This summer, the American Red Cross has been incredibly active all around the Washington, D.C. area. The cool thing about this charity is that they raise money in lots of different ways. Whether it is a ball, golf tournament, Oscar viewing party, or something else, there are events going on that help the Red Cross come away with more funds than they had before. But what is going on behind the scenes is that the Red Cross is still looking for more out of their vehicle donation programs.

This summer in Alexandria, the American Red Cross has been putting on waterfront festivals and all sorts of other events. These are fun things that people enjoy going to, and they have done well in raising money to support programs. But nothing compares to when the Red Cross does well with the vehicle donation portion of their fundraising effort.

Getting people involved with fundraising is very important for the Red Cross. They want folks to have a good time and they want communities to come together and see what the charity is all about. By just going with a vehicle donation effort, they would be missing out on this type of thing. But at the same time, the folks in charge in D.C. understand that without a continued strong showing in vehicle donation, they would have a very hard time impacting the community as well as they have in the past few years.

When you donate a vehicle, you enable the Red Cross to do a little bit more, and that is making the community a safer place for everyone.

One of the biggest events of the year in Washington, D.C. is the American Red Cross’s Fire and Ice Ball. The event is already being put together for 2009 and it figures to be one of the biggest and best balls yet. The purpose of the Fire and Ice Ball is very simple and it helps to support one of the Red Cross’s most long standing traditions.

The Red Cross supports the United States military completely and has done so for decades. While the vehicle donation program that they run has always been a chief way to pay for some of the programs, things like the ball have been excellent ways to bring people together in the name of charity.

When you donate a vehicle, you are making a completely selfless donation that will ultimately benefit the Red Cross directly. But who wants to just donate something and not get to have a great experience? With the Fire and Ice Ball, there is a chance to not only help out with the American Red Cross’s support of the military, but it is also an opportunity to have an excellent time.

In Washington, D.C., few events this year will be as fun and interesting as the Red Cross’s big one. That, coupled with the vehicle donation effort, will hopefully raise enough money for the Red Cross to do everything that they need to do. If nothing else, people will get to spend a night supporting one of the most worthy causes out there.

Police, army, fire-fighters and Red Cross volunteers do a wonderful job. Police, army and fire-fighters get paid to do their jobs and they deserve every cent they earn. American Red Cross volunteers give their time and their services freely, they don’t get paid; they volunteer. (Donate a car now)

Volunteers willingly assist those people who face crisis for whatever reason but one, which we popularly call a disaster. They do this without pay. (Make an auto donation)

Often there are classes they have to attend to make sure that they are prepared to assist effectively in cases of emergency. This is an activity that takes place during their leisure time when the likes of you and me might be sailing on the lake or watching football on the TV. (Vehicle donation is easy)

A Disaster Response Plan requires thought, discussion and coordination so that the right people are in the right place to deal with the problems they encounter. People who can speak a variety of languages are always useful to have around, not everyone who faces disaster can speak English as a first language and when people are under stress they often revert to type when in shock and are unable to master the learned sounds of a language that is in fact foreign to them. (Call the number for car donation)

Attending an event that requires the assistance of the Red Cross volunteer teams can mean sacrifice for those people who have families or are in a relationship but they make the sacrifice anyway for the greater good and hope their loved ones will support and understand them. (A car donation can really help raise money)

Throughout this blessed land there are Chapters in every state willing to come forward when the time comes and put in the hours that are needed to ensure that our communities and those in need in other lands too never have to endure unnecessary suffering if the Red Cross can help. If the Red Cross can help, it does – no questions asked. Can you help them?

Donate your car! Donate your auto! Donate your vehicle! If you can’t give your blood or your money, the least you could do is vehicle donation or some sort of suitable mode of transport that would earn a decent cent at auction. Actually more than a decent cent is what’s normally recovered following the auction when you donate your car to charity.

Have you considered the fine detail of what horrors and distress ARC volunteers are exposed to during the course of their volunteer work? No? I don’t blame you, a lot of the time it probably is pretty gruesome. But I’m not going to let you off that easy; you have the imagination and you’ve probably viewed the harrowing scenes on your TV screen when there is breaking news and a special bulleting about a local disaster that has taken place in your community – or somebody else’s…we’re all neighbors now when you watch the box. Those are real people being affected by the drama unfolding in front of you as you munch away on a TV dinner feeling sorry for the victims in the terrible tragedy that had befallen them. Hey! Isn’t it lucky that stuff like that doesn’t happen to you?

Well – news flash –it could happen to you and the wonderful men and women and junior boys and girls of the American Red Cross will quite probably be among the first to help you out of trouble. Even though they may never have witnessed a disaster first hand before, they have heard tales from other members and been prepared for what to expect when they do face it themselves for the first time. What about the second or third or fourth timers; don’t they have nightmares when smells of smoke from blacktopping roads, sounds of wrecking balls smashing buildings and shrieks or cries from children who have fallen and hurt themselves assault their senses and bring back memories of some horrible scene at an event they attended? I’m sure they do but these fantastic individuals carry on regardless. If you can’t support them at least appreciate them.

Carole recently moved to the States, Fairfax actually – very impressed; says it’s beautiful, even more picturesque than the postcards she’d seen or what she’d imagined from reading about it. Back in the UK Carole was involved with the Saint John’s Ambulance Brigade, a volunteer first-aid organization that is responsible for training first-aiders and issuing certification to those attending courses and it provides the first-aid service at concerts and sporting events throughout the UK.

Carole doesn’t know what the US equivalent is, though she’s seen some stuff about the American Red Cross and was wondering what the situation is. All she knows is that it’s a voluntary organization and has no problem with that but tax laws and everything are so different she needs help. If she became involved and had to attend an event, obviously immediate response is required…can she take time off work to do this without penalty? If she can, how often can she do this? Carole also heard about auto donation, that sounded funny to her as a Londoner, vehicle donation or car donation are more comfortable on her British ears. But anyway, if she were to volunteer as a driver and available to help with collection of auto donations, sorry…car donations, would that have to be in spare time or could that be scheduled into work?

Carole’s always felt very strongly about serving the community in which she lives and she’d like to have the facts before she applies for a job or joins up with the local Chapter. She wouldn’t like to make a fool of herself or let either side down because she couldn’t juggle them both. Organizations like the American Red Cross need to know what manpower they have and when they can call upon it so if anyone out there can answer Carole’s questions and save her looking like a gigantic fool, it would be much appreciated by this newcomer to your country. She’d like to help out at any sort of event and thinks her first-aid experience and her driving (she has a HGV license) could both be of benefit to the organization.

Something like the Mount Pleasant fire, just over a year now since it happened, reminds us just how important the volunteers of the American Red Cross are to our safety and well-being. For those of you who were out of state at the time I’ll recap for you and summarize the update on the ARCNCA site.

A five-alarm fire broke out in an apartment building at 3145 Mount Pleasant Street in Northwest DC in the early morning that displaced all the residents. It was the first five-alarm blaze in the District since 1979. The Red Cross activated its Disaster Response Plan, called in volunteers, including Spanish-speaking volunteers who arrived on scene around 1:30am to work with residents, many of who speak little or no English. They set up a reception area for residents at a local recreation center and were brought from the fire scene by Metrobus. Many had seen their apartments completely destroyed; assessments indicated at least 40 apartments were uninhabitable.

A Red Cross canteen truck on the scene of the fire from early Thursday morning and throughout the day, provided food, water and hot drinks to residents, fire fighters, police and others. Food services were set up by the Red Cross at the Reception Center and were available throughout the day. Victims of the fire (48 families, a total of 105 clients) were provided for immediate emergency needs, which included shelter and assistance for food, clothing and personal items. All those present had a place to stay for the night thanks to the Red Cross who returned to the Reception Center on Friday morning and continued providing client casework services, canteening and a preliminary damage assessment where possible.

That’s what it’s like when the volunteers answer the call to an event. Food, clothing, personal items and transport all cost money. These are purchased with the money raised by public generosity through such things as car donations and cash donations. If you are considering making a vehicle donation, it could be a boat trailer say, not necessarily a car donation, any sort of auto donation or vehicle donation could realize capital that is essential to this voluntary organization.

Events are often seen as fun things but for the American Red Cross, more often than not, events mean incidents. Isn’t it amazing how the choice of word affects its perceived meaning? Being called out to attend an event for ARC volunteers doesn’t mean stressing over what to wear or scheduling a trip to the salon to get your hair and nails done it means turning up, prepared for anything and willing to do your bit to help alleviate the pain, chaos and anguish that frequently accompanies these events.

Manning around the clock canteens and being available to administer first aid; floods, tornadoes, terrorist attacks and anthrax scares are among the ‘events’ that the Washington DC Chapter has had to attend over the years. None of this would have been possible if it hadn’t been for the monies raised in many different ways, including car donation, which the public manages to do year on year for the ARC.

Making sure that our service personnel overseas can stay in touch with their families is a sort of long-distance, long-running event, again that is maintained through public support like car donation and the men and women in the offices who check through clerical work to make sure contact and information is up to date are magnificent. This event is ongoing as our men and women in the forces continue to keep our country and the world a safer place.

Events require personnel and resources and these need funding; cash contributions and auto donations are tax deductible means of making a difference and with the auto donation option you don’t even have to arrange pick-up, it’s done for you. That’s got to be good. Even this service, collecting a vehicle donation, has to be done by people who give up their time in service to the community regardless of the circumstances or the location presented. The American Red Cross always works impartially and without prejudice at events large or small. Blood drives and blood mobiles are regular features on the calendar and are such a commonplace thing we tend to forget that this seemingly small event is essential to our hospitals – even outside disasters.

Hopefully there won’t have to be a response to the widely anticipated swine flu pandemic that has infected people across the globe. Most of the confirmed cases outside Mexico appear to be only mild forms and the patients are recovering well. There has unfortunately been one death in Texas among the 109 confirmed cases at April 30th 2009. The World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to  Phase 5 on April 29, 2009. A Phase 5 alert is a “strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short”.

As usual, that stalwart of our safety and well-being, the American Red Cross has some valuable advice at this time. Washing hands and paying close attention to symptoms of illness are just some of the things the public can to do help reduce the risk from the swine flu (H1N1) outbreak, the American Red Cross said today. “This is a serious situation that has the potential to spread, and it is a good time for families, businesses and organizations to follow good public health practices and to review and update their preparedness plans,” said Scott Conner, Senior Vice President of Preparedness and Health & Safety Services at the American Red Cross. “Taking steps to prepare for potential emergencies in advance can go a long way in making families feel safer.”

The American Red Cross urges the public to remember these simple actions:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective when soap and water aren’t available.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. Catch it! Bin it! Kill it!
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home if you are feeling sick.

As ever, your help is needed by the ARC and vehicle donation is one way of making a difference. If you donate your car, money can go to supplying essential resources; a vehicle donation can raise a good lump of cash. You might need their help sooner than you think so consider an auto donation or some other vehicle donation to raise money as soon as you can.

All donations to charity make a difference, whether they consist of money, clothing, cars, or simply some time spent volunteering. While every donation is equally important, today I would like to focus more specifically upon the importance of giving blood. Most healthy people who are at least 17 years old, and weigh over 110 pounds are eligible to give blood every 56 days. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule so it may be worth either phoning or emailing your local Chapter of The American Red Cross in order to check your eligibility.

It is very important to remember that you should not wait until an emergency occurs before giving blood. In addition to the fact that during, or immediately after an emergency, especially one in your local area, you may have difficulty even getting to a blood donation center. Also, there are many individuals who rely on donations of blood right throughout the year. These individuals include trauma victims, surgery patients, individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease, and some premature infants.

If you are interested in giving blood, you may be interested to know that The American Red Cross is teaming up with The New York Rangers for a special blood drive on Saturday April 4 from 9am-3pm at the Crown Plaza Hotel in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All donors will receive a replica New York Rangers jersey.

The whole process at a blood drive – from the time you arrive until the time you leave – typically takes no more than an hour and a half. The donation itself takes only about ten minutes. After it is given, your blood donation is brought back to The American Red Cross where it is tested and separated into components. Your single donation can help as many as three people, and can be at a hospital, ready for a critically ill patient, in as little as 48 hours.

As I mentioned earlier, blood is one of many forms donations can take. Tomorrow I want to discuss a different kind of donation. That is, a donation of a used car, or another vehicle.