By Mark Walker Photos by Don Zanon As demand for services grows, the American Red Cross is studying how to best serve millions of people residing throughout the Northwest. The effort includes best practices for managing disaster and emergency services, and where supplies, offices and other facilities are located. “We’re re-examining the way we stockpile … Continue reading Red Cross positioning for the future as services, needs grow
When the Spanish Flu hit Seattle 100 years ago, the Red Cross was there
By Gordon Williams December 1918. Combating influenza in Seattle, Washington, at work in the Red Cross rooms in Seattle, Washington with influenza masks on faces. Mention the American Red Cross and you think of aiding disaster victims, collecting blood and teaching first aid. Those are all functions the Red Cross performs, but in 1918 we … Continue reading When the Spanish Flu hit Seattle 100 years ago, the Red Cross was there
Microsoft Disaster Expert Moonlights as Red Cross Volunteer
By Gordon Williams When Cameron Birge first volunteered for the American Red Cross early in 2016, it was to help put down roots in a city that was new to him and to rebuild ties to a country where he had not lived in close to 20 years. These days Cameron is a volunteer disaster … Continue reading Microsoft Disaster Expert Moonlights as Red Cross Volunteer
Fran Adams: From the Eye of Hurricane Florence
By Gordon Williams There’s a bit of the hero in any Red Cross volunteer who sets out to aid the victims of some far-off disaster. Still, some Red Cross volunteers are a bit more heroic than others. Case-in-point is Fran Adams of Olympia WA, who has responded to so many disasters over the years that … Continue reading Fran Adams: From the Eye of Hurricane Florence
Getting Prepared with Pillowcases
By Nihit Pokhrel This September, as part of National Preparedness Month, the Red Cross is gearing up for different ways to remind us that we must always be prepared. With students going back to school for the academic year, the Pillowcase Project – a preparedness education program for grades 3 through 5 – arrives at … Continue reading Getting Prepared with Pillowcases
Blankets of Comfort
By Diane Toomey Photos by Karen Kim Shortly after Betty Young retired, she was channel surfing and came across a local ad seeking volunteers to make quilts for the Red Cross. Betty was interested in doing something to give back. In March of 1996 she joined eleven other women who met every Monday to sew quilts that … Continue reading Blankets of Comfort
Roger Drake: 18 Deployments in 7 Years
By Gordon Williams It should be no surprise that deploying to the California wildfires felt very familiar to Red Cross volunteer Roger Drake of Port Angeles WA. Roger’s first Red Cross deployment was in 2011 to aid tornado victims in Alabama. Going to California this year to help wildfire victims was the 18th time he … Continue reading Roger Drake: 18 Deployments in 7 Years
HEART to the Rescue
By Mark Walker Photos by Kathy Brasch As crews battled a 3,000-acre wildfire just a few miles away, Loki and Fanny rested comfortably with their owner, thanks to some kind-hearted volunteers. The two felines were safely tucked away in an emergency human and animal shelter the American Red Cross set up at Kettle Falls High … Continue reading HEART to the Rescue
“Ash is coming down like snowflakes!”
By Gordon Williams When Red Cross volunteer Fran Adams of Olympia WA hears about a disaster—nearby or far away—her first reaction is a desire to rush to the scene to help out. Her first Red Cross deployment to a disaster was nearly 20 years ago, to flooding at Chehalis WA in Lewis County. “I saw people … Continue reading “Ash is coming down like snowflakes!”
Summer of Service for Military Teens
By Mark Walker "JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD – STAT!" More than two dozen teenage Red Cross volunteers became accustomed to that call for an immediate response and similar messages at Madigan Army Medical Center this summer. Teens taking part in the Red Cross summer youth program on the Tacoma area base work in nine hospital departments, … Continue reading Summer of Service for Military Teens
American Red Cross NW Region 