Founded in Dansville, New York in 1881, the American Association of the Red Cross was chartered by the United States Congress as a national organization in 1900 and the name became the American National Red Cross. As we recall our history lessons, few of us are unaware that this valuable organization was started by Clara Barton. To the majority of us, the American Red Cross is virtually synonymous with blood drives. Personally, I always knew, in a vague sort of way, that there was more to the Red Cross than just blood drives but I really couldn't imagine the breadth and depth of the services they provide. We had the pleasure of visiting with Beth Kilchenman, Executive Director of the Medina County Chapter, this week and listened as she described their integral role in the Medina community;
The Medina County Chapter of the American Red Cross touched the lives of approximately 40,000 people through all the different services that we provide. We serve families who have had a disaster, and, most commonly in Medina County, these disasters are single-family house fires. Whenever the Fire Chief calls, we respond by going to the occupants of the home and we help them determine their immediate needs. We provide them with vouchers so they can obtain lodging for a few nights, attend to their immediate clothing needs, and buy food.
Through our Armed Forces Emergency Services, we provide a communications link between the families back home and the those serving in the military. If there's an emergency here at home, you can contact the Red Cross 24/7 and send a message to a family member in the service which will then be forwarded to their commanding officer. We also have support groups available for those with family members in the service.
In addition, we provide international tracing services to help families trace other family members located in foreign countries. We teach babysitting classes and we provide health and safety classes that include CPR, first aid, and how to use automated external defibrillators. The Red Cross also teaches people to swim and trains lifeguards and water safety instructors. Most of our classes are held in our own training room although we have many companies, swimming pools, and private lakes which are authorized providers of our training. Our full service, on-location classes are available for groups of at least six people who want to have a class with a paid instructor. We teach people about disaster preparedness, having their own family disaster supplies kit, and having a personal evacuation plan and we even provide information to companies on how to write their own disaster plan. We also provide both Lodi Community Hospital and Medina General Hospital with Red Cross volunteers who assist at their information booths.
Most people are familiar with the blood services we provide. Working closely with Northern Ohio Red Cross Blood Services, we set up blood drives to help our local hospitals provide blood products for the ill and injured in our area. In Northern Ohio, we need approximately 900 to 1,000 pints of blood each day to meet the needs of our local hospitals.
Our funding comes from donations, grants, special events, and the United Way. Each year we host our Chocolate Festival in February and our Heartland Heroes Dinner/Dance and we appreciate the help we've had from The Advocate in promoting these events and bringing them to the attention of our local residents. We also have some cost recovery from the fees we charge for our CPR, first aid, and swimming lessons. The majority of our funding comes from donations and we're proud of the fact that when you make a donation to the American Red Cross of Medina County, your dollars stay right here to help local families.
We're always looking for new volunteers. We're one of the few organizations that considers our volunteers as staff. We refer to our volunteers as "volunteer staff" and to our paid people as "paid staff". These volunteers are fully empowered to provide our services and they're truly the backbone of our organization.
The American Red Cross of Medina County exists to help local residents with their emergency needs. They not only respond with help and assistance in times of crises, they're here to help you prepare for potential emergencies, too. You can support your local Red Cross with your time, donations, or both. Call the Medina County Chapter of the American Red Cross today and don't forget to tell them that The Advocate sent you!
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