Letter from Southeast Tennessee Executive Director, Julia Wright - March 2015

In Southeast Tennessee, fire impacts on average over 337 families every year.  Fire displaces families, creates stress and puts lives at risk.  However, Red Cross workers are there to offer support, comfort, and hope.  These scenes are repeated again and again, every day, sometimes with dire consequences.  Across America, every eight minutes, fire takes something. Seven times a day someone in this country dies in a home fire.

This March, the American Red Cross encourages you to take steps to make sure yourr household is prepared for emergencies.  As part of the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, The American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee in coordination with the City of Chattanooga Fire Department visited the Avondale Community to teach people how to be prepared for home fires and install smoke alarms where needed.

To support home fire survivors across the country, the Red Cross has launched a new social media campaign this month called #GIVEWHATFIRETAKES in conjunction with the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign. You can help by taking part in the #GIVEWHATFIRETAKES campaign and make a donation that could support families after a home fire and other disasters.

You can purchase symbolic items like these and help the thousands of people affected by disasters like home fires every year:

·         Help provide two blankets for $10

·         Help install 2 smoke alarms for those who need them for as little as $30

·         Help provide clothing and shoes for a family for $100

·         Help provide financial assistance to a family after a fire destroys their home for $550

You can help people affected by disasters like home fires and countless other crises by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.