-7575 (Spanish).

Give Someone A Second Chance

GIVE BLOOD. GIVE LIFE.

November 2006 

Jersey Coast Chapter Blood Drives

  Monmouth County                                                             Ocean County                                                         Ocean County                                                    Ocean County

Donate Your Old Car to the Red Cross...And Save Money On Your Taxes!

I.R.S Tax Deductible!

The Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross is looking for people to donate their old cars and machinery in exchange for a tax deduction.

The Red Cross is happy to accept trucks, RVs, motorcycles, boats, farm or construction equipment, office equipment and almost any car that you have to offer. However, the better condition your vehicle is in, the more your tax deduction will be worth.

The Red Cross is even willing to come to your home or office and pick up the vehicle for you. This allows you to avoid the aggravation and expense of selling a vehicle from home, or the hassles of towing an old vehicle to the junkyard.

For more information or to donate please call toll-free

1-87-RED-CROSS.

The American Red Cross

Is

The Nation’s foremost Volunteer Emergency Service Organizaion.

Our mission is to help prevent and relieve human suffering.

Your donation can help too!