A Year of Service at the Central Texas Red Cross

Two AmeriCorps VISTAs came to our Austin, TX chapter in July of 2012 to begin a year of service giving back to their country to alleviate poverty. As their years come to a close, here are their thoughts about the experience.

Krista Nielsen, development

Being a VISTA in development at the Red Cross has been a truly humbling experience. I am a brand new Texan and I have been blessed to get to know the people here. This community is generous, compassionate and any time a disaster has struck will light up our phone lines wanting to give their time, collect food, give every last dollar they have and even let disaster victims stay in their homes. Through Hurricane Sandy this fall, apartments fires over the winter and the recent explosion in West it has really touched me to see how everyone around me has responded and wanted to be involved in helping in some way.

My AmeriCorps year has been about hard work to reinforce and build the capacity of our organization, community outreach and public relations, service to people who have lost everything in a disaster and helping be prepared for the next. Being a VISTA is something unique. It lets you love the work for the work’s sake, and the longer I’ve worked at the Red Cross the more I believe in the mission.

Victoria Goldfedib, Service to Armed Forces

A life-long passion for volunteer work and community service called me from my home in New York City, the capital of the world, to the capital of Texas, Austin. Throughout my year of service, I have helped hundreds of service members and veterans in times of crisis. One day, I received a frantic phone call from a service member’s wife, who was on a Skype call with her husband deployed overseas. They had just found out one of his close family members was critically ill. She placed the call on mute and told me that she did not think the family member had much time left, but did not want her husband to know at this time. I calmly explained the process for creating an Emergency Communications Message, and the information necessary for verification. She thanked me and called the Service to the Armed Forces Call Center. Several days later, I saw their case pop up in our regional queue. I called the service member’s wife to conduct follow-up and to find out if her husband was able to come home. Immediately, she recognized my voice, and told me that not only was he granted emergency leave, but he came home just before the family member passed away. The service member’s wife thanked the American Red Cross for assisting and giving her husband the opportunity to say goodbye to his family member while he was deployed.

Although bittersweet, this moment made me realize that what we do as AmeriCorps VISTAs is truly vital and necessary. Whether it is providing a homeless veteran with a bus pass so that they can travel  to the local VA facility, or assisting a service member and their family in a crisis, AmeriCorps VISTAs are truly Volunteers in Service To America.

If you are interested in giving back to your community, two year-long VISTA positions are available starting this summer – one begins in July and one begins in August. If you have questions about these positions or would like to learn more please get in touch with Cheryl Sawyer, Director of Community Resource Development and VISTA Project Director at 512-471-6173, or email at cheryls@austin.utexas.edu.

The Central Texas Red Cross Responds to the Explosion and Fire in West, Texas

West, Texas, a small town about 20 miles north of Waco, was hit by a devastating explosion just before 8:00 last night, and the Central Texas Region of the American Red Cross immediately got to work to take care of the people affected by that disaster.

The Heart of Texas (HoT) Chapter, headquartered in Waco, has responsibility for the West area, so they were the first Red Cross responders on the scene.  That Chapter is a member of the Central Texas Region of the American Red Cross, and the regional office has been working to support the HoT Chapter ever since the call came in.  The regional office is located in Austin with the office of the Central Texas Chapter, the headquarters chapter for the region.

The fenced “cage” where the Central Texas Chapter keeps our emergency vehicles is looking pretty empty this morning.  Our Emergency Response Vehicle (which we call ERV) has left to distribute food and water, both to the people affected by the disaster and to the first responders at the disaster site.  All but one of our chapter’s trucks and vans have headed up to West, as well, carrying responders from Austin to help those from Waco.

Building ‘B’, which has the disaster response offices and classrooms in Austin, is also a lot emptier than usual – most of the people from there used those chapter-owned vehicles to drive to West.  The only people left in Building B are client casework and volunteer services staff.  (Client casework is involved with monitoring and accounting for the aid we give those affected by disasters, and volunteer services are the ones who’ll help you become a trained Red Cross volunteer.)

As always in situation like this, the generosity of the people of central Texas has been amazing.  Here at regional headquarters, the phones have been ringing nearly continuously with calls from people who want to help.  They are offering donations of all kinds – financial donations, in-kind donations, and even donations of blood.

If you’d like to make a financial donation to the Red Cross, then go to http://www.redcross.org/tx/austin/ways-to-donate on the Central Texas web site.  If you want to help the people in West in some other way, then go to our web site, http://www.RedCross.org/tx/austin, and click on “Disaster FAQs” on the home page.  You’ll be taken to a page where you can access a list of organizations that will be glad to accept whatever aid you can give in this disaster.

Another way to help our neighbors affected by disasters is to give your time – become a Red Cross volunteer.  The Volunteer Services Manager told me that we’ve had over 100 people offering to volunteer, just today.  We love our volunteers! – but we can’t accept “spontaneous” volunteers for disasters like this.  We want to make sure volunteers are trained for the jobs they’ll do when they respond to a disaster.  If you want to help in disasters like this in the future, though, then go to http://www.redcross.org/tx/austin/volunteer/application and fill out an application to become a Red Cross volunteer.

-by Tom Davis, Volunteer

Luminaria 2013 honors Central Texas heroes, features fantastic auction packages.

Luminaria 2013 is next Friday! Join us as we celebrate the many ways the American Red Cross brings comfort and hope – and light – to our community. This event will honor three Central Texas heroes while guests enjoy cocktails, food and live entertainment in a swanky downtown setting. Additionally, there are also several fabulous silent auction packages donated by some of our generous sponsors. 

Here are just a few of the many fantastic things you can bid on - 

• 2-day tasting passes to the Austin Food and Wine Festival, donated by C3 Presents. Savor the experience of this annual festival with two passes that include access to 40+ cooking demos & wine seminars, Saturday & Sunday grand tastings, a one year subscription to FOOD & WINE Magazine and additional tastings and demos at The Tasting Room.  These passes are valued at $500.

• A pair of round brilliant cut diamond studs. These sparkling earrings, donated by EZCORP, each weigh approximately 0.64 carat are mounted in a four prong 14 karat white gold open basket with a threaded post and ear nut for comfort and security.  The Brilliant Cut Diamonds are I1 in clarity and G-I in color. The estimated replacement value is $4,900, and an appraisal is included.

• Four tickets to Circuit of the Americas. Indulge friends or family in a day of fast cars and fantastic views of the Qualifiers for the 2013 Formula One Race on Saturday, November 16.  Located in the Main Grandstand, these seats are covered with a direct view into the pits and access to a VIP Lounge. The set of tickets, donated by Pierpont Communcations, Inc., is valued at $2,000.

• A Rocky Mountain Vacation Home. Enjoy a week in beautiful Beaver Creek, Colorado. Beaver Creek is situated along the gorgeous White River National Forest and offers all the amenities and activities you and your family could want. This mountain condo, donated by Kevin Terrazas, can sleep four adults and one child, and features include three hot tubs, a heated outdoor pool, complementary shuttle to ski at Beaver Creek Resort and access to nearby golf, rafting, snowmobiling and other activities depending on the season. 

Join your American Red Cross of Central Texas at the W Hotel on April 5th to participate in an evening that will raise awareness and funds to support our mission! Individual tickets are available here, or by contacting Sinclair Fleetwood at 512-929-1251. 

Disaster drill builds community strength and resiliency.

Earlier this month the Central Texas Red Cross chapter hosted twenty Red Cross volunteers and staff as well as six Travis County Amateur Radio Emergency Services team members for a disaster assessment exercise. Disaster drills help our Disaster Action Team practice responding to natural disasters, and are critical in helping our community be prepared for a variety of situations when disaster strikes.

The morning of Saturday March 2, 58 pictures of damaged homes were placed throughout the Mueller Development to act as a neighborhood affected by disaster. Five Disaster Action Teams, made up of both new and experienced volunteers, spread throughout Mueller to evaluate the “damaged” homes and report back to the ARES team at the Disaster Operations Center located at the chapter. In total, the teams completed 271 evaluations in three hours. Along with the evaluations, the teams also were tasked with six different challenges and had to determine how their team would respond and what actions they would take.

Along with evaluations, the teams also drilled in various communications scenarios with the ARES radio operators – crucial practice for communicating critical data quickly and efficiently. The three hour long drill was covered by KEYE-TV and included in the 10 pm news.

There were 11 new Disaster Action volunteers who got some great experience, both with hands on training and interaction with seasoned Disaster Action teammates. These drills are so important because they help our Red Cross volunteers be skilled and adept in responding to disasters, help strengthen our community partnerships as well as help our Central Texas community be resilient!

Our Central Texas Red Cross Disaster Action Team

If you are interested in joining a Disaster Action team please give us a call at 512-928-4271. We would love to hear from you!

Amplify Austin shows off Austin’s philanthropic spirit.

From 7 p.m. March 4th to 7 p.m. March 5th, Austinites were challenged to raise $1,000,000 for nonprofits in our city. They truly showed how generous Central Texans can be, racing past the goal and ending up with close to $2,800,000!

With #AmplifyATX trending on Twitter and nonprofits interacting with donors on Facebook, the online campaign appealed to Austin’s social media savvy and was defying expectations as soon as it began – after only an hour, almost $210,000 had been donated. It was so successful that I Live Here, I Give Here – the group that spearheaded the Amplify Austin campaign – plans to make it an annual event.

The American Red Cross of Central Texas participated in this challenge along with close to 300 other nonprofits. We are thrilled that 54 people raised $4,815 for our organization in just twenty-four hours. Amplify Austin was a huge success and demonstrates how caring, compassionate and generous our community is. Check out the results here.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in Amplify Austin from your Red Cross chapter! Your donations truly make a difference.

Austin teen chooses donations over birthday gifts

Working at the Red Cross I have had the opportunity to hear some remarkable stories. One of these involves a very special young woman who turned her birthday party into a fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy relief. Tori Pylypec just turned 14 and invited her friends to donate to the Red Cross instead of buying gifts. Here is what she had to say about why she decided to not receive any birthday presents:

Every summer I spend a month on the East Coast with my grandparents. When Sandy struck, I feared that the people I know and care for would be affected. Fortunately, the area that I visit was not heavily damaged by the storm. Unfortunately, others lost their homes, and in extreme cases, their lives. I watched the news and I felt that there was nothing I could do to help when I was thousands of miles away. But as I saw the many Red Cross commercials and the Red Cross volunteers hard at work, it gave me the idea that I could do something. That is when I decided to ask for donations instead of presents for my birthday party. I was so happy to help the people who were affected by superstorm Sandy. I really admire the quick and efficient work the Red Cross has done for the victims of hurricane Sandy.  I hope that the money we raised will help families as it grows nearer to the Christmas season.

Thank you Red Cross for always being there to care for those in need,

Tori Pylypec

Tori at her Red Cross and Red Gloss birthday party.

Tori and her friends raised $300 for Sandy relief at her “Red Cross and Red Gloss” party! We are so proud to be a part of a community where generous people like Tori make choices every day that make a difference.

Wells Fargo builds comfort kits for disaster victims

On November 8th Wells Fargo offices across the country partnered with the Red Cross and created comfort kits for those who have been victims of disaster and displaced from their homes. Gillian Jeter and Kevin Fincher from the Central Texas chapter of the Red Cross attended the Wells Fargo Government, Education, and Non-profit Banking department at the Southwest Austin office and joined Vice President and Portfolio Manager Mark Campa along with seven other employees in constructing comfort kits. This included one employee who flew in from Dallas to participate!

Mark Campa, Crystal Reynolds and Gerry Stenson from Wells Fargo build comfort kits for disaster victims.

Comfort kits include the following:

• Deodorant (gender neutral)
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Facial Tissues
• Wash Cloth (solid white color)
• Shampoo (gender neutral)
• Liquid Soap (gender neutral)
• Lotion
• Plastic Comb
• Disposable Razor
• Shaving Cream
• Card and/or sticker saying that the kits are donated by Wells Fargo

The group assembled 150 kits that afternoon, and nationally Wells Fargo employees constructed almost 5,000 kits that day! Thank you to Wells Fargo for volunteering your time to help people who have been displaced from their homes!