This year, your gifts can save the day

Christmas is almost here. Have you got your gifts ready?

The holiday season reminds us to reflect upon the many gifts we received throughout the year, but also to remember those in need around us. We’ve launched this year’s Give Gifts that Save the Day holiday giving campaign, giving you the chance to make a difference in the life of someone in need.

Why Should I Give to the Red Cross?

Through our online catalog at SouthFloridaRedCross.org, or TuCruzRoja.org, you can make a donation that could help a soldier make an emergency call home; ensure a young child get the vaccine he needs to survive; or provide a month of basic necessities for a family in another country who lost everything in a disaster.

This is the perfect way to pay tribute to family members, friends or that certain someone who’s hard to buy for. Your loved one will receive a card acknowledging your gift in their honor.

We know that these are difficult times for many families and businesses in South Florida, but we also see that when Americans are in need, America always responds. We’re glad to find out that the results of our new national survey for the American Red Cross show that support for charitable giving remains strong with 72% planning to spend more or about the same in their donations to charity, even as 35% are tightening their belts on holiday gifts. The holiday season is traditionally a time of hope and generosity, and this campaign gives us all a chance to make a difference in someone’s life.

Merry Christmas and have a safe holiday season,

Sam Tidwell

CEO of the American Red Cross South Florida Region

No major hurricanes: Lucky streak hits 5 years for South Florida

November 30 marks the official end of hurricane season and while 19 tropical storms or hurricanes formed this year, we were lucky that no major storm made it to the coast of the United States.

It’s a lucky break that for South Florida has lasted 5 years, something that’s happened only three other times in our history. Unfortunately, that streak is always broken in the sixth year.

A disaster – either man-made or natural – can strike at any time, so we don’t want South Florida residents to let their guard down. We must, all of us, make it our goal to be self-sufficient for the first 72-hours following any disaster.

At the South Florida Red Cross, disasters keep us busy. We respond to 500 disasters a year – that’s almost two a day. So while the "BIG" one didn't hit us, the big one does happen every day to a family that loses their home because of a disaster, such as a house fire.

And often, the wake of a disaster, we are often asked “What can I do to help?”

The Red Cross Holiday Catalog is a great way for our community to purchase the gifts that truly will make a difference this holiday season for people in need. You can help purchase phone cards for service men and women serving overseas, infant care kits for youngsters who stay at Red Cross shelters and life-saving Measles vaccinations. No matter what Red Cross initiative you choose to support, you will be giving the gift of hope.

Have a happy and safe holiday season,

Luis Avila

Regional Officer, Emergency Services

American Red Cross South Florida Region

Wings Over Homestead Air show a treat for veterans, volunteers alike

As we waited at the BX Mart parking lot to be driven to the Homestead Air Reserve Base, the planes’ engine made such a racket that made us lose our breath for a second. We could not help but look up and turn our heads left and then right, one, two, and three times, boom! We knew the afternoon at the practice run for the Wings Over Homestead Air Show was going to be fun.

Lori Tompkins, who works at the South Dade Branch of the Red Cross, drove us into the base, and there they were -- planes small, big and huge -- in the air and all lined up on the tarmac waiting to be admired. While the younger spectators were amazed by the aerobatics [as we were too], an audience of national heroes was silently enjoying the event.

No clouds  -- just a clear blue sky -- made the perfect afternoon to commemorate the service of these injured veterans thanks to the efforts of base personnel along with the Red Cross, who hosted the veterans from the VA Hospital. More than an air show, it was a day that evoked the veteran’s past time when they were serving the country.

We don’t know how many battles they fought in or what experiences they’ve been through. But we could tell from their faces, the pride they felt from the very bottom of their hearts in serving their country. No one wanted to interrupt these heroes while they were peacefully enjoying the air show featuring local F-16 pilots and the Navy's Blue Angels.

With the last Blue Angles landing on the runway, our heartbeats finally slowed down to normal and our thoughts were drawn back to reality.  Veterans were gathered in front of a nearby booth to learn more about services and programs that were offered to them by other organizations. The Veterans were also asked to sign a special painting to commemorate that day. 

As communications interns at the Red Cross, events like this one, indeed fulfill our spirit to keep serving the community and make our work more enjoyable and fun. It makes you feel so proud to be a Red Crosser and do what we can to better the world. 

Linda Li & Alexa Sandoval

Tavernier Taste Something Red shows community support for the Red Cross

Thursday night’s wine-tasting event in Tavernier was a beautiful and relaxing evening with magician Michael Trixx, great food from Tasters Grille, and wonderful silent auction items. We recruited new volunteers, sold First Aid kits to help people stay safe, and very tentatively discussed our relief at a quiet hurricane season here.

One of the best parts of these kinds of events, especially in small communities, is the way you can really see and feel the support for the Red Cross. Elected officials, business leaders and nonprofit agency partners all came out for conversation and pumpkin beer.

We are truly fortunate to be able to serve the residents in the Florida Keys, and we appreciate the ongoing community support for our volunteers and their continuing work in disaster relief. Even when we have few hurricane responses, people know that they can count on the Red Cross to be ready to help in any kind of disaster.

JB Hunt
Chapter Advancement Officer
American Red Cross

Red Cross volunteers help Miami woman affected by fire

I just left the scene of a fire where the Red Cross Disaster Action Team was helping a Miami woman who pretty much lost everything Tuesday night.

She was telling me how she was trying to rush back home to meet her husband because they were waiting for some paperwork that needed to be signed right away. As the day passed, she tried calling her husband but couldn't reach him. Got voicemail every time.

When she rounded the corner to get to her apartment building, fire trucks lined the street and a neighbor broke the bad news: Her apartment caught fire. Her two dogs died. Her husband was being taken to the hospital.

Red Cross volunteers Pauline Holmes (left) and Cherlynette Evans (right) provide assistance to a Miami woman who lost her belongings and her pets in a fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing outside her apartment building today, you could see that this fire is not something this woman will soon forget.

It's never easy losing your belongings. Especially not the books she and her husband treasured. Or the dog that's been a part of your life for eight years and just had her first litter of puppies.

But that's why the Red Cross is there. Disaster Action Team Leader Cherlynette Evans and DAT Trainee Pauline Holmes were able to provide the woman with help for food, clothing and lodging. They can't possibly take away all the pain, but they do make things better.

-Chrystian Tejedor

American Red Cross

You can help people affected by local disasters like this fire or national disasters by clicking here to donate or clicking here to become a Red Cross volunteer.

Hurricane alley?

Last Friday (Sept. 10) was the peak of hurricane season. Time to celebrate? Not quite.

If you look at what's happening in the tropics, it's busy as ever. This weekend, Hurricane Igor rapidly intensified to a category 4 storm with maximum winds of 150mph. Tropical Storm Julia formed and now has 40mph winds.

The good news? Both these Cape Verde storms are expected to swing across the Atlantic and die a cold death as they hit colder waters.

Hurricane Igor

Tropical Storm Julia

Come October, it'll be the time to keep an eye on the warm waters of the Caribbean and the western Atlantic, according to T. F. "Storm" WALSH III, who blogs on the hurricane tracking and monitoring site http://www.wunderground.com/.

To say the least, this hasn't been your typical hurricane season, but here's hoping our luck continues and storms keep getting blown away from the United States.

-Chrystian Tejedor

Keys resident commemorates 1935 hurricane in song

Tuesday (Sept. 2) marked the 75th anniversary of the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. As I reflect back on how I came to write a song about this event, I can’t help feeling a bit like a time traveler who with my songs creation became immortally linked to a storm that occurred 29 years before my birth.

Out of the 100’s of hurricanes that occurred from 1900-1999 only 3 made landfall as a Category 5. Hurricane Camille 1969, Hurricane Andrew 1992 and The Labor Day Storm of 1935. The intensity of these storms is unimaginable to anyone who has never lived through one. Even I could not begin to tell you what a horrifying experience they would be. One can only look back and try to understand how a boat ended up on top of a house, or a car ended up in a tree, or planks of wood impaled a tree and how the trees themselves were snapped off like a lawn mower had just cleared a path, and yet still hurricanes are a force way beyond this limited description.

My 1935 Labor Day song is not only the longest song I have ever recorded at 8:43 but was also a month in the making. Most songs I complete in a day or maybe 2 or at most a week. This song was a story that I felt had to be shared and because of its personal meaning to me I wrestled with how I should tell the story for a good while. After about a month I came back to my original inspiration which was the first story about the hurricane I had read. It was of Bernard Russell. Bernard, a lifelong resident of the keys had lived through the storm at the age of 17, only to find out the next morning that 50 out of 61 of his immediate family were lost to the storm.  With extraordinary character and perseverance, Bernard dedicated himself to rebuilding his home and the upper keys. He was instrumental in establishing emergency services to the keys. An event that would ruin most men, was risen above by a true life unassuming hero. His legacy was accentuated by the fire station in Islamorada Florida that bears his name. 

In memory of this event, I created a video that includes images of this storm. Due to a limited number of photos from that era, I also included images from other hurricanes.
I hope you give yourself ten minutes to hear the story and take in one of my best creative lyrical works. Here is the link to the “The Storm of the Century” video:




Chris Foster
Musician, Lyricist and Keys Resident

Trip to the keys shows Red Crosser the impact of 135 Labor Day Hurricane

In remembrance of the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, I revised and reposted this entry from October 2009.

It was a beautiful Friday morning and I was getting ready to go to the Keys for a Red Cross event slated for that night.

GPS, check
Flips flops, check
Cool coffee drink, check
Red Cross “Scavenger Hunt” list, check

Got the hubby and we were out the door.

Now you might be asking yourself, what’s with the Red Cross “Scavenger Hunt” list? In preparation for this trip, the American Red Cross Keys Chapter Advancement Officer  sent me an email asking me to stop by a couple historical places on my way down to Key West. (Someone must have told her of my lack of aptitude in Keys history.) Scavenger Hunt! Sounds like fun!

Monument to the
1935 Labor Day Hurricane

First stop: Hurricane Monument in Islamorada.
Degree of difficulty of finding the location: 2.5    
1 - being “super easy”  5 - being “I can’t find it therefore, it doesn’t exist.”

Thank goodness for the little sign on the side of the road because the mile marker on my list was wrong.

Got there, took a picture and started to look around for a plaque(s) or something that explains why this place is important.

Found the plaques and read its heartbreaking story. What happened in September 1935 was a recipe for disaster. Imagine going about your day, and next thing you know weather conditions deteriorate and you find yourself smacked by a Cat 5 hurricane and its 20-foot walls of water. Lack of radar technology, slow modes of communication, bridges under construction and a slow transportation system only made the situation worse and number of causalities higher. Hundreds of visitors, residents and WWI vets working on the bridges and roadways were killed. It is not known how many people lost their lives, but one family lost over 40 members.

Interesting fact: under the tiled mosaic found at the base of the Hurricane Monument lay the cremated remains of over 300 people who died in that ferocious storm - the worst in Florida history.

After the storm many of the buildings were utterly destroyed and few remained, including the Rustic Inn, the next stop on my list. The Rustic Inn served as a refuge for survivors desperately seeking news of their loved ones.

Second stop: the Green Turtle Inn formerly known as the Rustic Inn
Degree of difficulty of finding the location: 1

The Green Turtle Inn

Many years ago I went to the Green Turtle Inn for dinner. At the time it was known for its soup and magic show – I kid you not. (I have to admit the show was entertaining.)  I drove up to the establishment and noticed it had undergone some major renovations. The Green Turtle Inn is now flanked by a sports good store and Wyland art gallery. The place looks very trendy and new, but the plaque at the entrance of the restaurant serves as a sober reminder of the location’s history.

Formerly known as the Rustic Inn, it’s hard to believe that it was a place of reunions, heartbreak and sorrow. The place where people now go for happy hours was once a place where people learned the fate of their missing loved ones. Strange juxtaposition if you ask me.

It was at this time that the Red Cross provided solace and assistance to the hurricane survivors.

Third stop: Red Cross Houses
Degree of difficulty of finding the location:  4.25 

One of the remaining
Red Cross Houses

GPS was useless. These homes were hard to find, but once you do, you’re in luck because they are several close in proximity. What helped me was a plaque on the front yard of a Red Cross house. Thank goodness there are plaques and signs for everything in the Keys. They’re very helpful.

Here’s the history: In an effort to help the residents get back on their feet, the Work Projects Administration, Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Red Cross constructed specially-designed hurricane proof homes. These Red Cross homes have a very distinct look about them and once you see one, the others are easy to point out. The walls were 18" thick and were built with concrete and iron bars.  The roofs were all concrete as well.  The ground floor was 12' above ground and the downstairs had built in cisterns designed to hold a year's worth of water. The floors, door and storm shutters were built with Dade County Pine. Twenty-nine homes were built in the late 1930s and several of them still exist today.

Scavenger Hunt completed.

Obtained a better understanding of Keys history, check
Understand the local community’s bond to the Red Cross, check
Gained a stronger sense of the Red Cross mission, check.

- Cynthia Gutierrez-White
Regional Director, Communications & Marketing
American Red Cross South Florida Region

September is National Preparedness Month - Are you ready for a disaster?

When people are struck by a disaster – whether it’s a powerful hurricane that strikes several states, a tornado that devastates a community, or a house fire that drives a family from its home – the Red Cross is there.

And now that we’re in September – the height of hurricane season and National Preparedness Month – we encourage everyone in our community to prepare for these storms or for any disaster that may strike South Florida.

In a survey conducted late last summer, the Red Cross found that although 89 percent of those surveyed believed being prepared is important, far fewer people are ready when emergencies do happen.

There are three things people should do to get prepared – build an emergency preparedness kit, make a plan with your family on what to do in an emergency, and become informed about the types of disasters that could occur where you live.

And just as you’re preparing, the Red Cross is seeking help so it can be more ready to respond to disaster throughout our community, our state, the U.S. and the world.

With a very active hurricane season predicted, the Red Cross is making a fundraising push now so that we are ready for the thousands of disasters that occur every year in the U.S.

Here in South Florida, the Red Cross has responded to 487 home fires and other local disasters so far this year.
   
People can click, text or call to donate to the Red Cross to help people affected by disasters at home and around the world. Those who want to make a contribution can visit www.southfloridaredcross.org, call 1-800-REDCROSS to support American Red Cross Disaster Response, or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Every single donation brings hope to those in need.

Sincerely,

Sam Tidwell
CEO, American Red Cross South Florida Region

A tale of two storms

Ever notice how you can't help but remember where you were when something big happened?

I couldn't shake the thought after realizing that five years ago today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in South Florida as a Category One storm before strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico and wrecking New Orleans.

And 18 years ago yesterday, Hurricane Andrew delivered a powerful blow to southern Miami-Dade County - flattening homes, tearing off roofs and shattering the hope of thousands of people. I will never forget seeing how one of the sliding glass doors of my family's Hialeah apartment shimmy and shake, creating this staccato ba-bam, ba-bam, ba-bam while Andrew's winds assaulted our home. After it was all said and done, we weren't too bad off.

Satellite image of Hurricane Andrew

There were a few downed tree limbs in the parking lot, no electricity, but there was lots and lots of canned tuna....bleh. Being only 10 years old then, all I knew was boredom. Only later would I come to realize that, for the thousands who lived in Homestead and the surrounding areas, Andrew was a devastator that left many of them homeless. They weren't alone, however, the Red Cross and FEMA stepped up to help. Thanks to donations, the Red Cross received more than $168 million to pay for meals and open shelters to help everyone affected by this storm.

My next brush with a devastator storm came In 2005, when I was a reporter and my editor assigned me to cover life in a Red Cross shelter. I had my pick of three shelters and, in the end, I settled on a school near West Palm Beach where I staked my claim on a tiny spot in the school cafeteria and readied myself for the night ahead: No electricity. Boredom. Lots of tuna (guess I learned my prep habits from my parents ;-) ).

Red Crossers help after Katrina strikes New Orleans

This time around, South Florida lucked out. The damage wasn't terrible, but the warm waters of the Gulf were more than enough to turn Katrina into a destructive monster that packed 150+ mph winds, drowned New Orleans and killed scores of people. This time, the Red Cross raised $2.186 billion to help the more than 4 million people affected by this storm.

Canned tuna - yuk!

And since Wilma (also in 2005), we've all had a remarkable stroke of luck because South Florida hasn't been threatened by a devastating storm. But of course, the experts are predicting an insanely busy season for us this year (like in 2005), so please be prepared -- have your supplies in order and take Red Cross CPR classes. Yes, it does take more than a few cans of tuna to be ready. And if you have the time, become a Red Cross volunteer or consider making a donation so that we'll all be ready to help when the time comes.

The Red Cross Kit - the right way to prepare.

Do you have an Andrew, Katrina or Wilma story you'd like to share with us?

-Chrystian Tejedor

Chrystian has been Public Affairs Officer at the American Red Cross in South Florida since January 2009.

Are you all DAT?

While Jeanmarie, Disaster Action Team (DAT) member extraordinaire, and I were out distributing preparedness brochures to the community, we happened upon several fire trucks at an apartment complex in Key West.

We stopped and offered Red Cross assistance, but a firefighter reported it was a minor fire. We weren’t back in the office but 5 minutes when the complex manager called and asked us to come back because of water damage in several apartments.

On-site damage assessment revealed little physical damage, but the emotional toll was evident. One resident, a woman who is 9 months pregnant, was taken to the hospital. Everyone was very grateful to see the Red Cross would be there for them, if the damage was worse.

Do you want to be all DAT, like Jeanmarie? Join today by CLICKING HERE, and saying I want to be there for those in need!  I want to be all DAT! 

Shannon Renee Vasko
Volunteer & Response Coordinator
American Red Cross of Greater Miami & the Keys

An open letter to Tropical Storm Bonnie

Oh, Bonnie. What happened? You came and you went. Honestly we expected you to stick around for a while and do what you do best. Blow some hot air, flood our streets, create some havoc. But, girl, you fizzled out!

Regardless, thank you so much for stopping by. My lawn appreciated the rain. But I have to tell you that I’m glad things didn’t work out the way you wanted. Nevertheless we were ready. I don’t know if you know, Bonnie, but we had hundreds of Red Cross volunteers on standby, our partners were ready to go and shelters were prepared to open if needed.

Even though you didn’t pack much punch, I hope the community took the opportunity to get their disaster kits together and go over their family plans.

So the next time you or one of your friends decides to pay a visit to South Florida, just know that we’ll be waiting.