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Disaster Client Stories
Massive Fire Destroys Parkville Rancher
“Were standing there in the snow, with the children, barefooted and my house is burning down,” Elizabeth recalls about the day her Parkville ranch house caught fire. She shared the home with her daughter, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“I’m standing there thinking, what am I going to do with all my family,” Herrman asked herself. “My home is a sanctuary and my sanctuary was up in flames.”
Soon she had an answer to her question. Before the flames were out, volunteers from the American Red Cross were there with blankets for the freezing family. The Red Cross then offered them shelter and money to buy clothes, food and even baby formula for her five month old great-granddaughter.
“I had no resources that I knew of until the Red Cross came.” Elizabeth says. “If it hadn’t been for them, I honestly don’t know what I would have done... I thought Red Cross assistance was reserved only for major disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian Earthquake." She soon learned that the Red Cross is more than she knew.
“I was amazed and thankful,” says Hermann who encourages the public to support the Red Cross. “You need help to do this.” Her family is now renting a house and has plans to eventually move back home when repairs are made.
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Parkville Blaze Forces Family to Flee
When a fire destroyed her Parkville ranch house, Diana Pilachowski says the American Red Cross came to the rescue. “They made it to the scene, before the fire was out, with blankets,” Diana says.
She shared the home with her mother, two children and three grandchildren. The Red Cross also provided the family with shelter and money to buy clothes, food and even baby formula for Diana’s five month old granddaughter.
The Red Cross assistance kept this multi-generational family together. “We would have split up as a family,” Diana says. “I was not aware of what the Red Cross could do for you.”
The week after the fire her church was hosting a blood drive and Diana saw that as an opportunity to help others in need. She also recruited her brother to donate blood. “What better way to give back what the Red Cross has given us than to donate blood,” Diana asks.
The family is currently renting a house but plans to move back home after repairs are made.
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Baltimore City Family Left Homeless By Fire
On a cold January night, Timeeka Wilkins got a phone call that would change her life. It was a neighbor telling her that Wilkins home was on fire. She and her four children lost everything in the blaze.
Wilkins says that when she first re-entered the house she could stand in her living room and see the sky through a hole burned into the roof. “Within 20 minutes, the Red Cross was here. It’s not a joke,” Wilkins says. “Just look over your shoulder. They’re here.” The Red Cross provided the Baltimore family with shelter, food, clothing and the other essentials that were needed to get back on their feet.
Unfortunately, this was the second time Wilkins had to experienced the loss that comes with a home fire. In 1995 a blaze that began in a neighboring home not only destroyed her house but almost took the lives of her family. Wilkins' mother, sister and her three of her children were all hospitalized after that disaster. She says it was a Red Cross volunteer who got her through that first night.
“It was very comforting because I didn’t have anyone else at that moment,” Wilkins recalls. “And it’s a volunteer. This is someone who is just sitting here because they want to. Not because they are waiting on a paycheck.” In addition to the emotional support, the Red Cross also provided Wilkins with shelter, food, clothing and even helped her look for a new place to live. They followed up with her for months after the fie.
“The Red Cross doesn’t just come out and say, ‘here’s a couple dollars for food, here’s a couple dollars for clothes,’” says Wilkins. “The Red Cross gives you peace of mind.”
That peace of mind stuck with her and she has made it her mission to spread the word about how much the Red Cross does in Central Maryland by organizing blood drives at her workplace and donating directly from her pay check as part of the Federal Combined Charities campaign. “It’s not much but it’s my way of giving back. If the Red Cross wasn’t there I probably wouldn’t be here.
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A Choking Incident at Black and Decker
“You just don’t know. A group of people were enjoying lunch,” recalls Chuck Udzinski, Manager, End User Services at Black and Decker. “Then that whole afternoon changed in an instant. It could have been really tragic.”
Udzinski and his co-workers were celebrating at a company holiday party when a colleague suddenly jumped up, unable to breathe. “Are you choking,” Udzinski asked. She vigorously shook her head yes and clutched her throat.
Udzinski gave his co-worker the Heimlich maneuver and dislodged the food from her airway allowing her to breathe again. Suddenly she turned and clutched her throat again. Udzinski used the Heimlich maneuver a second and final time.
Thanks to his quick action Udzinski’s co-worker survived. Udzinski says that just a few seconds can make the difference between life and death. “You can’t rely on public safety officials to always be there,” Udzinski says. “It’s critical for people to be able to take matters into their own hands to save a live.”
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Volunteering to Deploy
Phillip Bovender is heading to Mississippi as part of a team of Red Cross volunteers from around the country that will assist in the recovery efforts following the deadly storms that have swept through that region. An instructor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, Bovender will serve as a triage nurse at a Red Cross shelter. His school is currently between semesters giving Bovender the time for this important assignment but Maryland law also allows state employees to take 15 days of disaster service leave. “I feel very privileged and blessed,”
Bovender says about the opportunity to help those in need. While this is his first national disaster assignment, Bovender has been a volunteer with the Red Cross of Central Maryland for over a year. He will bring the expertise that he and scores of other local volunteers have mastered providing comfort and assistance more than twice a day to Maryland families who are burned out of their homes. Bovender says he’s nervous about the destruction he will see in Mississippi but is comforted by being a part of the Red Cross team. “Every one I’ll see in red vests will be neighbors helping neighbors,” Bovender says. “Just like here in Central Maryland, neighbors helping neighbors.” Check with your employers Human Resources department about Maryland Disaster Service leave or checkout our training and volunteer opportunities.
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Local High School Senior Donates 15 Large Hand-made Blankets To Red Cross Program.
Sarah Prenatt recently gave 15 large blankets to the Red Cross that she made by hand. The blankets will be part of the annual Red Cross Collection Drive to benefit newly resettled refugees in central Maryland through the IRC.
Sarah graduated recently from Annapolis Area Christian School and will be attending Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, in the fall.
Another caring citizen of Central Maryland, Cargill Salt of White Marsh, recently donated 42 complete comfort kits. The kit items and assembly of the kits were courtesy of company employees.
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You Want to Auction What?
Kevin Burr, Director of Emergency Services, Speaking to Volunteers
Last night I told your story – the story of fire response and service to the military – the story of food, clothing, shelter and most importantly of comfort. I told it to the Eastern Area Team of Ecolab’s Food and Beverage Division. They were here for their annual meeting. One aspect of that meeting is a fund raiser for a selected charity. They had chosen the ARC.
After I spoke, they began a benefit auction. It started out “normal”, with items like sports tickets, athletic wear, art objects, etc., going for very generous “contributions” from the bidders. But as the inventory dwindled the event took on a life of its own.
Spurred on by their leader, Roger Brown, VP for Sales and their own “world class auctioneer”, Paul Beukema, the Ecolab Team started auctioning everything in sight beginning with a packet of instant grits from the hotel breakfast bar. When they ran out of things they began re-auctioning items already sold. Then they held a 50 – 50 raffle. Every winner refused to take the prize! Then someone shouted, “what am I bid if Roger gets a Mohawk” In a New York Minute they had $1000, which brought the evening’s total to over $8000! As Roger’s hair began to fall the commentary was all about the boss’s “punk haircut” but quickly turned to thanks and compliments for the ARC Praise I humbly accepted on your behalf. So on behalf of the generous Ecolab team, I thank you and I thank the Ecolab Team for their generous support of the ARC.
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