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Be Red Cross Ready
Before. During. After.
Red
Cross to help people prepare at Polk County Hurricane Expo 2008
Your local American Red Cross Polk County Chapter will be on
hand Saturday, June 7, when Polk County holds its annual Hurricane Expo.
Although the event will focus on severe summer storms and how to prepare for them,
Red Cross volunteers will gladly answer other questions on how to prevent home fires (the most common local disaster), how to deal with more common climate-related disasters, such as wildfires,
tornadoes, flooding, lightning storms, and medical emergencies.
The Polk County Chapter Health & Safety Department will be on hand in the Rowdy Gaines Recreation Center to provide a demonstration of the skills needed to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), First Aid and other skills that can save a life.
In a disaster or emergency, you might be first and only help someone could receive. The Red Cross can get you trainind and ready to help.
Keep a look out for the volunteers who are always ready to help during big disasters and small single-family ones, and during sunny days when you want to learn how to be ready.
To get more information on how to prepare
for thunder storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and house
fires, call your American Red Cross Polk County Chapter at (863)
294-5941
(Polk) and (863) 386-4440 (Highlands).
Click here for American Red Cross severe weather safety tips.
Click here for American Red Cross wildfire safety tips.
Prepare
a portable disaster kit in 12 steps
On
Friday, April 18, 2008, news media reported that Florida has discontinued
the tax-free holiday for hurricane supplies. With or without tax incentives, it's crucial to set up a disaster supplies kit before storms approach.
Spread out your purchases of disaster preparedness supplies over several weeks to ensure you get everything
you need, without breaking the bank.
Orlando Sentinel — Florida scraps hurricane-season sales-tax holiday
The Ledger — Budget woes kill hurricane sales-tax holiday
Bay News 9 — Legislators to skip hurricane tax holiday
Orlando Sentinel — U.S. storm experts prepare for the worst
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Your local Red Cross needs your support
American Red Cross Polk County Chapter and Highlands County Service Center head into hurricane season with
deficit from home fires
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| American Red Cross volunteers respond to an apartment complex fire in Bartow in July 2007. The fire took out power to the entire building, leaving 29 people – eight families – needing emergency shelter. The fire – one of four multiple-family fires in Polk County last summer – occurred less than five days after another apartment fire in Bartow had displaced 33 people. |
May
2, 2008 — As Florida prepares to head into hurricane season and
people begin stocking up for coming storms, there is one organization
whose resources have been seriously strained over the past year. Despite
not having a hurricane, flood, or tornado this year, the local American
Red Cross has been busy.
Local Red Cross volunteers have spent much of the last year – since July 2007 – responding to nearly double the usual number of single-family and multiple-family fires – the most common disaster Red Cross volunteers face – as well as local wildfires and some man-made disasters.
Before each disaster can happen, we prepare – our volunteers, our chapters, and most importantly, you.
You’ll never know when you need a Red Cross volunteer or someone trained with American Red Cross life-saving skills, but you’ll be thankful when someone can respond. You never know when a disaster may strike, especially those that give no warning, but you’ll be relieved Red Cross volunteers are trained and equipped to respond when called.
The American Red Cross needs your support.
Donations are down, and we must be ready to respond this season with aid for those affected by disaster and supplies to get the job done. We also need materials to train the community in disaster preparedness. Fully 91 cents of every dollar we raise locally goes to serve your local community.
Please help your Red Cross, so we can be there
to help you.
Donate.
Sign
up for Summer 2008 Babysitting Boot Camp!
 Summer
will be here soon.
What better time to learn life-saving skills and building on
the opportunity to help your community by providing child care for family, friends,
and neighbors?
The 2008 Summer Babysitting Boot Camp is
just around the corner. Now is the time to sign up. Whether you live in Polk
or Highlands
County, there is a camp serving
you. Space is limited. Sign up now.
For times, click the above link, or call (863) 294-5941 in
Polk or (863) 386-4440 in Highlands.
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Prevent
home fires
and fire-related injuries - Did you know that Polk County saw 70 people affected by home fires in March 2008 alone?
- Did you know that Highlands County has had twice as many local disaster (home fire) cases this year than last year?
- Did you know that the two counties combined have had more than 200 local disasters sine July 2007, and still have two months to go before the end of the year in June 2008?
Fires kill more Americans and affect more households each year
than all natural disasters combined.
Stay safe and well. Prepare for a home fire: Check and maintain smoke alarms,
Keep working fire extinguishers in your home and learn how to use them, and develop
and practice a home fire escape plan, so every family member can escape quickly
and safely.
Be Red Cross Ready
Read about Fire
Prevention Week (October 2007).
Listen to Sara
Evans and Patti
LaBelle talk about home fire prevention. CLICK
BELOW to tell
family you are 'Safe and Well'
If
you make one call to family before, during, or after a disaster, have
them register you on the American Red Cross "Safe and Well" web site: disastersafe.redcross.org. Click the graphic above to visit the site
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 News Blog:
Helen
Aigner receives 2008 Hulda Glass Award
Libby King named first 'Red Cross Angel'
MAY 7, 2008 — Helen Aigner, a dedicated hospital volunteer with the American Red Cross
Polk County Chapter, received the 2008 Hulda Glass Award at the Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition on Wednesday, May 7.
Along with Aigner, volunteer Libby King received a special award — the first ever Red Cross Angel award — for going above and beyond in helping
so many different departments with their various projects and needs throughout the year.
Other volunteers honored Wednesday included Betty Barber as the 2008 Hospital Volunteer of the Year, Daphne Gray as the 2008 Emergency Services Volunteer of the Year, and David McNamara as the 2008 Health and Safety Volunteer of the Year.
Read more....
News Chief — Awards come as Polk chapter faces lean times
News Chief — Helen Aigner, others honored for dedication
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Red Cross helps Lakeland family of 7
LAKELAND ( MAY 1, 2008) — Late Thursday night, fire damaged the home of a family of seven in Lakeland, but American Red Cross volunteers were on scene to provide help.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter’s Disaster Action Team received word that a family was in need at 11:15 p.m. Thursday, May 1. They responded to a home on Old South Drive in Lakeland and found a house that had been damaged and had the power shut off as the result of a fire.
Volunteers provided the two adults and five children with temporary shelter and emergency assistance for groceries. The Polk County Chapter follows up with families, especially after late-night calls, to make sure all of their immediate emergency needs are met. The Chapter also works with United Way of Central Florida partner agencies to refer people for other types of assistance, if needed.
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Thanks, Jewett Middle Academy
School
honor society donates to Polk Red Cross
MAY 1, 2008 — Once again, the students, faculty, and staff at Jewett Middle Academy in Winter Haven
have shown their generosity by raising funds to donater to their local American Red Cross.
On Thursday, students with the school's National Junior Honor Society presented a donation to Libby King, past board member and long-time volunteer with the Red Cross.
“Starting out by giving at such an early age is a good thing,” King said. “It ensures that you are building a better future.”
Students at the school have raised funds for the local American Red Cross since the 2005 hurricane season. King said they started before then, gathering toys, diapers, and clothing for young children in shelters when a trio of hurricanes visited the area in 2004.
Read more...
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Read more news items
in our Archives.
Be Red
Cross Ready
CLICK ABOVE
to Be Red Cross Ready for any disaster: Tornado, Hurricane, Earthquake,
Tsunami, Wildfire, Flood, or a House Fire. |
Save the Date!
Polk County Hurricane Expo
June 7, 2008
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Orange Dome, Winter Haven
Don't Wait...Anticipate!
Free
CPR Demo Class
at 2008 Polk County Hurricane Expo!
Get
American Red Cross CPR & First Aid training
Can you provide first aid if needed?
Would you know what to do?
Learn
now.
American Red Cross Polk County Chapter Health & Safety
Department
— (863) 294-5941 or visit the main office
at 147 Ave. A, NW, Winter Haven.
Highlands County Service Center
— (863)
386-4440, or visit 106 Medical Center Drive in Sebring.
See our course listings
Get American Red Cross
Water Safety Training
Learn water safety
before summer!
Classes are available in May
at Florida Southern College.
Lifeguarding
9 a.m. - 8 p.m.; May 3 & 4; 10 &11
Water Safety Instructor
9 a.m.-5 p.m.; May 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, & 19
Call Michelle Thompson at (863) 680-4244
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Do you donate? 
Nationally,
the American Red Cross collects 50 percent of the nation's blood supply.
In Florida, most local chapters do not collect blood, but they work with local blood banks to promote blood drives and ensure blood supplies stay intact in case of disaster.
Three local blood banks operate in the areas covered by the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter and Highlands County Service Center. For information or schedules contact your local blood bank.
And if you are able, please give.
BloodNet Lakeland/west
Polk
Florida's Blood Centers Highlands
Blood Banks of Mid-Florida Medical Services Winter
Haven/east Polk
Ride for the Red
Need gear? Get it here!
If you didn't get it on the last Ride, order a Ride for the Red T-shirt, Lapel Pin, or Kick Stand Coaster HERE!
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A
Red Cross Moment
'The Best Cup of Coffee I Ever Had'
Allan Richards of Auburndale recalls
Red Cross coffee on a cold morning after the 1997 flood in North
Dakota
Read
on....
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Severe
Weather Information
Florida' s Hazardous Weather Outlook
Learn more at WFLA News Channel
8 (Feb. 13, 2008) — National Weather
Service watching storms
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Homeland
Security Advisory System
Since March 2002,
the United States has lived under one of five levels of possible
terrorist threat. To answer citizens' questions about what
each one means, the
American
Red Cross
has developed
a set of guidelines:
Download
a free copy of Adobe Reader to view
 PDF files on
our web site.
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Beware
of scams
Military Casualty Phone Scam
Scenario:
A person calls a military spouse, claims to be with the Red
Cross, states that
the spouse's husband/wife was hurt on duty overseas and, can't be treated without
proper paperwork.
The caller then asks for the military member's social security number and
date of birth.
The Red Cross does not report casualty information to military families.
The
Department of Defense contacts families directly if a military member has been
wounded. Should any military family receive such a call, they should report it
to their local Family Readiness Group or Military Personnel Flight.
Read
more...
News
Coverage:
News
Channel 8 Tampa - Military Scams
E-mail
Fundraising Scam
Scenario: An email
claims
that the Red Cross, in collaboration with the Romania Government,
is asking for donations to help the people in Tecuci, Romania,
and asks
you to make a wire transfer of over $100 to a bank account
in Romania; or for donations under $100 to use a
Pay Pal
account addressed
as redcross@representative.com.
This is an email scamusing the American Red
Cross brand. The American Red Cross does not advertise for donations to be sent
to a Romanian Bank account.
If you received this email, treat it with caution. To avoid
becoming a victim of fraud, do not forward any personal information in response
to unsolicited and suspicious emails. .
Read
more...
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Since 1881, the American
Red Cross has served 125 years, helping people who have
suffered from warfare, natural disasters, or emergencies.
Learn more about our History at
our National Web site -- www.redcross.org.
Learn about your local American Red Cross chapter through our publications and related articles:
Annual Reports (pdf):
2005-2006
Annual Report
2006-2007
Annual Report
Newsletters
(pdf):
Highlands
County Jan. 2007
Polk
County Jan. 2007
Highlands
County May 2007
Polk
County May 2007
Highlands County Sept. 2007
Polk County Sept. 2007
Highlands County Jan. 2008
Polk County Jan. 2008
Download a
free copy of Adobe Reader to view
PDF files on
our web site.
Non-Profit News (Blog Entry 35):
American Red Cross, Polk County style
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Show your support for the American Red Cross everywhere you go.
Visit your Florida
Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles office or your local
Tax Collector's Office to register your vehicle with an official American
Red Cross supporter tag.
 Legacy
Society members
help ensure the future financial stability of this chapter. To find
out how you can become a Legacy Society member,
please call our Gift Planning Officer Ken
Fagan, toll-free, at 866-262-2755.
Send
Direct Local Donations to:
Polk County Chapter
147
Avenue A, NW,
Winter
Haven , FL 33881
(863) 294-5941 |
Highlands
County Service Center
106
Medical Center Avenue
Sebring,
FL 33870
(863) 386-4440 |
Credit
Cards (please call the numbers listed above):
When
calling, please give your name; address; phone number; credit card
type, credit card number, and expiration date; and please specify
whether you want funds to support the Polk County Chapter, the Highlands County
Red Cross, or the National American Red Cross Disaster Fund.
The
Polk County Chapter is one of four
in the Mid-Florida
Region, which also includes:
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If you can't find what you need,
please e-mail us.
Your input is welcome. |
Florida
is known for hurricanes, but wildfires, floods, and tornados
strike far more often. Home fires are the most common disaster. Learn how to
keep your
family safe and secure by making and practicing disaster plans.
Your
Family Disaster Plan
Your
Family Disaster Supplies Kit
Emergency
Preparedness Checklist
Food & Water
During an Emergency
Download a
free copy of Adobe Reader to view
PDF
files on our web site. Is your neighborhood Disaster
Resistant?
Contact American
Red Cross Emergency Services to schedule a free presentation: (863) 294-5941.
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