What do fires, hurricanes, first aid, CPR, military support, floods, veterans and much more have in common? Hint: It’s the second-best-known brand in the world behind only Coca-Cola.
If you guessed the American Red Cross, you guessed right. I’m thrilled to tell you a little about them as another “Organization We Love.”
I’ve been a volunteer for the
American Red Cross of Central Texas since 2005. I started by helping on the organization’s Marketing Committee and today I serve as Chairperson-Elect of the Board of Directors. If you’re anywhere near the Austin area, you’ve likely heard a lot about the Red Cross lately. They’ve been smack dab in the middle of responding to one of the worst wildfires in Central Texas history in Bastrop, just 45 minutes west of Austin.
As an advocate for the Red Cross, I’ve learned one of the organization’s greatest challenges: we are the best and worst known organization anywhere. Everyone knows who the Red Cross is and many people have a Red Cross story – an experience where the Red Cross has touched their life or the life of a loved one – but few people know what the Red Cross actually does. To help you understand, I’d like to share some up-to-the-minute statistics from the Red Cross response to the Bastrop wildfires, which is still underway and will continue as Bastrop begins its long-term recovery.
By the numbers
• 879 – Number of people sheltered by the Red Cross who lost their residence due to the wildfires
• 59,862 – Number of meals and snacks served to wildfire victims since the disaster began
• 1431 – Number of comfort kits (which include toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant and other hygiene items) delivered to clients
• 31,549 – Number of bulk items distributed to help clients clean their properties, such as shovels, rakes, buckets, gloves, masks, brooms, sifters (a device that allows you to sift through ash for belongings; check out this
video to see the impact this had on many clients)
• 21 – Number of Emergency Response Vehicles (lovingly called “ERVs”) deployed by the Red Cross during the disaster
• 2,163 – Number of health services contacts through which clients can attain medication, glasses and medical equipment lost in the fires as well as referrals to medical professionals
• 1,625 – Number of contacts for mental health counseling services and referrals to victims of the disasters
Fortunately, I’ve never been the victim of a disaster like a house fire, so it never occurred to me that someone whose house burned down would need a place to sleep that night and might be standing on the sidewalk in nothing but their pajamas, with no phone, no wallet and no place to turn. Fortunately, because of the Red Cross, they do have somewhere to turn and that’s why the American Red Cross of Central Texas is one of the “Organizations We Love.”