This Year's Project: Home Fire Response & Recovery
About Our Organization
Since our founding in 1881, the American Red Cross has been dedicated to serving people in need. We received our first congressional charter in 1900 and to this day we are tasked by the federal government with providing services to members of the American armed forces and their families as well as providing disaster relief in the United States and around the world. The local chapter of the American Red Cross was established in 1917, and today we remain true to our mission. The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
Current Project: Home Fire Response & Recovery
Have you ever stepped away from an open flame on a stovetop for just a moment or overloaded an electrical outlet by plugging in one more appliance? For thousands of families each year, simple missteps can cause devastating fires, robbing them of their homes, possessions, emotional well-being, and, too often, their lives.
Every eight minutes, the Red Cross responds to a life-changing disaster, most of which are home fires. When these all-too-common disasters strike, the Red Cross is there with:
Financial Assistance: We can provide financial assistance to each family for immediate essentials like lodging, food, and clothing.
Health, Mental Health, and Spiritual Care Needs: Trained health and mental health workers assist with the replacement of medication, eyeglasses, and other medical devices as well as mental and spiritual health needs.
3. Long-term Support: We stand by families, helping them navigate insurance paperwork, replace lost possessions, and more.
Last fiscal year, the American Red Cross assisted more than 250 individuals (75 families) impacted by home fires and other disasters in the Northwest Iowa and Northeast Nebraska Chapter.
The Red Cross also helps before home fires happen. Focusing on vulnerable neighborhoods, our preparedness initiative Sound the Alarm teaches families to prevent fires while making their homes safer. Last fiscal year, 344 free smoke alarms were installed within the Northwest Iowa and Northeast Nebraska Chapter.
JOIN the Home Fire Campaign today to help reduce the injuries and fatalities of America’s everyday disaster and assist families during their greatest time of need.
Home Fire Campaign
Project Details
Have you ever stepped away from an open flame on a stovetop for just a moment or overloaded an electrical outlet by plugging in one more appliance? For thousands of families each year, simple missteps like these can cause devastating fires, robbing them of their homes, their possessions and, too often, their lives.
Every eight minutes, the Red Cross responds to a disaster, and most of them are home fires. When these all-too-common disasters strike, the Red Cross is there with:
1. Emergency Lodging: We secure hotel rooms to get families through the first days.
2. Financial Assistance: For immediate essentials like food, clothing and prescription medicines, we provide financial assistance to each family.
3. Long-term Support: We stand by families, helping them navigate insurance paperwork, replace lost possessions and more.
Last fiscal year, the American Red Cross assisted 376 individuals impacted by home fires and other disasters the Northwest Iowa and Northeast Nebraska Chapter.
The Red Cross also helps before home fires happen. Focusing on vulnerable neighborhoods, our preparedness initiative Sound the Alarm teaches families to prevent fires while making their homes safer. Last fiscal year, 344 free smoke alarms were installed within the Northwest Iowa and Northeast Nebraska Chapter.
JOIN the Home Fire Campaign today to help reduce the injuries and fatalities of America’s everyday disaster and assist families during their greatest time of need.
Disaster Cycle Services
Project Details
American Red Cross Disaster Services offers a complete cycle of client-facing mission support and emergency services that include Preparedness, Response, and Recovery activities that help alleviate human suffering following local disasters.
· The goal of Preparedness is to facilitate action before, during, or after a disaster that will limit the impact of the event and help people and communities bounce back faster and more fully. We maintain our capacity by pre-positioning equipment and material resources (cots, blankets, etc.), and human resources (trained volunteers) and foster partnerships with local organizations to promote recruitment, training, and retention of local volunteers. Smoke Alarm installations and home fire safety education is part of preparedness activities to help reduce the risk of home fires in our communities.
· The goal of Response is to evaluate disaster incidents and meet immediate disaster-caused needs. Trained volunteers help to fulfill basic needs for food and shelter. Financial assistance, emotional support, crisis counseling, and access to mental health services by licensed professionals are provided as needed.
· The goal of Recovery is to help people impacted find solutions for practical problems that interfere with the ability to rebuild their lives. We can provide financial assistance that clients use to purchase the goods and services needed for their recovery. Post-disaster follow-up includes face-to-face, phone/email interviews to ensure that needs are being met. Every client is provided the opportunity to evaluate our services through confidential, customer satisfaction surveys.
To achieve each of these goals we must maintain a trained volunteer workforce. At present 90% of the Red Cross workforce is comprised of volunteers. Dedicated volunteers. This project is about ensuring adequate financial resources to recruit and maintain the workforce it takes to deliver the complete cycle of disaster services.
Give to Help Those in Need of Blood
Project Details
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. This could be a person with a traumatic injury, a person undergoing surgery or someone managing a disease like sickle cell or leukemia with blood transfusions. As the single largest blood supplier in the U.S., the American Red Cross is called upon to help meet the constant demand for blood and blood products. Each day, we hold more than 500 blood drives, but we need your help to end the current blood shortage and meet the needs of patients here and across the country.
Please consider giving financially today to help us cover the cost of a blood drive.
If you are unable to give financially, consider giving the gift of life by donating blood on October 22 at the YMCA in South Sioux City. Make an appointment at redcrossblood.org.
You can also give the American Red Cross your time by becoming a volunteer. We need help assisting families and communities dealing with fires and other disasters. Considering joining us by visiting redcross.org/volunteer.
Home Fire Campaign
Project Details
2020 has been a year marked by unprecedented events -- COVID-19, a derecho in Iowa, concurrent hurricanes & wildfires and the year is not over yet! The American Red Cross has been there for people whose lives were upended by major events.
Even though more people hear about large disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, the biggest disaster threat in the United States is home fires. The enormity of this loss of life and the commonplace nature of home fires rarely garners significant media attention, even when it strikes a local community. That’s why the American Red Cross launched the Home Fire Campaign in 2014.
JOIN the Red Cross as part of the Home Fire Campaign to reduce the injuries and fatalities of America’s everyday disaster by preventing home fires and being part of the response and recovery of these families in their greatest time of need. Your support can help people like the residents of the apartment buildings in South Sioux City and North Sioux City that were destroyed this summer.
Already 8 lives in the Northwest Iowa and Northeast Nebraska Chapter have been documented as saved through prevention efforts, including smoke alarm installations. In addition, last year more than 800 elementary students in the Sioux City Community School District participated in the Pillowcase Project, a program to prepare them, their families, and their school for what to do in an emergency.
Every eight minutes, the Red Cross responds to a disaster— a majority of them home fires. We provide comfort, relief and recovery assistance when it is needed most.
Sound the Alarm
Project Details
Each year, the American Red Cross responds to an average of more than 62,000 disasters in the US, the vast majority of which are home fires. So we set a goal to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries in the US by 25%.
On Average:
- Seven people die every day from a home fire, most impacting children and the elderly.
- 36 people suffer injuries as a result of home fires every day.
- Over $7 billion in property damage occurs every year.
Every Spring, Red Cross volunteers go around in at-risk neighborhoods to install free smoke alarms and educate residents in home fire safety. So far, the national campaign has nearly two million smoke alarms making more than 783,000 homes safer. Through the national campaign, 627 lives have been saved by working smoke alarms that alerted residents that were installed by Red Cross volunteers. 15 of those saves happened right here in Iowa!