Please Join Us at the 2012 Fred Meyer Breakfast of Champions

March is 'Red Cross Month' and the Oregon Red Cross will be honoring local heroes who have displayed courage and compassion at our March 6th Fred Meyer Breakfast of Champions.

“This is our largest charitable event of the year,” said Maree Wacker, Regional Executive of the Oregon Red Cross. “We celebrate the mission of the American Red Cross; the idea that we can all be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We also honor hometown heroes and we put together an amazing interactive experience for everyone that attends.”

When a massive EF 5 tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri on May 22nd, it completely destroyed over 7,000 homes and left damage to 75% of this city of 50,000 (the same size as Corvallis).

Joplin native Jack Jewsbury, the Portland Timbers all-star midfielder, heard from his father that his family members were safe, but his hometown had suffered catastrophic damage.

Jewsbury, the Timbers and their legion of fans raised thousands of dollars for the American Red Cross disaster relief effort, which helped send over 800 Red Cross workers to Joplin; they, in turn, helped families hit by the tornado get back on their feet.

DeOna Bridgeman of Canby witnessed a teenage boy being struck by a truck and trailer. She rushed to the boy’s aid and saved his life by performing citizen CPR until paramedics arrived.

When a rare, but incredibly damaging tornado struck Aumsville in December 2010, Dean and Marcia Howell, and their family, mobilized to respond to the immediate needs of their community.

Chelsea Carpenter used her CPR training to aid a woman who had collapsed in a parking lot. After EMTs arrived, she offered assistance and emotional support to the woman’s daughter.

The David Douglas High School football team responded to a call for blood donations during their summer break by bringing their entire team into the Portland Blood Donation Center.

The Oregon Red Cross will be honoring these and other amazing local heroes who have displayed courage and compassion at the Fred Meyer Breakfast of Champions on March 6th in the Oregon Convention Center.

"The heroes we honor are unselfish, caring individuals who stepped up to help, heal, and comfort, sometimes in someone’s most desperate hour. And that’s what this event is all about -- celebrating those who would put aside their own needs to come to the aid of others," said Wacker.

Please join us at the 2012 Fred Meyer Breakfast of Champions. Contact Tracy Madsen at 503-528-5692 for information regarding attending this charitable event.

We need your Red Cross stories!

For most people, encounters with the Red Cross never go beyond the occasional office blood drive or what they see on the news after a major disaster. It’s hard to explain the people behind the stories, and the very real effect the Red Cross has on those lives, unless you've experienced it yourself.

That’s why we need you. If you've been helped by the Red Cross, in any way, this is your chance to give back by sharing your story of the American Red Cross with a national audience.

Whether you were helped following a house fire or a flood, received a blood donation, were able to give life-saving CPR, were assisted by our Services to the Armed Forces, or are a volunteer remembering a special moment from a disaster deployment, your story is one we want to share.

Tell us how you were helped and what that meant to you. Go to: https://american.redcross.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=ntld_great_stories to find out more.

The Most Selfless Vanity Plate In The World

A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood. This driver "walks the walk" or actually..."drives the drive" by building blood donation awareness via license plate!

It is crucial that we build our blood supply for all patients in need and have a sufficient supply for the unexpected. You can help! Visit redcrossblood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or, if you're as dedicated as this driver, maybe even visit your local DMV...


A huge thanks to Lise for capturing this image!

American Red Cross, Oregon Region - Winter Storm Update

The American Red Cross is working around the clock to provide assistance to families and communities impacted by the recent storms.

Our Emergency Operations Center has been active since Wednesday afternoon. We are currently assessing both ongoing and potential needs, for supplies and/or shelters, in the affected areas. We are continuing to monitor and respond to developing events in flood-prone places this weekend. We currently have over 100 Red Cross volunteers and staff from around the state actively responding, and we have several hundred more volunteers on alert, if needed.

There is new concern in Hood River County, where they have been dealing with icy conditions, power outages and downed trees – we have opened a shelter at WyEast Middle School, 3000 Wy'East Rd.

Four (4) Red Cross shelterswere open overnight: Aumsville; Brookings; Gold Beach; and Mapleton. Red Cross is also providing support for two community shelters: in Allegany; and Salem. We have opened a total of seven shelters during the last 24 hours, which also included Corvallis, Florence and Vernonia.

You can search for current Red Cross Shelter sites online at: http://www.redcross.org/nss/

We are drawing on supplies that were pre-positioned in over 50 locations across the state to conduct these sheltering and relief efforts.

We are prepared to provide distribution of clean-up kits, comfort kits and emergency food supplies as needed. In addition to sleeping accommodations, snacks and meals have been provided to shelter residents as well as mental health and medical supplies and assistance as needed.

In addition, Red Cross volunteers have responded to disasters where families have been displaced (home fires, flooding, trees falling on homes) in Tillamook, Marion and Wasco Counties. We are providing, free of charge, assistance with lodging, food, clothing, comfort kits, and information about Health and Mental Health services.

Red Cross needs blood donations...

Severe weather in the state has disrupted blood donations. If you have an appointment to donate blood, don't forget to come by, or if you would like to sign up to donate, go to: http://www.redcrossblood.org/ or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to schedule an appointment.

Red Cross Safe and Well...

The Oregon Red Cross encourages everyone displaced by weather, and anyone attempting to locate friends and loved ones, to use the Red Cross Safe and Well site at: https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php

You can help people affected by disasters like the recent storms and flooding as well as countless crises at home and around the world, by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters. Visit www.oregonredcross.org or call (503) 528-5659. Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people.

Click here to make a donation.