My Summer with the American Red Cross

Written by: Reed Mszar, intern

Over the course of the past three months, I have had the distinct pleasure to meet many hardworking and caring people, gain valuable work experience in the nonprofit and public health sectors, learn how to effectively communicate with the masses through a wide range of media sites, and, most importantly, to make a difference in the community in which I was born and raised. Over the course of the past three months, I have had the distinct pleasure to intern with the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region.

Interning with the American Red Cross has provided me with important insight on what goes on behind the scenes everyday. Beyond drawing your blood several times per year, the Red Cross is also responsible for the following:

• responding to thousands of disasters including floods and home fires
• providing safety courses such as CPR, First Aid, and Lifeguard training
• serving as the largest single supplier of blood and carrying out critical biomedical research
• serving the brave men and women of the armed forces and their families, and
• engaging in the world’s largest humanitarian network

1st Annual Red Cross Giving Day

My first day as an intern was certainly one to remember. It was the first annual Red Cross Giving Day- twenty-four hours devoted to seeking financial support so the Red Cross can continue to do what they do best- help those in need. I recall arriving at the Fairfax, VA office and making my way down to the Regional Disaster Coordination Center (RDCC), which, in a way, reminded me of NASA’s mission control center in Houston, TX. Instead of huge screens displaying neighboring planets and pictures of orbiting satellites hung on the walls, there were monitors mapping out the Washington Metropolitan area and diagrams of different disaster response vehicles ready to be used at a moment’s notice. I will never forget walking into the RDCC for the first time that day and seeing so many energetic and welcoming people wearing the symbolic Red Cross red. It was quite a rewarding experience taking part in this annual day of giving. This year, the American Red Cross raised over $2 million from thousands of generous donors. I feel extremely fortunate to have helped make this year’s Giving Day a successful one, working alongside a group of passionate and dedicated volunteers and staff.

I also had the chance to attend the Annual Meeting at the Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington D.C. The meeting took place in one of the most exquisite rooms I have ever seen - the Board of Governors Hall (complete with some of the largest Tiffany stained glass windows). The conference included an inspirational panel of community leaders, remarks from the regional Chief Executive Officer, Linda Mathes, and the recognition of several worthy volunteers.

Part of my responsibilities as a Marketing and Community Outreach Intern included updating and helping to facilitate the different online outlets for Red Cross-related communications. Through my work, I learned the importance of being clear and concise to reach and engage with a larger audience. Although I had a general sense of what my role would be before the summer began, I never imagined having the opportunity to write Red Cross articles covering such a range of subject matters. Being a biochemistry major on the pre-med track, I already knew that I was stepping out of my comfort zone. So in order to be the most efficient volunteer intern as I could, I gladly took initiative researching matters previously foreign to me. These articles covered subjects ranging from World Refugee Day events in the Nation’s capital to the Ready 365 Giving Program, a mid-level corporate program designed to standardize the rights and benefits for regional business seeking to deepen their relationship with the Red Cross. I am extremely confident in saying that I have learned a great deal about the American Red Cross and their altruistic work in the community through writing these articles and researching each topic in detail. I have, without a doubt in my mind, gained a deeper sense of appreciation and respect for all that they do.

Annual Meeting - Board of Governors Hall

The ability to engage with people in the community alongside a team of passionate members of the Red Cross family has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had this summer. Packing community engagement resources to be sent out to the local chapters spanning D.C., Maryland, and Virginia has given me a new perspective and appreciation for all the behind-the-scenes efforts of the Red Cross. The experience I have gained and the skills I have acquired from writing press releases, researching content for blog articles, scheduling promotions through different social media outlets, summarizing volunteer testimonials, organizing community outreach resources, and covering Red Cross events will help me considerably in my future endeavors. However, it is the connections I have made, the caring people who I have met, and the heart-wrenching stories I have heard that I will cherish the most. I look forward to continue volunteering with the Red Cross family and embodying its mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering at home and abroad.

If you would like to give back to your community, there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer with the American Red Cross as outlined above. Find your local Red Cross chapter and lend a helping hand today. Everyone has the power to help save a life and make a difference.

Corporate Giving in Your Nation's Capital: An Inside Look at the American Red Cross Ready 365 Giving Program

Written by: Reed Mszar, volunteer

The American Red Cross Ready 365 Giving Program is targeted to local corporations seeking to provide financial support to the Red Cross in the $25,000 - $75,000 (mid-level) giving range. Ready 365, not only standardizes the rights and benefits for corporate donors of the Red Cross, but it also highlights two valuable principles. The first is that in order to make a significant difference in the community, a certain level of give-and-take is necessary. The giving program helps bring in financial support from local businesses for the Red Cross to use when responding to local disasters like floods and home fires and also provides the same corporations and foundations an opportunity to gain a valued relationship with the Red Cross brand and thus, enhance their reputation in the community. Depending on the company’s giving level, ranging from Bronze all the way to Platinum, they will also be recognized in front of other Red Cross supporters.

The second ideal that Ready 365 embodies is that no matter who you are or where you live, you can help your community and those in need. Prior to Ready 365, there was no consistent framework for annual corporate giving at the mid-level giving range specified above. This inevitably led to a great deal of variation in mid-level giving programs among different Red Cross chapters across the country. It is expected that not all businesses who wish to support the efforts of the American Red Cross can give to the same degree as others. Ready 365 takes this fact into consideration as the benefits of joining the program are flexible based on the market size of the region in which the company is located and the capacity at which they can give. Regardless of how big or small a corporation is, there are now clear guidelines on how they can best maximize their gifts to their local American Red Cross.

The most recent company to join Ready 365 in the National Capital Region is Host Hotels and Resorts in Bethesda, Maryland. Without companies like Host Hotels and Resorts, we at the Red Cross would not have been able to respond to over 477 local disasters and teach 54,728 people lifesaving skills in an array of classes in the past year. Ready 365 provides the American Red Cross the flexibility to apply the gifts where the need is greatest.

Companies and foundations who choose to join Ready 365 and develop a valuable relationship with the Red Cross will have the opportunity to enhance their existing reputation, deepen relationships within their community, generate donations to give back to vital markets, and have their gifts highlighted through high-traffic communication channels. A variety of specific benefits are also outlined in the local benefits matrix depending on a company’s particular giving level.

Ready 365 certainly has the potential to build stable and lasting relationships between the American Red Cross and regional business looking to make a difference in the lives of many every day.

After a house fire, rebuilding memories -- one T-shirt at a time

Written by Adrienne Mitchell, volunteer

On Tuesday, May 14, Deborah Strom was making dinner at her home in in Manassas, Virginia.

She was just about to call sons Eric, 15, and Ryan, 14, down to dinner when the smoke detector went off. There was a fire on the second floor.

Deborah called 911. Her husband, Ross, grabbed a garden hose and tried unsuccessfully to put out the flames.

Minutes later, they were standing in the driveway, watching as firefighters rolled out their hoses. One fell on his back as he ran backwards, battling to save their home.

They watched through the window, hearts breaking, as Eric’s pet -- a bearded dragon lizard -- died, trapped in its glass tank.

“The smoke was billowing everywhere,” says Deborah. After a while, “I had to step behind the fire trucks so I couldn’t watch,” she adds. 

By the time the flames were extinguished, Eric’s room was destroyed, and there was smoke and water damage throughout the second floor.

It’s a scene that’s repeated all too often. Every eight minutes in America, the Red Cross responds to a house fire.

Two Red Cross volunteers arrived at around nine o’clock that evening, about three hours after the fire broke out.

It was getting dark. A neighbor offered to let the Stroms meet with the volunteers in their home across the street.

They wouldn’t be able to spend the night in their own home, so the volunteers delivered toiletry bags and blankets, and asked if they needed help finding a place to stay.

They also talked about some things Deborah says she might not have thought of, like putting cable service on hold and arranging for the school bus to pick the kids up from a hotel.

It will be months before the Stroms are able to sleep in their own beds again. Now living in a hotel, they await the results of the fire investigation, and take stock of their losses.

One of the most precious things the fire took was Eric’s collection of old T-shirts. While not valuable financially, they’re irreplaceable because of the memories they hold.

A military family, the Stroms have moved three times in the past decade. The collection included one shirt from each of the schools Eric has attended and several more, a few dozen in all.

Deborah intended to make a memory quilt with them as she had done for her older son, Andrew. “It’s nice to have a large stack of them to pick out colors and designs,” she says.

She’s working on replacing them; some of the schools are sending new ones. And she’ll have one more to add to the collection -- a Red Cross T-shirt is on its way to the family.

It will join the replacement shirts in Eric’s quilt. It will be “kind of cool to put it in the quilt when I make it,” says Deborah. “It represents the T-shirts we lost,” she says.

As she works to move on from her loss, Deborah has this advice for people who may know someone affected by a house fire. “Everyone keeps asking what we need. But, living in a hotel, we don’t want a lot of stuff,” she says.

She suggests gift cards. They don’t take up a lot of space, and the family can use them to buy what they need.

Another welcome gift: an invitation to dinner, or a home-cooked meal like the one that one of her employees brought in to work for her. After weeks of eating in restaurants, Deborah says her family would really enjoy some home cooking.

“A year from now, she says, we’re all going to be fine, but the next few months are going to be difficult.” Until then, she says, she’s learning to accept help from people, and “take things one day at a time.”

Disasters Never Take Holidays- Manassas Building Collapse

Disasters Never Take Holidays

Manassas Building Collapse

Written by: Sara Cook, volunteer

On Valentine's Day this year, many couples in the area stayed in for the night due to high winds and a snow squall.  For those living on Battle Street in Manassass VA, it was not the quiet night a couple expects when they choose to stay in for the holiday.

A portion of a building collapsed due to the extremely high winds. Residents heard a loud rumbling they thought was either a nearby train or thunder. Shortly after, fire trucks arrived to help evacuate residents of six nearby apartments.

The next day residents returned to gather belongings and make plans for recovery. The Fire Department assessed damages and the Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) was called to help the residents manage their displacement. Five DAT volunteers setup in the command center the Emergency Responders had arranged. DAT also brought in an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) to help serve lunches and drinks to all of the responders and residents.

In total, 9 people were displaced from 6 apartments. DAT maintains the privacy of our clients, speaking with each household individually. As each case was addressed, clients were supplied with Comfort Kits as their need for lodging and financial supplement was evaluated and supplied.

Soon, all of the clients were making their way to stay with family or to a hotel provided by The Red Cross. As the crowd thinned out, the DAT team made sure the emergency responders were also taken care of since most of them had been on the scene for their entire shift. Before departing, the Red Cross cleaned up and left enough supplies to last the remainder of the day.

We're always looking for great volunteers willing to be on-call a few days a month to join DAT. To join, get started at RedCross.org/Volunteer. Or browse other ways to help support those affected by everyday disasters at redcross.org/support. 

See more of Sara Cook’s photos.