Entries from November 2008
BARTOW, FL (Nov. 29, 2008) — Red Cross volunteers have helped a family of six after fire damaged a part of their home on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Fortunately no one was injured and the family was not displaced, since the fire was contained to a closet in the mobile home. However, the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter was still able to help the two adults and four children with a pack of diapers and a bottle of odor-control concentrated cleaner to help salvage items from the home.
Since the beginning of November, the Polk Red Cross has helped 14 families affected by local disaster — mostly home fires — a total of 31 adults and 17 children, for an average of a family every two days. As weather turns colder, the number of home fires typically increases as people use alternative heating sources and holiday decorations. Please do whatever you can to prevent home fires. Prevention tips are available online from your local Red Cross at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.
No matter what time of the day or night they need assistance, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers go out on disaster calls to help local residents in need. The American Red Cross provides immediate emergency assistance based on need, thanks to donations from people and businesses in the local community. Please support your local Red Cross.
Categories: Home Fires · Preparedness
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, emergency, firefighters, help, Home Fires, humanitarian, Preparedness, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
SEBRING, FL (Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008) – Highlands Red Cross volunteers have helped a family of six in Sebring after fire damaged their home Saturday.
On Saturday, Nov. 29, a house fire broke out at a home in the 1600 block of Rainbow Avenue in Sebring, displacing three adults and three children. Volunteers with the American Red Cross in Highlands County arrived on the scene at 2:45 p.m. and provided the family with temporary shelter, emergency assistance for groceries and clothing, comfort kits (personal hygiene kits) odor-control concentrate to help salvage items from the home, and teddy bear/Mickey Mouse stuffed toys to help comfort the children.
Red Cross also referred them to The Salvation Army and the Church Service Center for additional assistance.
Home fires are still the most common local disaster for Red Cross volunteers, and are expected to increase as weather turns colder and people begin using alternative forms of heat. The American Red Cross asks every family to use all precaution with space heaters, to check their smoke detectors, and include fire prevention as part of their disaster planning during this season. Information on preventing home fires is online at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org or at the Highlands County office at 106 Medical Center Avenue in Sebring.
The American Red Cross will respond to help people affected by disaster, whether that disaster is a severe storm, flood, tornado, or house fire. Please support your local Red Cross. In Highlands County, please call (863) 386-4440 to support your local Red Cross office, or e-mail hcarc@vistanet.net.
Categories: Home Fires · Preparedness
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, emergency, firefighters, help, Home Fires, humanitarian, Preparedness, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
LAKELAND, FL (Nov. 24, 2008) – On Monday, Nov. 24, Red Cross volunteers helped a Lakeland man displaced from his home by fire.
He had already arranged for temporary shelter with family. Volunteers with the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter provided him with emergency assistance for clothing and groceries, a comfort kit (personal hygiene kit), and landlord verification forms to assist in relocation.
During November, the Polk Red Cross has helped 13 families affected by local disaster – mostly home fires – a total of 29 adults and 11 children, for an average of a family every two days. As weather turns colder, the number of home fires typically increases as people use alternative heating sources and holiday decorations. Please do whatever you can to prevent home fires. Prevention tips are available online from your local Red Cross at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.
No matter what time of the day or night they need assistance, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers go out on disaster calls to help local residents in need. The American Red Cross provides immediate emergency assistance based on need, thanks to donations from people and businesses in the local community. Please support your local Red Cross.
Categories: Home Fires · Preparedness
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, emergency, firefighters, help, Home Fires, humanitarian, Preparedness, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
LAKELAND, FL (Nov. 22, 2008) – Red Cross volunteers helped a family in Lakeland on Saturday, Nov. 22, whose home was heavily damaged by fire.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter arrived on the scene at 2:23 p.m. Saturday, on Walt Williams Road in Lakeland. A fire had destroyed the home of a family of four, two adults and two children. They had already arranged for temporary shelter and their clothing needs. Red Cross volunteers were able to provide them with emergency assistance for groceries, teddy bears to comfort them, and two bottles of odor-control concentrated cleaner to help salvage items from the home.
Volunteers provided this service while the Polk Red Cross was in the midst of a major fundraiser to provide the very funds that the local Red Cross uses to help families displaced by disaster.
Since the beginning of November, the Polk Red Cross has helped 12 families affected by local disaster – mostly home fires – a total of 28 adults and 13 children, for an average of a family every two days. As weather turns colder, the number of home fires typically increases as people use alternative heating sources and holiday decorations. Please do whatever you can to prevent home fires. Prevention tips are available online from your local Red Cross at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.
No matter what time of the day or night they need assistance, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers go out on disaster calls to help local residents in need. The American Red Cross provides immediate emergency assistance based on need, thanks to donations from people and businesses in the local community. Please support your local Red Cross.
Categories: Home Fires · Preparedness
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, emergency, firefighters, help, Home Fires, humanitarian, Preparedness, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
One affected by a house fire on Thursday, another Friday morning
POLK COUNTY, FL (Nov. 21, 2008) – American Red Cross volunteers helped two families on Friday who had been displaced by fire within the last 24 hours.
In both cases, the families had already arranged for temporary shelter, however, volunteers with the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter were still able to provide assistance.
On Friday morning, a family of five who had been displaced by a fire on Thursday morning arrived at the chapter office in Winter Haven. Volunteers had gone on Thursday to the fire scene on Daisy Avenue in Auburndale to assist the family, but the family had already left the scene. On Friday, when the family came in, volunteers provided the two parents and three children with emergency assistance for clothing and groceries, and also provided landlord verification forms to assist in relocation.
At roughly that same time Friday, two volunteers left the chapter to help a family on Appaloosa Road in Lake Wales, who was displaced by a kitchen fire. The family already had arranged for temporary shelter, and did not need clothing or groceries. Still, Red Cross volunteers provided the three adults with comfort kits (personal hygiene kits); Red Cross Float-A-Thon T-shirts, a bottle of odor-control concentrated cleaner to help salvage items from the home, and a teddy bear.
Since the beginning of November, the Polk Red Cross has helped 11 families affected by local disaster – mostly home fires – a total of 26 adults and 11 children, for an average of a family every two days. As weather turns colder, the number of home fires typically increases as people use alternative heating sources and holiday decorations. Please do whatever you can to prevent home fires. Prevention tips are available online from your local Red Cross at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org/.
No matter what time of the day or night they need assistance, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers go out on disaster calls to help local residents in need. The American Red Cross provides immediate emergency assistance based on need, thanks to donations from people and businesses in the local community. Please support your local Red Cross.
Categories: Home Fires · Preparedness
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, emergency, firefighters, help, Home Fires, humanitarian, Preparedness, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
LAKELAND, FL (Nov. 20, 2008) – American Red Cross volunteers helped a household of four after a fire displaced them from their home Thursday morning.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter arrived at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, on Sportsman Trail in Lakeland. One adult living there had already arranged to stay with family. Two other adults and a child still needed assistance for temporary shelter, which the volunteers provided.
Volunteers also provided all four with emergency assistance for groceries, clothing, and shoes; comfort kits (personal hygiene kits); Red Cross Float-A-Thon T-shirts, and landlord verification forms to assist in relocation. They also provided the child with a teddy bear.
In the first two weeks of November, the Polk County Red Cross helped eight families affected by home fires – 18 adults and seven children – or slightly more than one family every two days. As weather turns colder, the number of home fires typically increases as people use alternative heating sources and holiday decorations. Please do whatever you can to prevent home fires. Prevention tips are available online from your local Red Cross at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.
No matter what time of the day or night they need assistance, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers go out on disaster calls to help local residents in need. The American Red Cross provides immediate emergency assistance based on need, thanks to donations from people and businesses in the local community. Please support your local Red Cross.
Categories: Home Fires · Preparedness
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, emergency, firefighters, help, Home Fires, humanitarian, Preparedness, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
Local Man assisted after release from hospital for injuries in Nov. 7 fire
LAKELAND, FL (Nov. 13, 2008) — On Nov. 7, a Lakeland man was sent to Lakeland Regional Medical Center with injuries from an apartment fire on Orange Park Avenue.
He was released from the hospital on Thursday, Nov. 13. He had already arranged to stay with family, but still needed immediate emergency assistance from the American Red Cross. Volunteers with the Polk County Chapter came to his aid.
At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov 13, they provided the man with emergency assistance for groceries and clothing and landlord verification forms to assist in relocation.
In the first two weeks of November, the Polk County Red Cross has helped eight families affected by home fires — 18 adults and seven children — or slightly more than one family every two days. No matter what size of family, or what time of the day or night they need assistance, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers go out on disaster calls. Most often, families are affected by home fires.
As weather turns colder, home fires typically increase with use of alternative heating sources. Please do whatever you can to prevent home fires. Prevention tips are available online from your local Red Cross at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.
The American Red Cross provides immediate emergency assistance based on need, thanks to donations from people and businesses in the local community. Please support your local Red Cross.
Categories: Home Fires · Preparedness
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, emergency, firefighters, help, Home Fires, humanitarian, Preparedness, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
Honda of Winter Haven and Harbor Side Restaurant return as start and ending stops
It’’s that time again, when riders from all over central Florida rev their engines in Polk County on the Saturday before Thanksgiving for the annual Ride for the Red to benefit the American Red Cross.
Just as they promised at the end of the 2007 Ride, Honda of Winter Haven and Harbor Side Restaurant have stepped up as the starting and ending stops. Other fine establishments will provide fun and exciting stops for riders along their ride throughout Polk County.
It’s only fitting, since Red Cross volunteers have ridden those roads late at night or early in the morning to help victims of disaster, that motorcycle riders and sponsors get a chance ride those roads raising funds to help others.
Register now to get a free 2008 Ride for the Red lapel pin (pictured above left). Every paid rider and passenger receives one of this year’s commemorative T-shirts, worn proudly by event riders and Red Cross volunteers for years to come. We will also have a small selection of long-sleeved shirts for purchase, so people can keep the chill off their arms, but still show their Red Cross spirit.
Anyone who doesn’t ride a motorcycle can still join the fun that evening at Harbor Side when they show their spirit and purchase one this year’s commemorative T-shirts. Any rider or supporter can also put their name in for a new 2009 Honda Shadow Spirit 750 motorcycle. A $10 donation gets one chance; $25 gets three. Get your drawing tickets from the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter, from Honda of Winter Haven, or from any Polk Red Cross representative.
Sign-in begins 8:30 a.m., Nov. 22, at Honda of Winter Haven with a continental breakfast. Kickstands go up at 10 a.m. for the “pick your own poker run.” Riders get to choose their own routes to and from designated stops all across Polk County, and then converge at Harbor Side Restaurant by 4 p.m., where volunteers will thank riders and sponsors for their support, deal the cards, rank the hands, and draw the lucky names for prizes.
If you’ve never supported the Ride before, now is your time.
Help by Flying the Colors that Help Others! Support your Red Cross at the Ride for the Red!
Polk County Chapter, 147 Ave. A, NW, Winter Haven, FL 33881, (863) 294-5941; Fax: (863) 293-9626; linda@polkredcross.org
Categories: Fundraising
Tagged: American Red Cross, charity, cross, Disaster, donations, donor, Fundraising, help, humanitarian, red, Red Cross, safety, Volunteer
