Disaster Summit Update

Hello to those of you who follow our blog! Please tell your family, friends, and coworkers about us so we can keep everybody updated on what the Red Cross is doing.

So the Disaster Summit had a very successful first day! It was held this past Thursday (Nov. 12) at the United Way on 3517 East Jefferson Boulevard. We had around 27 people show up, which was great to see. 10 of those volunteers decided that they might potentially join us in volunteering as well! The event featured great food (Papa Vino's) and a crash course on Client Casework.

Mark the second and final part of this Disaster Summit on your calendars. It will be held this Thursday (Nov. 19) at the United Way on 3517 East Jefferson, and Jimmy John's will be provided for those who attend!

Faith-Based Community Initiative Update

There had always been days during the Fall that were cold and stormy, but today was different. The wind was swirling around for hours, but within the last five minutes it seemed to just stop. A distant roar partnered with an all-too-familiar siren told members of the community that it was time to seek shelter - and quickly. When the siren had stopped and the roar died down, some community members emerged to find their houses destroyed, with little or nothing to salvage. They need assistance, but where do they turn?

While the story above is entirely fictional, it serves as a necessary reminder that disasters are unpredictable and have the power to devastate hundreds and even thousands of lives within minutes. The Red Cross is working on a new initiative intended to improve partnerships with faith-based institutions to help house families in need during a disaster. Places of worship are often a symbol of comfort and peace to those affected by a disaster, and for this reason we believe that faith-based institutions should be our partners in disaster response.

The Red Cross will hold a meeting in partnership with the United Religious Community on October 22nd, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. to discuss ways in which faith-based institutions can partner with the Red Cross in disaster response. The meeting will be held at the URC office:

501 N. Main Street
South Bend, IN 46601.

More information is available at the St. Joseph County American Red Cross website at www.stjoe-redcross.org or you can e-mail Gregory Vallejos at vallejos@stjoe-redcross.org with any questions. We hope you will join us in our mission!

Our first blog! .....and updates!

Good afternoon! Welcome to St. Joseph County American Red Cross's first blog. We are excited to introduce these new social networking tools (blogs, Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook) within our chapter, and hopefully it will help getting young and older individuals more involved within our community. So now for some updates...

We have three new AmeriCorps members here at our chapter, and look forward to the contributions they will make. Their names are Gena, Katie, and Gregory. Here is a little bit about them and what they will be doing!

Katie McConnell is a graduate of the University of Evansville, and attended South Bend's own Riley High School. She will be heading up the Red Cross Health and Safety Education program, and will be teaching many local school the Red Cross mission of preparedness.
Gena Robinson is a recent Notre Dame graduate and a South Bend native who is excited to be at the Red Cross after teaching middle school in the Washington D.C. school system. She also taught 8th grade religion and 9th, 12th, and 13th grade English in Haiti at the Louverture-Cleary School! Gena will be working on volunteer recruitment and training.
Gregory Vallejos graduated from Notre Dame this past May and is looking forward to playing an important role in South Bend's faith-based community. He will be working in collaboration with many faith-based organizations to set up shelter agreements in case of a disaster.

Stay tuned for events and volunteer opportunities!