"Like" Atlanta Bread, Help Red Cross Disaster Relief!

Do you like Atlanta Bread? Do you prefer the Turkey Club Panini or does the California Avocado get your mouth watering? Lucky for us, Atlanta Bread is just a few steps away from our 100 Edgewood Road location off of Merrimon Ave.

If you like Atlanta Bread as much as we do, then make it official over on Facebook! For every person who "likes" Atlanta Bread on Merrimon Ave., they will donate $1 to Red Cross Disaster Relief, up to $500.

Great neighbors, great sandwiches!

WATCH: Red Cross Response Efforts in Joplin, Missouri

"We don't just have wounded bodies, we have wounded spirits."
- Nurse and Red Cross volunteer Christine Stockwell, on the ground in Joplin, MO.

Need A Makeover? Get Beauty Relief!

AMR Portraits in partnership with Electric Tan and Salon gladly presents: “BEAUTY RELIEF” on Saturday May 28, 2011, a fundraiser for the people of Greenville, TN who have been recently devastated by a series of tornado storms. Proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross’ Disater Relief Fund.

Support a worthy cause and get a fresh look all in one trip! Join the folks at Electric Tan and Salon in Woodfin, NC anytime between 8am - 6pm for one of two exciting packages!

Beauty Session: One of the experienced stylists will offer styling. The customer will then have a short photo session with one of the photographers. They will receive 1-8x10, 2- 5x7’s, and either 4-3.5x5’s or 9-wallets (same day). Time:30-40 per customer. Walk-in’s welcome and appointments made by calling (828) 380- 9748.

Price $40- cash only

Price break down- $10 automatically will go to the American Red Cross

Photo Session: One of the photographers will do a short photo session with the customer. They will receive 1 8x10, 2-5x7’s, and either 4-3.5x5 or 9-wallets (same day). Walk-in’s welcome and appointments made by calling (828) 380-9748.

Price $15-cash only

Price break down- $10 automatically will go to the American Red Cross

Couples and Children welcome and encouraged!!! Great way to get school pictures!!

Raffle Drawings- all proceeds directly given to the American Red Cross

Exciting Raffles from AMR Portraits, and the stylists of Electric Tan and Salon. Free photo sessions and prints, free hair products, free styling and cut.

Refreshments will be provided.

Get Best Buy Gear for Donating Blood or Platelets!

Have you been eying the latest in game consoles, laptops or televisions? Are you jonesing for some new tunes and flicks? Well now you can donate blood or platelets at any Red Cross blood drive and exchange your Donor Rewards points for Best Buy® Reward Zone® points!

Yep - donating blood with Red Cross Racing just got better! You can help save up to three lives with every blood donation AND you can work towards some sweet Best Buy gear.

Give Blood. Get points. Get the stuff you love! For more details visit http://www.redcrossracing.com/

The Best Cat Video on the Whole Internet... Seriously

The Best Cat Video on the Whole Internet? I know that's saying a lot. The internet is chock full of cat videos and photos. (Have you seen the I Love My Cat flickr pool? They have to limit submissions to one per day, otherwise we'd all collectively crash the internet by uploading too many of photos of our fuzzy friends all at once.)

But this cat video is just too sweet.

It's not because the cat is any cuter than, say, this little guy. It's more about the owner. Her cat had been lost for nearly a month after a tornado destroyed her house, but miraculously, during a CNN interview, the cat returns. Watch what happens...

And, of course, if you want to help survivors of disasters like the recent tornadoes and floods you can always donate.

(This post has been reblogged from Cross Blog, the blog of the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross.)

Be Red Cross Ready for: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!!!!

Public, we're worried about you. Apparently, you are inordinately worried about a Zombie Apocalypse. Well, we're not here to judge. We're here to help you plan, prepare for and avoid disaster. And now even the Center for Disease Control agrees that zombies are a serious threat (wink wink). So here goes...

Here's a list of resources:

Zombie's been munching on your brains n' bones? Then take The Zombie Bite Calculator Quiz!

Gizmodo and Google Street View help your find the best Zombie emergency escape route in your own neighborhood.

But of course the best thing you can have on hand in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse? A disaster home preparedness kit:

Kit Contents:

Water: One gallon of water per day per person. (Yeah, we know, that's a lot of per's... do it anyway)
Food: At least three days worth of non-perishable food items. Consider the Tactical Sammich. And don't forget a can opener!
Flashlight and Batteries: Essential for when the power goes out from Zombies chewing on power lines. Also useful for shining in Zombie faces.
Hand-Crank Radio: No better way to get your news in a power outages. Also, Zombies hate Katy Perry!
First Aid Kit: This is a no-brainer, if you still have a brain after the Zombie Apocalypse that is.
Medical Supplies: Pre-filled prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, extra glasses and contact lenses.
Sanitary Supplies: Zombies hate cleanliness!
Multi-Purpose Tool: Not a bottle opener!
Personal Documents: To prove you aren't a Zombie!
Cash: Zombies are typically immune from the temptation of bribes but give it a shot.
Map and Contact Information: So you can find peeps and they can find you a la Zombieland.


And you know the best thing about this Kit? It can even be used should a REAL emergency strike. No offense, Zombies.

Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It’s a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work…

QATAR: Health professionals and other specialists from 10 different countries gathered in Doha to attend a two-week training course in the management of humanitarian aid, jointly organized by the ICRC, the Qatar Red Crescent Society and the University of Calgary – Qatar.

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Residents of the department of Likouala remain in a precarious situation following the massive influx in 2009 of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The ICRC is distributing farm and fishing equipment for almost 100,000 residents to ensure that food reserves will not be exhausted.

JAPAN: Red Cross and Red Crescent partners from around the world gathered in Tokyo from May 9-11 to review the response to the disaster so far and to discuss plans to aid long-term recovery. The American Red Cross has made another $30 million donation to the Japanese Red Cross, bringing its contributions to date to more than $160 million.

PAKISTAN: Pakistan Red Crescent Society workers are teaching residents about disaster preparedness in advance of the monsoon season, which last year caused massive flooding and landslides.

NAMIBIA: The Namibia Red Cross and the World Health Organization are partnering to prevent disease outbreaks during floods.

GLOSSARY:

ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Are You Ready? Then Body Roll!

Hey... at least when the Red Cross asks the question, "Are you ready?"... it has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DANCE MOVES BELOW:

Always remember that about us. Speaking of... are you ready? Check out our long list of disaster preparation checklists, including floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and thunderstorms.

Also: Do you have a kit? Hey, you could always pack these sweet dance moves away with the rest of the essentials in your home disaster preparedness kit.

We think our motto is a good one: "Get a kit. Make a Plan. Be Informed."
But we can't deny that we also love: "Now bop! And drop! Hug yourself!"

Thank you, Double Dream Hands Guy. Thank you.

Don't miss this weekend's Wilderness and Remote First Aid!

Some people play board games in their leisure time. That's why you're not some people. If this or this looks like your idea of a good time... then our Wilderness and Remote First Aid Class is designed for you. For peace of mind in your leisure time! More this. Less this.

Topics Include:

• Head (Brain), Neck and Spinal Injuries

• Wounds and Wound Infection

• Hypothermia

• Heat-Related Emergencies

• Allergies and Anaphylaxis

• Altitude-Related Illnesses

• Bone and Joint Injuries

• Burns, and more….

Also, you get to play with fake blood. I mean, come on! Woot!

The course will be offered in two locations, two weekends: Sign up here!

May 20 &21 / 9:00am – 5:00pm both days

Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter

American Red Cross

100 Edgewood Road

Asheville, NC 28804

June 4 & 5 / 9:00am – 5:00pm both days

Park Ridge Health Center

Duke Conference Room

100 Hospital Drive

Hendersonville, NC 28792

Saving the World, One Joystick at a Time...

Hey, Red Cross Disaster Volunteers, Hackers and Geeks alike: Think you've got a great idea for a disaster preparedness video game? Then team up and check out GameSave, a 5 week competition in which teams build a demo and working concept for a game which addresses disaster response and mitigation.

Saving the world might be as easy as picking up a video game controller.

Read more over at The Atlantic.

Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up!

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It's a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work...

LIBYA: A ship chartered by the ICRC arrived in Misrata this week, carrying medical supplies for the hospital, spare parts to repair water and electrical supply systems, and baby food for the civilian population.

NEPAL: A four-day emergency-room trauma course jointly organized by the ICRC and the Dhulikhel Hospital of Kathmandu University is taking place in Pokhara.

JAPAN: With healthcare systems left in crisis by the earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese Red Cross Society will provide vital medical infrastructure in one of the worst hit north-eastern areas, until damaged state services can recover.

SUDAN: The ICRC is working with government and local partners to vaccinate 100,000 cattle.

WORLDWIDE: The IFRC has announced the launch of the Nursing Network - a worldwide network of nursing colleges that will work together to ensure a global nursing workforce is ready to respond in the event of emergencies.

GLOSSARY:

ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Show Me the Shelters!

Yeah, yeah. We could tell you that over 1200 people stayed in Red Cross shelters over the past few nights. We could go on about how we've got 64 shelters open in the South East right now and that we've served hundreds of thousands of meals to folks in need. And then you could say "SHOW ME THE SHELTERS!!!"

Well, just to prove to you that we're not all statistics and numbers. Voila:


This map shows all the states where the Red Cross has been providing food, shelter and supplies recently. (Large version with legend here.)

Stephen Colbert Takes a Bathroom Break for American Red Cross

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up!

Welcome to the Weekly Worldwide Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It's a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work...

LIBYA: Among many activities, the ICRC conducted an emergency evacuation of 1,381 Nigerians from Misrata, reunited five Libyan civilians with their families, and evacuated more than 2000 stranded foreigners from the port of Misrata.

GEORGIA: The remains of a person who went missing in connection with the August 2008 hostilities were handed over to the family by the Georgian authorities under the auspices of the ICRC.

BANGLADESH: The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and ICRC are providing aid for more than 700 people following the recent violence in Khagrachari.

MYANMAR: Three years after cyclone Nargis made land fall in Myanmar, Red Cross teams are still helping people rebuild their lives.

JAPAN: Mobile medical teams are on the road, bringing care to the lost and lonely.


GLOSSARY:

ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Bravery in the Midst of Sorrow: Alabama Boy Shows Signs of Courage

As Red Cross of WNC Staff and Volunteers returned from their deployments in Eastern North Carolina on Sunday, they wasted no time in making arrangements for yet another deployments to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where they will help with the disaster response to the recent tornadoes. Some of our staff and volunteers still remain in the eastern part of North Carolina and our thoughts also remain with them. But in light of the devastation in the Southeast, we all have on thought in in common: "When will it end?" It seems that the South has been all but destroyed by one deadly storm after another. We, each and every one of us in WNC, long to lend a hand to a neighbor, we hope for time for our neighbors to heal, we wait for good news.

In the midst of our hoping and waiting comes a story of bravery from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, written by Danelle Schlegelmilch, a Red Cross worker who was deployed to Alabama to help with tornado relief.

Kevonte Jackson, D’Monte and Kedavian Key take a break in the Red Cross shelter to share their amazing story of surviving the ride of their lives in a tornado.

Today I met the most courageous little boy I might ever meet in my life at a Red Cross shelter in Tuscaloosa, Ala. D’Monte Key is like any other 8-year-old boy; rambunctious, spunky and full of energy.

As he zipped passed me today in his tank top and flip-flops I didn’t notice anything unusual about him. It was only when he slowed down that I noticed little D’Monte was covered in stitches.

The same boy who was doing cartwheels through the aisles at the shelter today is very lucky to be alive. Just three days ago D’Monte’s world was literally turned upside down when a tornado sucked up his home and family. D’Monte and his family were running to the bathroom to take cover from the storm when their home started to shake off of its foundation and took off.

“The whole house went up in the air and we went up with it,” Nicco Key, D’Montes mother, said. “We were all flying around in different rooms, going up and down all over the place. I kept spinning round and hitting the walls.”

“I saw D’monte and he was going up higher into the tornado so I grabbed him and pulled him back down. The whole time I kept praying ‘Lord, take care of us’ over and over again. It felt like the blink of an eye, like a dream, and it was gone in 30 seconds.”

When asked what it felt like to be in the middle of a tornado, D’monte simply replied, “Bad…real bad.” His 7-year-old brother Kedavian added, “I saw the tornado. We were inside it. I looked up and I saw my brother was in the sky. De’monte was in the sky.”

When the home finally dropped from the sky it landed about 20 feet down the road and D’monte, his two brothers, mother and her boyfriend landed on the street below all with various injuries. The house destroyed along with their vehicles. D’monte was knocked unconscious and the most seriously injured.

His 13-year-old brother, Kevonte, threw D’Monte, who was covered with blood, over his own ripped-up back, and ran him down the street, through rubble and live wires, to the hospital. Miraculously, they all survived. D’Monte with dozens of stitches all over his face and body.

“I just thank God I’m still here and my family is all safe,” Nicco said. “The tornado didn’t touch the house next to mine, but it moved ours off the ground. But we made it and we are blessed for that.”

“I thank God for the Red Cross,” she added. “It has been great staying here. Everyone is so nice and we are treated right. It is also good to be able to talk to others about what happened to us. That really helps us cope.”