For our organization’s annual participation in the MLK Day of Service, we went to local neighborhoods in the region and canvassed areas with the highest rates of home fires. The coordination of the service sites was spearheaded by three AmeriCorps members out of the Olympic Peninsula, Tacoma and Seattle offices.
We went door-to-door and spoke with individuals about fire safety, making a home evacuation plan and other protective measures. For families who weren’t home, we left door hangers with fire safety information on them. Throughout the region, we had a total of 357 volunteers with more than 1,117.75 hours of volunteer work. We distributed 4,048 fire safety door hangers, visited 4,060 houses in the region and had conversations with 1,518 individuals.
Some residents we spoke with said they would make a home evacuation plan with their families after speaking with us. This shows a direct impact as a result of the service we provided! We were able to give them the knowledge, and contact information at the Red Cross, to help better prepare their families in case of an emergency. What a great way to spend a weekend! After all, the annual day of service is a day on, not a day off.
American Red Cross NW Region 