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Tag: American Red Cross

  • Ripon Fire Forces 26 People to Leave Apartments

    A downtown Ripon fire erupted on Watson Street in the early morning of Wednesday that destroyed three businesses and burned through apartments impacting 26 people.

    Ripon District Fire Chief Tim Saul spoke about the fire. “It was too far ahead of us to put our guys in there and knowing everyone was out that was the mode we took. We were flowing over 5,800 gallons a minute at one point and we had to go to different fire hydrants to be able to supply all those ladder trucks that were flowing water, we couldn’t flow all that off of one hydrant,” Saul said.

    Firefighters worked through harsh conditions of snow and wind. Ripon District Assistant Fire Chief Lee Jess explained the dangers firefighters overcame while working in 11 degrees. “Very difficult today. The cold, wind, the ice, people slipping, falling, a lot of things like that, that just make it hard to do our job,” Jess said.

    According to Christopher Luvian, “I get up and I go to the door and there is a police officer and he’s saying to get out of our apartment that there is a fire next door. We don’t know how bad it is yet, but we pretty much lost our whole apartment. God works in mysterious ways and this can be a blessing in disguise because while we lost stuff as long as my wife and kids are alright we can’t complain too bad.”

    Tita Amiti, who works for Kristina’s Family Restaurant, received a phone call early in the morning. “It’s a scary situation where you don’t know what’s going on when you get a phone call at 5:15 a.m.,” Amiti said.

    The Ripon Chamber of Commerce is collecting donations such as plates, dishes, can openers, bedding, and feminine products to assist families affected by the fire. For a complete list of needed donations, click here.

    [Image Via NDN]

  • Apple Makes $2.5 Million Donation to American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy Relief

    As many Americans are still struggling to fully recover, or in some cases start to recover, from the devastating storm that hit the east coast a couple of weeks ago, Apple has made a pledge to one of the leading relief organizations for the cause.

    9to5Mac reports that Apple has donated $2.5 million to the American Red Cross for the Hurricane Sandy relief effort.

    Here’s what Apple CEO Tim Cook had to say in an email to employees:

    For the past week, our thoughts have been with those affected by Hurricane Sandy an its aftermath. and Apple employees and customers the world over have raised million of dollars toward the relief effort so far. But we can always do more.

    That’s why, on behalf of all our employees, Apple is making a donation of $2.5 million to the American Red Cross to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief. We hope this contribution will help families, businesses, and communities recover and rebuild.

    The millions of dollars already raised part refers to Apple’s previous effort to help by installing a donations gateway on the iTunes homepage, which they did a few days after the storm hit.

    According to the American Red Cross, they have dispatched over 5,900 workers all along the east coast to help with the recovery. They say that they have hosted 61,000 people in overnight shelters and served 3.2 million meals and snacks to those affected. They’ve also donated more the 121,000 other items like hygiene kits.

    If you want to make a donation directly to the Red Cross, you can do so here.

    [Image via American Red Cross]

  • EXCLUSIVE: Craig Newmark Gives Update On #perfectgift Campaign

    Earlier this month, we did a story about a campaign launched by Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, to raise money for the American Red Cross. To recap: for every post on Twitter and Facebook describing the perfect gift (using the hashtag #perfectgift), Newmark will donate $1 to the American Red Cross up to $10,000.

    I contacted Newmark about some of the details of this donation drive and why he feels its an important cause (other than the obvious reasons). As for his primary motivator for the #perfectgift campaign, Newmark explained, “People everywhere need a hand and I want to help. One great way to do that is to support very effective, boots-on-the-ground groups like the Red Cross.” The cause couldn’t have a more noble mission as the money will go towards purchasing comfort kits for members of the military.

    The fundraiser runs throughout the month of December, but as of the middle of this month Newmark says they’ve tracked 1,741 tweets and 200 Facebook comments so far about the #perfectgift. Roughly equating $2K raised so far, that’s not a bad sum at all.

    To help get out the word about the campaign and to explain a little more about the donations, Newmark headed over to the American Red Cross to chat with Gail McGovern, president and CEO of American Red Cross, about #perfectgift:

    As I said, the campaign is active throughout the rest of the month so there is still time to contribute to #perfectgift on Twitter and Facebook. Seriously, it couldn’t be easier: just tweet or comment what you think the perfect gift is, tag it with #perfectgift, and another dollar goes to the American Red Cross.

  • Twitter And Facebook Playing Bigger Role In Disasters

    More Internet users are turning to social media to get help for themselves or others during emergencies, according to a new survey from the American Red Cross.

    The survey found if people needed help and could not reach 9-1-1, one in five would try to contact responders via email, websites or social media. If Internet users knew of someone else who needed help, 44 percent would ask other people in their social network to contact authorities, 35 percent would post a request for help directly on a response agency’s Facebook page and 28 percent would send a Twitter message to responders.

    Gail-McGovern "The first and best choice for anyone in an emergency situation is to call 9-1-1," said Gail McGovern, American Red Cross president and CEO.

    "But when phone lines are down or the 9-1-1 system is overwhelmed, we know that people will be persistent in their quest for help and use social media for that purpose."

    More than two-thirds (69%) of Internet users said that emergency responders should be monitoring social media sites to send help quickly and nearly half believe a response agency is probably already responding to any urgent requests.

    "The social web is creating a fundamental shift in disaster response-one that will ask emergency managers, government agencies and aid organizations to mix time-honored expertise with real-time input from the public," McGovern said. "We need to work together to better respond to that shift."

    The Red Cross survey also found among Internet users, social media sites are the fourth most popular source for emergency information, behind television news, radio and online news sites. More Internet users say they get their emergency information from social media than from a NOAA weather radio, government websites or an emergency text message system. One in five social media users also report posting eyewitness accounts of emergency events to their accounts.
     

  • American Red Cross Launches Social, “Go-To” Blood Site

    The American Red Cross has partnered with BusinessOnline to launch a new site for the American Red Cross at redcrossblood.org, aimed at ramping up blood donations across the country. The organization hopes the site along with some social interaction will do just that.

    "One social media element of the new Red Cross blood donor site is the ‘Blood Donor Community’ page, which enables donors and volunteers to share personal stories and encouragement of their experiences on donating blood, along with enabling them to send e-cards, link up via Facebook and view Red Cross videos," a representative tells WebProNews.

    "Another social media element to the site is users can participate in ‘virtual blood drives.’ For example –  Michigan State Alums (spread around the country) can go to their local blood centers and donate – receiving credit for their virtual group," she adds.

    There are also links to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube presences.

    American Red Cross Launches New Blood Donor Site - RedCrossBlood.org

    In addition to increasing blood donation, other objectives for the site include reducing costs related to site maintenance, and delivering a "world-class user experience." Previously, the Red Cross had over 30 different "Blood Region" sites with varying styles and content, but with this new site, they are all brought together.

    "BusinessOnLine has done an outstanding job of creating an intuitive, user-friendly site which we expect to meet or surpass our business objectives.  Their end-user focused approach allowed us to put our resources where they mattered most," said Greg Haines, online marketing manager for American Red Cross Biomedical Services.

    The American Red Cross considers the site the "go-to" solution for anyone wishing to engage with Red Cross Biomedical Services online. That goes fro blood donors, as well as volunteers and hospitals.

  • Twitter Helping Haiti Earthquake Victims

    Twitter Helping Haiti Earthquake Victims

    Haiti earthquake Twitter updates are helping people keep informed about what is going on in the country as well as providing information on ways to make donations.

    The American Red Cross said on Twitter that it had already received nearly $3 million for earthquake relief in Haiti. People can help by texting "Haiti" to 90999 and making a $10 donation. The Red Cross also said it is pledging $10 million in aid.

    American-Red-Cross

    Doctors Without Borders said on Twitter that it has 800 staff on the ground in Haiti with 70 more on the way.

    "WE NEED HELPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!," was one of the first tweets sent by popular Haitian TV and radio host  Carel Pedre.

    His last Twitter update read "Getting Some Rest! I had only 1h of sleep since monday morning. Today Will be A Better Day! Let’s Keep Hope and Faith! #haiti pap peri."

    Twitter users  provided links for Americans with family in Haiti telling them to contact the U.S. State Department Operations Center at 1-888-407-4747. Twitters users also said people could post pictures of those missing on the Haiti Missing People Board and on The Earthquake Haiti Facebook group.

     

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