The San Diego branch of the Red Cross is one of the largest in the country. Barbara and Pam arranged a visit to our local branch, where we spent two hours learning so much we didn't know about the Red Cross. They do so much important work it's hard to get it all into a short blog, so I will concentrate on several specific areas: Emergency call center, disaster preparedness, and Prepare San Diego are crucial areas of importance.
We walked into the call center for the San Diego chapter of the Red Cross, and I was blown away. The purpose of the call center is to act as a hotline for military families in crisis. There are only four call centers in the US, all of them manned 24/7 by volunteers and paid professionals. This service was started by Clara Barton, who also founded the Red Cross. They receive 340,000 call in San Diego each year. By having one world wide phone number for military families to call, the families can get the services they need. For example, if there is a death in the family and the wife is trying to contact her husband in Afghanistan, she calls the call center. The Red Cross contacts the husband's CO and he makes a decision on whether to give him emergency leave.
Another important function of the Red Cross is disaster preparedness and response. This is probably what most people think of when they think of the work of the Red Cross. The Red Cross responds to one disaster everyday in San Diego. This includes things like fire, earthquake or storms. The Red Cross building has what I would call a "situation room." It's a huge room filled with tables, computers, phones, and huge TV monitors. This room is where everything happens during a disaster. The TV monitors give information like where fires are, where earthquakes are, where disaster centers are located, etc. All of this is available instantly. They coordinate relief effort with highly technological equipment. With new technology, the Red Cross is able to get a shelter open in 40 minutes, something that used to take six hours!
Finally, and possibly most importantly for our local community, is a program called Prepare San Diego. The purpose of the program is get one million people in San Diego prepared for a disaster in the next four years. This includes things like training local neighborhoods in how to handle an emergency, and training volunteers in first aid, water safety, and CPR.
What I took away from my Red Cross tour was two main things. The Red Cross relies on donations for the work it does, and thanks to the generosity of many average citizens, some wealthy donors, and many large corporations, they are able to help worldwide in case of disaster. The other observation I made was how passionate all the Red Cross employees were about their work and it's importance. It was great to see so many dedicated workers who were really making a difference.
It's easy to get prepared, if you haven't done so already. Call the Red Cross and let them come to you! Yes, they'll come to your work or church or community and teach first aid, CPR and teach you how to get ready for an emergency. You know it's coming, it's just a matter of when. American Red Cross 858 309 1200, Ready San Diego(reverse 911 notifications) 858 565 3490, 211 San Diego (24 hour community, health and disaster information) 2-1-1.
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