Red Cross Youth Volunteer Recognized with Community Award

(note: the following was written by Megan Pierce, an AmeriCorps member who is working as a youth adviser at our Orange County office this year)

Katherine Wu, 18, of Diamond Bar has been honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a state-level Certificate of Excellence from The 2012 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Katherine was nominated for this award by the American Red Cross- Orange County Chapter where she is the Youth Advisory Council Chair.

When asked to reflect on her role as the Youth Advisory Council Chair, Katherine revealed the following. “As the YAC Chair, I feel that it is my responsibility to guide and inspire my peers to collaboratively make our mark upon the community. I hope that I can help guide my fellow volunteers and change their lives the same way that my life has changed throughout my unforgettable experiences with the American Red Cross.”

Presented annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people across America for outstanding community service activities. More than 345,000 young people have been considered for these awards since the program’s inception in 1995, making it the nation’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service.

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There Are No Hospitals in the Mountains

Alright, so that might not be completely true, but if you’re going on any kind of wilderness trip, chances are you’ll find help is a considerable distance away, especially if you’re not near a large town.  Does that mean if someone gets a chest wound on your next backpacking trip, that person has little chance of survival?

Not if you’re trained in remote first aid.  There are skills you can learn to be prepared for many types of emergencies in the wilderness, and the Red Cross is here to empower you with those skills.  Our Wilderness and Remote First Aid class, based on the trusted experience and curriculum of the Boy Scouts of America, is designed for people ages 14 and older to learn lifesaving skills so that the next injury won’t send your entire camp home.

As a Health & Safety instructor trainer, an Eagle Scout, and an active Boy Scout leader, this is definitely one of my favorite classes to teach.  It’s interactive, engaging, and best of all, the class itself is designed for the outdoors–there are no videos.  Our region is offering three Wilderness First Aid classes this month.  Register for one today by clicking here!

For more information Wilderness First Aid, click here.

Do Away With the Flu

Haven’t been hit with the flu yet?  Well, en garde, because flu season is late this year.  California and Colorado have already been declared states with widespread flu by the CDC, and more are sure to follow.  Flu is atrociously uncomfortable, and we all know it could keep us out of service anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks.  Preparedness is part of our mission, and preparing for flu season is no exception.  We want you to stay healthy, to recover from the flu as quickly as possible, and, if you can do your best, avoid getting it in the first place!  (It would help to not spread it if you’ve got it!)  Click here for tips on braving flu season.

March is Red Cross Month!

It’s March 1st, and that means for the next 30 days, we celebrate the country’s most proliferate humanitarian organization.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt first proclaimed March as Red Cross Month in 1943 as a fundraising vehicle for supporting our volunteers during World War II.  Nearly 70 years later, we continue to support our military and their families with courtesy and dignity, provide disaster relief around the clock to all parts of the country, and collect and distribute blood for the nation’s supply.  It’s no wonder that the Red Cross is such an important part of our country, and that’s why we’re proud to tell every person in every part of our nation that we are Red Crossers, and that we’ll be there whenever you need us–in fact, it’s in our charter established by Congress 112 years ago that we continue to spread the word so that everyone knows who we are.

Whether you’re a volunteer, donor, board member, a person who’s been touched by the Red Cross, or the general public, you know that the Red Cross is here for you–and we can’t do it without the generosity of our volunteers and donors.  We appreciate your support, and we would love it if you joined us in celebrating Red Cross Month–via Twitter, Facebook, or even here on our blog.  We encourage you to donate, seek out a new volunteer, or take a disaster/first aid class.

If you feel like the only activity you’ve done with us is the New Volunteer Orientation, we have lots of help needed!  Watch your e-mail inbox this week for the Volunteer E-Update.