Letter from Heart of Tennessee Executive Director, Kathy Ferrell - February 2018

2018 is off to an incredibly busy start for our chapter!  Thanks to you and to the leadership of Todd and Anita, we have responded to 36 fires and opened 47 cases during the month of January alone. I’m extraordinarily grateful that we have the capacity to serve our neighbors in their time of need. We know that we are notified of 40% of disasters (including home fires) that occur; we want to receive notification for every individual that has experienced a disaster and we want to have the capacity to provide excellent service. You are passionate about this Mission; you are the best voice for this work. I challenge you to recruit at least one friend to join you in serving.

While responding to a record number of cases, we also had the opportunity to partner with Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue Department on Saturday, February 3rd. Together, we installed approximately 100 alarms in one of the most at-risk areas of our community. Prevention is a key component of our mission and I’m incredibly proud of our dedication in this area.

In addition to living our Mission through fire/flood response, smoke alarm installations, and pillowcase projects, we are focused on our Heroes Breakfast. This event will be held Wednesday, February 21st, and will honor Dr. Sidney McPhee and Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. McPhee is a supporter of our work and has his own Red Cross story as a shelter partner for hurricane evacuees. Last year’s honoree, John Hood, will introduce Dr. McPhee and share some highlights from our sheltering experience. I hope you have the opportunity to attend.  Please RSVP to the invitation we sent to you as soon as possible. This event serves as our signature fundraiser, allowing us the opportunity to raise the dollars that we need to carry out our Mission.

I’m reminded of the value of every contribution we all make, no matter how small it seems, through the words of Mother Theresa: “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is a drop in the ocean.  But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” Thank you for every contribution you make.

With gratitude,
Kathy Ferrell
Executive Director, Heart of Tennessee Chapter