By Gordon Williams
Colder weather is just ahead and colder weather brings frosty cheeks, falling leaves, football–and fires. The government’s U.S. Fire Administration says the frequency of home fires bottoms out in September and then climbs month-by-month as winter settles in. Peak month for home fires is January. Continue reading
By: Diane Toomey
Edited by: Nancy Waddell
Seven times a day someone in this country dies in a home fire, most often occurring in homes that lack working smoke alarms. A smoke alarm almost doubles your chance of surviving a home fire, one of the most common disasters in the U.S.
As part of our Sound the Alarm. Save a Life campaign, the American Red Cross is actively recruiting volunteers to install smoke alarms in high-risk neighborhoods throughout the Northwest Region and across the United States. Continue reading
By Gordon Williams
Photos by: Jen Blackwood
We certainly love our pets: How else to explain why Americans own an estimated 78 million dogs and 86 million cats.
Because you do love your pets, and want to keep them healthy and happy, you should know about two recent news items dealing with animal health. Continue reading
By Gordon Williams
Photos by Gordon Williams
Most times, a gathering of Red Cross volunteers and staffers would mean a disaster somewhere, with people in urgent need of assistance. But when more than a dozen volunteers and staff members gathered at the Bremerton office of the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas Chapter on a sunny mid-July morning, they weren’t responding to a disaster at all.
By: Dale Steinke
In 1944 during World War II, the United States military had just captured Guam when U.S. Naval Officer Daniel Gerard “Gerry” Woodward returned from training to find that his destroyer, the USS Hailey, had already left on a mission. Not knowing what to do, the American Red Cross staff found him housing and meals until they were able to reunite him with his ship.
It was a kindness he never forgot. It led to years of service with the Red Cross, including several years as the chairman of the blood donation program in Portland, OR. It also led to a final gift of thanks from his family’s estate. Continue reading
by Amy McCray
In 1917, as the United States was sending troops to France to fight in World War I, President Woodrow Wilson called upon the American people to give generously in a spirit of patriotic sacrifice to support the nation in its war efforts. He stated that, “by virtue of my authority as President of the United States and President of the Red Cross, I, Woodrow Wilson, do hereby proclaim the week ending June 25, 1917, as Red Cross Week.” He created a War Council within the Red Cross, to meet the “extraordinary demands which the present war will make upon the services of the Red Cross both in the field and in civilian relief.” Continue reading
Pam Brady, BP Government and Public Affairs
By: Annie Sorich
Our Northwest Washington chapter is gearing up for its 23rd Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser, to be held June 23 in Bellingham. The BP Cherry Point refinery, where I work as a Pricing Analyst, is the tournament’s presenting sponsor. It was actually through my work at BP that I became a Red Cross volunteer, when a local Red Cross representative visited the refinery during an open house to share the work they do in the Whatcom County community and beyond. The fact that BP supports fantastic organizations like the Red Cross and actively encourages its staff to get involved in our community has always made me proud to have them as my employer. I sat down with Pam Brady, who works in Government and Public Affairs at the BP Cherry Point Refinery, to find out more about BP’s motivation for supporting the Red Cross. Continue reading
