Polk Red Cross helps Lakeland family after early morning fire

LAKELAND, FL (MAY 30, 2009) — Early Saturday morning, May 30, American Red Cross volunteers helped a family of four in Lakeland after their mobile home was damaged by fire.

At roughly 3 a.m., Red Cross volunteers received word about a fire on Mineola Drive in Lakeland. A single parent, grown child, and two younger children had been displaced. Red Cross volunteers provided temporary shelter, emergency assistance for groceries, odor-control concentrated cleaner to help salvage items from the home, comfort kits (personal hygiene items), and a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy to comfort the youngest child.

For every American Red Cross chapter, home fires are the most common local disaster. Any disaster can be devastating to a family, large or small, and needs increase during tough economic times. Please take every precaution and follow fire safety tips to prevent fires in your home, and please support your local Red Cross.

Learn to prevent fire from the Polk County Chapter at (863) 294-5941 or visit www.midfloridaredcross.org or http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.

Spanish CPR classes now available at Polk County Chapter

Chapter celebrates CPR/AED Awareness Week with new classes

WINTER HAVEN, FL (May 28, 2009) – After numerous community requests to have local Health & Safety classes available in Spanish, the Polk County Chapter now has Spanish-speaking instructors.

As part of CPR/AED Awareness Week – June 1-7, 2009 – the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter will have Health & Safety classes taught in Spanish, with plans to add more classes in the coming weeks and months. Next week’s classes will be:

• Adult CPR/AED – Monday, June 1, 2009, from 6-10 p.m.
• Infant & Child CPR – Tuesday, June 2, 2009, from 6-10 p.m.
• Adult CPR/AED – Wednesday, June 3, 2009, from 6-10 p.m.
• Adult CPR/AED – Thursday, June 4, 2009, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (with a lunch break).
• Standard First Aid – Thursday, June 4, 2009, from 6-10 p.m.

Red Cross CPR training saves lives. These are but a few of many classes designed to make sure everyone in the community who wants to be prepared to respond to a medical emergency can do so. These classes will help those who prefer to be taught in Spanish, while the Red Cross also has many classes available in English.

Which ever class you take, American Red Cross Health & Safety courses provide vital training. Please contact the Polk County Chapter for details at (863) 294-5941 or dbermudez@polkredcross.org. Read more at http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org/schedule.htm.

Spanish language classes are also available at the American Red Cross of Central Florida, also a part of the Mid-Florida Region. Visit www.midfloridaredcross.org or call (407) 894-4141 for details.

American Red Cross helps Haines City family of four

HAINES CITY, FL (MAY 26, 2009) – On Tuesday  afternoon, May 26, American Red Cross volunteers helped a family of four in Haines City – a single mother and three children – whose home had caught fire.

At 4 p.m. Tuesday, two volunteers arrived at the scene on McLeod Avenue in Haines City and helped the family – including a 6-month-old infant – by providing temporary shelter, emergency assistance for groceries, comfort kits (personal hygiene supplies), emergency assistance for clothing for two, odor-control concentrated cleaner to help salvage items from the home, Red Cross T-shirts, some infant supplies, and both teddy bear and Mickey Mouse stuffed toys to comfort the children.

Home fires continue to be the most common disaster response for any local Red Cross Chapter. While any disaster can be devastating to a family, large or small, needs increase during tough economic times. Please take every precaution and follow fire safety tips to prevent fires in your home.

Learn to prevent fire from the Polk County Chapter at (863) 294-5941 or visit http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.

Red Cross offers support at Service Centers

 

(Daytona Beach) May 26, 2009 – Volunteers from the American Red Cross Mid-Florida Region are among representatives at two Essential Services Centers (interim facilities for residents to get information and learn about available assistance from local and state agencies) responding to needs created by heavy flooding in Volusia County.

The centers will operate from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily until further notice. The locations are:

• Daytona Beach Public Works Training Facility at 950 Bellevue Ave.
• Holly Hill Community Recreational Center at 1046 Daytona Ave.

American Red Cross volunteers will be at the centers to gather information from people who need assistance.

Since Friday, May 22, the American Red Cross has:

• Distributed 627 clean-up kits
• Served 474 meals
• Provided 879 snacks
• Housed 54 people in 3 separate shelters
• Deployed 60 volunteers from local and surrounding chapters to assist local residents.

The American Red Cross is still operating a shelter at Westside Baptist Church (1085 Mason Ave., Daytona Beach) for both special needs residents and general population residents affected by flooding in Volusia County.

Throughout today, the Red Cross will continue to assess the need for additional services in Volusia and Flagler counties, and will continue to distribute clean-up kits street by street from Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV’s) to areas impacted by flooding. The kits contain mops, bleach, sponges, buckets, and other cleaning and sanitizing materials.  Distribution will continue until late afternoon today.

For more information or for interview opportunities, please contact the Public Relations Officer.

Visit www.midfloridaredcross.org for tips on how to be Red Cross Ready.

Get geared up with Summer Break Babysitting Boot Camps

Two Camps in Two Months to Prepare Pre-teens and Teens as Red Cross-trained Babysitters

Summer is here and the time is right now to get trained as a Red Cross-certified babysitter.

Over summer break, many families may plan to stay home or do only day trips for fun. In most families, both parents work and may need babysitting help. That same family, or other families, may have a child age 11-15 who wants to earn some extra cash this summer.

This summer, you can sign up your child – age 11-15 – to get babysitting training from the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter at one of the Babysitting Boot Camps in June or July 2009. The camp trains and certifies teens and pre-teens in Infant and Child CPR and First Aid so they will know what to do for minor injuries, and such skills as safe play and age-appropriate games to keep children engaged, and what to do in an emergency. These valuable skills can be translated into a regular occupation at any time.

Sign up for Babysitting Boot Camp, and give them training that will serve them for a lifetime. Classes run 9 a.m.-4 p.m.:

• June 9-11 (Tuesday-Thursday), 2009
• July 21-23 (Tuesday-Thursday), 2009

Call (863) 294-5941 to sign-up for Babysitting Boot Camp at the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter, located at 147 Avenue A, NW, in Winter Haven.

Cost is $125 and includes a backpack with a first aid kit, Red Cross Babysitter’s Handbook and Emergency Reference Guide, a Red Cross babysitter T-shirt, and a Red Cross babysitter lapel pin.

Residents have one more chance to take the Red Cross Disaster Assessment Program

May 26, 2009 — There is still time to prepare your community for hurricane season, and play a part in the American Red Cross response after a disaster.

On Tuesday, June 9, the American Red Cross Polk County Chapter will offer its Community Disaster Assessment Program.

So far, 71 Polk County mobile home parks and residential communities have already joined the program, representing more than 22,000 homes.

The Program grew out of the 2004 hurricane season, when Red Cross disaster assessment crews spent entire days in parts of Polk County, just to find out whether or not people had been affected.

Haskins and fellow volunteer Terry Loyd found a better way. Residents are on-scene right after a storm and know if they or their neighbors have been affected.  With training on assessing damage by Red Cross guidelines, community residents can give the Red Cross accurate pictures of damage in their areas, bringing aid more quickly. The same representatives also learn to make disaster plans for their communities and include residents in efforts to prepare for and prevent damage.

“They were so interested in wanting to know how to prepare, we made that a bigger part of the program,” Haskins said.

Sign up now for the Community Disaster Assessment Program on June 9, from 10 a.m. to noon. Training is free.

Residents are invited to participate in this program and represent their communities. Please send up to four year-round residents who are physically able to survey and report damage as soon as safely possible after a disaster. Communities already enrolled in the program may send representatives for a refresher course. Class size is limited. Please make reservations as soon as possible with your local American Red Cross Polk County Chapter at (863) 294-5941, fax (863) 293-9626, or e-mail linda@polkredcross.org.

American Red Cross helps Lakeland family of five

LAKELAND (May 25, 2009) — On Monday afternoon, May 25, American Red Cross volunteers helped a family of five in Lakeland whose apartment had caught fire.

At 5 p.m. Memorial Day, two volunteers arrived at the scene on Crestview Avenue In Lakeland and helped a single parent and four children by providing temporary shelter, emergency assistance for groceries, and odor-control concentrated cleaner to help salvage items from the home.

Home fires continue to be the most common disaster response for any local Red Cross Chapter. While any disaster can be devastating to a family, large or small, needs increase during tough economic times. Please take every precaution and follow fire safety tips to prevent fires in your home.

Learn to prevent fire from the Polk County Chapter at (863) 294-5941 or visit http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org.

American Red Cross volunteers help family of five displaced by fire

KISSIMMEE, FL (MAY 19, 2009) — On Tuesday night, May 18, American Red Cross volunteers helped a family of five in Kissimmee who had suffered a house fire.

At 9 p.m. Tuesday, volunteers with the Polk County Chapter responded to Hawk Lane in Kissimmee, on the border of Polk and Osceola counties, where a house fire had displaced two adults and three children.

While the family has made arrangements for temporary shelter, Red Cross volunteers were able to provide them with emergency assistance for groceries, odor-control concentrated cleaner to help salvage items from the home, comfort kits (personal hygiene supplies), Red Cross clean-up kits, and Mickey Mouse stuffed toys to comfort the two youngest children.

Home fires continue to be the most common disaster response for any local Red Cross Chapter. While any disaster can be devastating to a family, large or small, needs increase during tough economic times. Please take every precaution and follow fire safety tips to prevent fires in your home.

For more information, call the Polk County Chapter at (863) 294-5941 or visit http://polkcountyfl.redcross.org; or contact the American Red Cross Mid-Florida Region at (407) 894-4141 or www.midfloridaredcross.org.