SAF (Service to Armed Forces) Participates In Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program

Armed Forces Day occurs annually on the third Saturday of May and celebrates  our nation's brave soldiers. To celebrate, Oregon Red Cross SAF Managers Donna Winker and Linda Jager wrote a blog post about the Oregon Red Cross' Services to Armed Forces program. We would also like to thank Donna and Linda for their tireless efforts to help local military members and their families. 

SAF Manager Donna Winkler 

During the past six months, the Oregon Red Cross' Service to Armed Forces (SAF) program, with the support of volunteers throughout the state, has participated at 10 Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program  events. This initiative, under the Department of Defense, focuses on the well-being of National Guard and Reserve members, their families and communities, by connecting them with resources throughout the deployment cycle. 

Families back home count on the American Red Cross to provide training and share resources to help them cope with the challenges of modern military life.

Reintegration during post-deployment is a critical time for members of the Guard and Reserve, as they often live far from military installations and members of their units. The Red Cross plays a critical role in outreach activities and briefing service members and their families on emergency communications, providing information and referral, info on courses and workshops, such as “Coping with Deployments” and “Reconnection Workshops,” and many other Red Cross programs that already exist.

For example, on January 5, 2013, SAF Manager Donna Winkler briefed a group of Marine pilots at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum on our “Get to Know Us Before You Need Us,” program. Other such events included a post-deployment Yellow Ribbon for the Navy. Red Cross volunteer Larry Wiedenhoft took part in a joint Yellow Ribbon event at Salishan Resort for approximately 150 Air National Guard members.

To date, our summer calendar already has another 10 events to plan for, this time extending to the southern and northeastern counties of the Oregon Region. One such event is a first-ever Yellow Ribbon event planned exclusively for 150 women military members the weekend of May 15-17 in Bend, OR. Red Cross volunteer Claudia Vangstad of Roseburg, OR, will staff the event.

We are pleased to be a part of the Red Cross SAF program, which is unwavering in its commitment to members of the US Military. Red Cross workers and volunteers use advanced communication technologies to link, through their Emergency Communications Centers,  messages to members of the military wherever in the world they happen to be.

Volunteer Spotlight - Melinda Sherrieb

Melinda (Mindy) Sherrieb, a Baker City native and long-time Red Cross volunteer, was surprised when she was honored with a state-wide Special Citation for Exceptional Volunteer Service at the American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter Awards ceremony on May 8. “Surprised! Yes, because there are just so many other exceptional volunteers. I never thought I would be selected.”

Mindy has spent her life in disaster response services, first fighting fires and now teaching others how to best operate in crisis situations. She worked for many years as a wild land firefighter for Oregon’s Department of Forestry in Klamath Falls. After so many years doing, turning to teaching just came naturally. Mindy wanted to put what she had learned to work by sharing with others. And, one of her personal mantras is to continue to develop and use the skills she’s honed throughout her life. Her mom had already laid down a trail, volunteering with Red Cross in disaster response and preparedness. This path was reinforced by another of Melinda’s strong personal beliefs. “Government can only do so much, at some point citizens need to step in and serve the community.”

For Melinda that means helping others to understand the actions needed in disaster situations and assisting them to develop the necessary response skills. Besides, she loves helping people. One of her most meaningful moments as a Red Cross Volunteer was when she learned that one of her students used the training she had received to save a life. “That was huge!”

When Mindy first volunteered her services to the Red Cross, it took a while for the organization to benefit from her potential. In the early 1980s, the Oregon Red Cross still wasn’t fully utilizing the value volunteers could bring to the party. But after a time, the tremendous wealth of talent available became obvious. And Mindy, like many others, was pressed into service. Mindy, who comes across as fairly assertive, doesn’t believe in throwing up her hands if the organization isn’t doing what is needed. Her advice to new volunteers is, “If the system isn’t giving what’s needed for you or for those we serve, step in and make the system work. She cited a delightful example of this when she was supporting the Hurricane Trina relief efforts. It seemed that no desirable accommodations could be found for a dignitary visiting from another country, who wanted to learn from the work being done by the Red Cross. “We found him a place with one of the Red Cross camps. And that is where he really needed to be!”

Let’s all join in congratulating Mindy for her award, her great contribution and especially, her years of service.

Volunteer Spotlight is a new series written by Communications Volunteer Patrick Wilson. To learn more about the series or recommend a volunteer to highlight, you can reach him at bedfordguy@live.com. 

Oregon Trail Chapter Recognizes Volunteers

Last night the Oregon Trail Chapter put all business aside to celebrate and honor some of our amazing volunteers. During the course of the evening, we ate, mingled and celebrated some major accomplishments from the past year. Volunteer awarded from the local area included:

First-Year Volunteer Award 
This award is given to new volunteers who exhibit an extraordinary level of involvement or activity in ensuring Red Cross service delivery in the communities we serve. Volunteers who receive this award demonstrate a dedication to the principles of the Red Cross Movement and the mission of the American Red Cross.

And the winners  are …

• Theresa North 
• Dean Peterson 
• Julie Woodbury 

Service Award
Program service awards recognize individuals and/or groups who have improved Red Cross services and programs through their volunteer positions. Service performance demonstrates a dedication to the principles of the International Red Cross movement and to the American Red Cross Mission Statement for the following lines of service

Youth Services - Ruhika Prasad and Grace Rebenstein

And the winners are …
Youth Services - Ruhika Prasad and Grace Rebenstein
International Services - Carl Schellenger
Disaster Services - Doug Follett
Disaster Services - Jamie Follett
Disaster Services - Tom Jellum
Disaster Services - Kris Wolfgram

The Dave Garrison White Hat Award 

White Hat Award - Bob Cozzie (with Cara Sloman)

The White Hat Award is given for “all-around good folks” who work in multiple services. These volunteers carry out diverse tasks and duties in a manner which reflects positively on the organization and helps the chapter achieve its mission. They have a willingness to work on an array of chapter services, are generally available on short notice and willing to pitch in as needed.

And the winners are …

• Adele Pelletier 
• Bob Cozzie 
• Larry Wiedenhoft 

Special Citation for Exceptional Volunteer Service 
The Special Citation for Exceptional Volunteer Service honors a volunteer whose sustained performance over a period of several years has exceeded the volunteer's original commitment to the American Red Cross. Nominees in this award category must have demonstrated exceptional performance and extensive personal commitment to a specific service or project that has contributed to the improvement or expansion of the American Red Cross services to the community.      
                 

And the winners are …

• Judi Colson 
• Kathleen Elliott 
• Cooper Herr 
• Margie Simmons 
• Erica Welch 
• Lynda Holm 
• Mindy Sherrib 

Volunteer Leadership Award
The Volunteer Leadership Award is presented to Red Cross volunteers who have sustained superior and outstanding leadership service at the local or beyond-the-unit level, with or on behalf of the American Red Cross. These awardees have demonstrated the following: 

• Consistent superior and outstanding leadership at the local or regional level which includes superior performance in meeting increasingly challenging responsibilities 
• Extraordinary commitment to the American Red Cross in the performance of their role 
• Extraordinary results in advancing the organization’s goal of achieving total diversity of our people, programs and services 

And the winners are … 

• Janet Bailey 
• Donna Winkler 
• Carol Gross 

Check out all of our photos from the event! 

Red Cross Day at the State Capitol

by Kim Elizabeth Manning, Red Cross volunteer




Ready to serve!
Upon approaching the Oregon State Capitol Building on Thursday, April 25, it was obvious that the Red Cross was up to something. On this sunny morning, two Red Cross emergency response vehicles – a mobile feeding truck and a mobile kitchen – offered coffee and snacks to members of the legislature and visitors as they entered the Capitol building. A few people thought that maybe the building was experiencing an emergency situation. Thankfully, no. Some thought we were hosting a blood drive. No, not today. Others didn’t even notice us. Until … we approached them. 




Prepping for our meetings
In teams of two, nearly 60 volunteers and staff members of Red Cross chapters throughout the state met personally with 70 state legislators – often their own representatives and senators – to talk about the American Red Cross in Oregon and the services we provide to their constituents. We explained how we help, train, and support the people in their districts.


Steve Eberlein (center) and Vince Aarts meet with Sen. Chip Shields.

We talked up our new multi-year initiative called Get Ready! Its goal is to directly increase the emergency and disaster preparedness as well as the resilience of Oregonians for major disasters, such as the Big One that many don’t want to talk about because it’s too scary to even think about. We also let them know that we support the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Committee (OSSPAC) in the Oregon Resilience Plan and how they can help strengthen the plan by addressing the other half of resiliency – the citizen component. We asked them to step up to include developing a preparedness curriculum for K-12, conducting statewide public drills, and requiring individual preparedness for local and state government employees and their families.


Nathan Keffer (left) and Tod Thayer meet with Sen. Chris Edwards.

At the end of our 15-minute meeting, we asked our representatives and senators for two things: 
· Commit to putting together a personal/family disaster preparedness kit and evacuation plan, and
· Communicate the importance of preparedness and community resiliency a priority while they are in office.

A few of the state legislators took our message of emergency and disaster preparedness right to the Senate or House floor, sharing it with their colleagues. While a few had disaster kits and evacuation plans, many did not, and told us that they were glad we met with them to remind them to do it. Some offered to post links on their websites. One encouraged us to present at his town hall meetings. Another expressed interest in joining one of the chapter board of directors. What an awesome day for the American Red Cross in Oregon! 

In the building’s West Galleria, Red Crossers interacted with people of all ages who were visiting the Capitol – discussing emergency and disaster preparedness; promoting and showing off our Red Cross apps, specifically our First Aid app; and demonstrating hands-only CPR. 


Left: Steve Sirkin demos CPR to Capitol visitor.Right: Karyn Johnson-Dagenais demonstrates how to download Red Cross apps to the Saunders family.

As a disaster relief volunteer, financial supporter, blood donor and blood services volunteer who is also trained in CPR and First Aid – all for which I am most proud – I was honored to participate in Red Cross Day at the Oregon State Capitol. What a lovely way to honor our state’s Red Cross volunteers this week, National Volunteer Week, by giving us the opportunity to serve as citizen lobbyists.  



Using teamwork - and red vests - to make our mark at the state capitol!

Special thanks to Red Cross volunteer David O'Conner for capturing the day in photos!