Attention Volunteers Interested in Traveling South for The Katrina Relief Effort: Because of the urgent need, the Red Cross will provide an abreviated one-day training class to volunteers who are able deploy forthree weeks and work under hardship conditions. Hardship conditions means that you will be living in primitive conditions that may include any or several of the codes defined in the attached pdf file. To find out more, open Hardship conditions. To volunteer, email us at hurricane@arc-cmc.org.

Interested volunteers should be ready to deploy as early as the day after training.

What you can do
to help

More Recent News

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One Red Cross Volunteer's Work Highlights Good in People
by Loni Ingraham, Towson Times

While most of us were watching the devastation from the hurricanes on television, Pat Shaw, a 67-year-old Red Cross volunteer from Towson, was in the very wet proverbial trenches.

Shaw flew into Florida just as Charley flew out of Florida and Francis was lowering its landing gear. And just days later she was slogging through Ohio and West Virginia during the flooding caused by Ivan.

Like the thousands of other Red Cross volunteers who responded, she was there to provide emergency assistance to help people help themselves get back on their feet.

"The damage in West Virginia was terrible," she says. "The water was 12 to 14 feet over normal, trailers had been washed away, water was up to the rooftops, and the houses were full of mud. Florida was the same thing, but without the mud."

In West Virginia, they met the man with the snake stick when they had to get across a flooded creek to his house.

"Wait a minute," he called to them as he brandished a long stick. "I want to make sure the snakes don't get you. They really come up in high water."

Wading across a rushing creek, skirting snakes, lugging 40-pound bags of supplies, handling the eternal paperwork and sleeping on the floors of hot, muggy shelters „ sometimes too busy to get back to the shelter for a meal before 10 p.m. lights out „ it's pretty demanding.

But "most of us are in pretty good shape," Shaw says.

Shaw's Red Cross duties after the hurricanes had little to do with her professional background. A retired St. Joseph Medical Center nurse, she spent much of her time after the hurricanes or between them walking door to door or traveling in a Red Cross emergency response vehicle, delivering water, bags of ice and snacks.

The snacks were vital for people who were working on their houses with no time to get a meal, and the water and ice were critical when water supplies were contaminated and there was no electricity.

So many people were devastated and crying.

"When you saw them, you couldn't just cut off your feelings," she says.

She remembers the 70-year-old man who saw for the first time the damage that had been done to his home.

"He broke down in tears like a little child and fell into a volunteer's arms," she says. "Sometimes a hug is all a person needs."

And then when it would begin to rain hard again, she remembers the look of fear on the faces of children whose homes already had been flooded out.

"They had lost so much already," she says.

She remembers her own fear when she thought the roof of their shelter was going to blow off during Francis.

"But that just gave us a better feel for what people went through," she says. "It made you identify with them and understand better."

The big story for Shaw, however, was not the destruction, it was the way communities came together.

"People who didn't know their neighbors suddenly did know them," she says. "And there was this outpouring of love.

"Most of the people did not feel sorry for themselves. They had lost everything but they were going forward to begin anew „ and they would tell us to go help somebody else who needs it."

It was, and is, often dirty, sweaty hard work.

"But I'm as happy as a lark," Shaw says. "I do it because I really love it. I feel God has been good to me and I need to give something back."

People during the disaster asked if they should pay the volunteers. "But we emphasize to them that this is not a loan, and we don't expect you to pay us back. This is a gift from the American people, we tell them. We wouldn't even take a dollar."

Shaw makes herself available to the Red Cross "24/7 when she's in town."

This year to date, in addition to her hurricane stints, she has responded to 60 local emergencies „ most of them fires in Baltimore during which she made sure people had temporary food, clothing and shelter.

"You have to like people," Shaw says. "If you like people, you will want to help somebody down and out.

E-mail Loni Ingraham at lingraham@patuxent.com.

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What you can do to help

What you can do to help:

Donate Funds:
· Because the Red Cross is on the scene as the tragedy unfolds and providing assistance before the full extent of the catastrophe has been tallied, we need cash donations so that we can respond to each situation and each need accordingly.
· We cannot accept donations of material goods because our mission is to provide vital necessities on the spot according to the disaster, so we do not maintain facilities to sort, store or transport material goods.
· The Red Cross responds to a disaster every eight minutes. In central Maryland, the Red Cross responds to two to three disasters daily.
· Most disasters don’t make the news, but are equally devastating to someone who loses everything.
· Funds are urgently needed so that the Red Cross is able to respond to every disaster at the time of the disaster.
· Donate online at https://www.redcross-cmd.org/Chapter/donateform.html or send your contribution to P. O. Box Disaster Relief, Baltimore, MD 21263-0550.

Give Blood:
· Visit www.my-redcross.org for a list of blood drives in your area.
· Each donation of blood helps save three lives.
· Red Cross donation centers are open extended hours to accept your donation. Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to schedule a donation.

Volunteer:
· Without volunteers emergency disaster relief could not be provided to those in crisis. Volunteers are the reason the Red Cross is able to be there on the scene as the disaster unfolds. Email us at volunteers@arc-cmc.org or call 624-2023 to schedule an appointment.

FOR THE LATEST ON KATRINA: Katrina Update

October 21, 2005 410-624-2081, 443-829-7321

RED CROSS MOBILIZES LOCAL VOLUNTEERS
FOR NEW HURRICANE THREAT

The American Red Cross of Central Maryland has put at least 200 local volunteers on standby in the event that Hurricane Wilma causes extensive damage in the United States. Most of the volunteers are newly trained by the Red Cross during the last seven weeks since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and prompted an outpouring of compassion here.

Tomorrow (Saturday, October 22) the Red Cross emphasizes its mission of preparedness on two fronts: A class of 50 new volunteers will be trained to become disaster responders at the organization’s headquarters, 4800 Mt. Hope Drive from 9-2.
Learning to be ready for any emergency situation is the theme tomorrow (October 22 from 8:30-5) at a Red Cross/Boy Scout Expo to be held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. The Be Prepared Central Maryland event, which features health screenings, emergency response unit demonstrations and finger printing for children, is free and open to the public.
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August 31, 2005 - LOCAL RED CROSS SENDS ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS TO GULF COAST

The Central Maryland Red Cross is preparing dozens more volunteers to join those who have already deployed to the Gulf Coast relief operation. Their mission, part of the largest mobilization of resources for a single natural disaster in the Red Cross’s history, will be “to do what we do best," said one. "Come together to respond with tireless compassion to take care of our neighbors.”

Thousands of residents who were able to flee Katrina’s wrath have been housed in Red Cross shelters, receiving food, water, counseling and/or medications if indicated, and whatever else they might need and will remain until it’s safe to return home.

Tuesday morning, August 30, Red Cross volunteers loaded up an emergency response vehicle and headed south to join hundreds of others from around the country. The relief vehicle is designed to withstand difficult conditions so that we may bring food and precious water to 100s who are stranded or cut off from civilization. The vehicles along with our volunteers will be on the scene for three weeks or more--as long as necessary.

If you would like to help support this relief effort and provide vital necessities to tens of thousands of victims of disaster, please donate today online https://www.redcross-cmd.org/Chapter/donateform.html.

Nationally, we are operating 250 shelters across seven states, providing a safe haven for nearly 42,000 evacuees – many who have been left completely homeless by Katrina.

Katrina--Catastrophic
August 30, 2005

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Announcing itself with shrieking, 145-mph winds, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast just outside New Orleans on Monday, submerging entire neighborhoods up to their roofs, swamping Mississippi's beachfront casinos and blowing out windows in hospitals, hotels and high-rises.

Fortunately, Red Cross units across the country had begun preparating for Katrina long before she made landfall. As a result, thousands of volunteers are ready to begin providing disaster relief to Katrina's victims as soon as Katrina will let them in.

In Central Maryland alone somewhere between 40 and 150 volunteers will be deployed over the next few weeks, possibly months, to assist with the mammoth task of restoring normalcy to a community devastated by the unimaginable.

Please help support your local volunteers as they dedicate their next few weeks providing disaster relief to those who need it most: https://www.redcross-cmd.org/Chapter/donateform.html

For New Orleans — a dangerously vulnerable city because it sits mostly below sea level in a bowl-shaped depression — it was not the apocalyptic storm forecasters had feared.

But it was plenty bad, in New Orleans and elsewhere along the coast, where scores people had to be rescued from rooftops and attics as the floodwaters rose around them.

At least five deaths were blamed on Katrina — three people killed by falling trees in Mississippi and two killed in a traffic accident in Alabama. And an untold number of other people were feared dead in flooded neighborhoods, many of which could not be reached by rescuers because of high water.

"Some of them, it was their last night on Earth," Terry Ebbert, chief of homeland security for New Orleans, said of people who ignored orders to evacuate the city of 480,000 over the weekend. "That's a hard way to learn a lesson."

"We pray that the loss of life is very limited, but we fear that is not the case," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said.

more on Katrina

BLOOD SHORTAGE WORSENS – DONORS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY

American Red Cross Issues Plea for Immediate Response Based on Local Patient Needs

July 7, 2005: Despite attempts to notify the public of the critical and immediate need for blood donors, the Greater Chesapeake & Potomac (GC & P) Region of the American Red Cross reports a continuous decline in blood donor appointments since the Summer began. This drastic decline in appointments, coupled with the fact that many scheduled donors have not shown up for their appointments, has resulted in a blood shortage of all blood types, and an extremely critical shortage of type O blood.

“We are asking every member of our community to help by either donating blood or encouraging someone you know to donate. There are patients in our local hospitals right now whose lives depend on the availability of blood,” said Gary Ouellette, Chief Executive Officer for the GC & P Region. “This is a serious situation and donors are needed now so that those patient needs will not be compromised.”

In honor of the Memorial Day holiday, all participants at American Red Cross blood Donor Centers and blood drives between now and June 5 will receive a commemorative “Honor Your Local Heroes” t-shirt. Appointments are available at all Donor Centers and community blood drives by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. Apheresis donors are also critically needed and appointments are available by calling 1-800-272-2123.

For further information about the blood donation process, and details about other upcoming summer promotional campaigns offered by the GC & P Region, visit http://www.my-redcross.org.

WHO CAN GIVE BLOOD?

Donors must :

Be in generally good health;
Be at least 17 years of age, or, in the state of Maryland only, 16 years of age with parental consent
Weigh no less than 110 pounds;
Have NOT received a tattoo within the past year;
Have NOT donated whole blood within the past 56 days.

In addition to asking individual members of the community to donate blood, the American Red Cross strongly encourages businesses and community groups to schedule and organize blood drives. Any groups interested in scheduling a drive or obtaining further information is asked to call 1-800-787-9282, ext. 4925.

9 PM, May 26, 2005
Red Cross On the Scene of Three Alarm Fire in Baltimore -- Seven families have been displaced after a 3-alarm fire swept through their row homes late last night. Staff and volunteers from the Central Maryland Red Cross brought immediate disaster relief supplies to all who were impacted, including blankets, food and water, and other vital necessities. The Red Cross then found accommodations for all the affected families left temporarily homeless due to the fire. Nursing and mental health are also providing assistance.

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After a flood, cleanup begins
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Residents mop up and officials in northeastern Maryland call for federal assistance in the wake of Monday's freakish storm.

By Ariel Sabar and Gus G. Sentementes
Sun Staff

When Patricia Brooks, 40, arrived at her Havre de Grace hair salon yesterday morning, she found a coating of mud, water-logged hairstyle books, ruined dye, soppy hair extensions and marks that suggested the floodwaters had covered the seats of her dryer chairs.

In Port Deposit, where about 20 homes were flooded, one couple played a game of Dude, where's my house?

"Hey, this is part of our deck," said Judith Fisher as she pointed to two boards that had come to rest against a bridge over Rock Run.

"There's more down there," said Michael Fisher as he spied some lumber downstream.

In North East, the storm struck during the busiest season, when boaters head to marinas and tourists to Elk Neck State Park and the row of quaint shops on Main Street.

Terry Dunn cast an eye around the dream antique store she had opened a few months before. Ceiling tiles had tumbled down, mud streaked an Oriental rug, and, to judge by the smell, mildew was afoot.

The few people with any hope of a profit were a three-man sales force from an out-of-town company. Fred Weidner wore a green shirt emblazoned "Sunbelt Rentals" and handed out glossy brochures.

"If you see anyone looking for dehumidifiers, carpet fans, water extraction units, wet-dry vacs -- you name it, we've got it," he said.

A red "condemned" sign hung on the doorpost at 511 Main St., where water swept away part of the foundation and turned the driveway into a jumbled jigsaw puzzle. Robin Kaznaier, 36, a single mother of three who lived there, spent yesterday salvaging belongings, the floor creaking beneath her feet.

If people found any consolation, it was that that the flood had not killed or seriously injured anyone.

Pat Moore of Havre De Grace spent Monday night in a hotel after a swollen creek washed away her front lawn, tipped over a basement wall and swept across her first floor.

"When I first saw the house I was like, 'Oh, my God,'" she said, in front of the muddy remains of her lawn. "But we are all healthy, no one was hurt and a building is replaceable."

In North East, Carol England had worried that her cat, Moocher, would fail to find high ground as floodwaters rose ankle deep in her nautical-themed gift shop. But Moocher was fine. England followed muddy paw prints to the main display window, where Moocher had found shelter beneath a model of the Chesapeake Light, which marks the mouth of the bay.

Sun staff writers Lynn Anderson, Andrew A. Green, Jennifer McMenamin, Scott Waldman, Joe Nawrozki, Seth Rosen and Ted Shelsby contributed to this article.

Red Cross Emergency Appeal for Donors -
There is No Blood In Storage, Blood Shortage Severe

Because the blood supply has dropped to unsafe levels, putting our entire community at risk, the Greater Chesapeake & Potomac Blood Services Region (GC&P) is issuing an Emergency Appeal (only issued when there is a less than one day supply of critical blood types available) for blood donations. Hours have been extended at local Donor Centers and special community drives have been organized in order to replenish the supply. If supplies are not replenished, surgeries may be forced to cancel and patient care may be compromised.

According to Dr. James Sundeen, M.D, “Prince Georges Hospital Center is one trauma victim away from temporarily suspending trauma services.”
"Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Health join the Red Cross in urgently calling for voluntary blood donations," says S. Gerald Sandler, MD. "Among MedStar's seven hospitals in Baltimore and Washington, we use 200+ units of blood each day. We are counting on healthy persons in the area to give blood now to help people in the mid-Atlantic region whose lives depend on their blood donations. Giving one unit of blood has the potential for saving three lives...please give often and regularly.”

The blood shortage continues nationally due to a number of contributing factors, including: holiday travel, breaks from school, extreme weather conditions in the West, as well as influenza and flu. Blood must be on the shelf, ready and available for every day emergencies and large-scale disasters. Appointments are available at all American Red Cross Donor Centers and community blood drives by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. Apheresis donors are asked to call 1-800-272-2123.
“We are at a critical point,” said Gary Ouellette, Chief Executive Officer. “We have less than a half-day supply of most types of blood, with type O being distributed to area hospitals for emergency transfusion only.”
1-800-GIVE-LIFE for whole blood donors and 1-800-272-2123 for apheresis donors.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO GIVE BLOOD? DONORS MUST:

• Be generally in good health
• Be at least 17 years of age, or in the state of Maryland only, 16 years of age w/ written parental consent
• Weigh no less than 110 pounds
• Have NOT received a tattoo within the past year
• Have NOT donated whole blood within the past 56 days

Businesses, civic groups and other local organizations are highly encouraged to call 1-800-787-9282, ext. 4925 for information on sponsoring a blood drive