Letter from East Tennessee Executive Director Michelle Hankes, February 2016

February is the month we think of hearts and flowers and love. 

But at the Red Cross, it’s also the month that has the highest incident of fires. For such a short month, it packs a punch with storms and ice and wind. You can help your community get through February and the coming months in three simple ways:

1. Volunteer. Sign up for trainings that teach you how to do something new like run shelters for those who have lost power to heat their homes during the coldest days of the year. Learn how to do casework for a family who has lost everything. Find out how to plan the logistics of getting supplies where they’re needed in a disaster.
   
2. Advocate. Help your Red Cross and local fire departments get smoke alarms installed in every home across our country. Think of the lives you will save when you teach a child and his parent about how to plan an escape route before a fire starts.
   
3. Give. Whether you have a few dollars or a lot, everything makes a difference. Imagine that your dollar bill is what makes it possible to give a bottle of water to someone who is in distress. Imagine that your $100 has helped a family stay a night in a hotel after a fire. Imagine that your $1,000 just made opening a shelter after an ice storm possible.

There’s a lot of heart in East Tennessee! I see it every day in our volunteers and donors! Thank you!