Letter from Tennessee River Executive Director, Katy Hagstrom - February 2019

Tennessee River volunteers,

I want to thank you for your incredible show of dedication and support thus far in 2019. It has been a busy start to the year and it is because of your selfless dedication that we have been able to continue to support our communities in times of need.

In terms of disaster response, our chapter opened 34 cases in January and as of February 6, 11 cases have already been opened in the month of February. That is a total of 45 cases in 37 days. From those cases, there have been several astounding stories in which clients expressed that without being alerted by their smoke alarm, they wouldn’t have made it out of their home. For that reason, I would like to encourage all of you as Red Cross representatives to talk with your family and friends about the importance of fire safety; having alarms, creating a fire escape route, having a meeting location, and practicing fire safety habits in their home.

Although it has been a busy season, we have many opportunities for training this month:

• Disaster Action Team (DAT) workshop February 12
• Basic instructors course February 16
• Disaster Assessment (DA) fundamentals February 19
• Casework fundamentals February 26

In addition, the month of February is American Heart Month. If you are not already trained or need to renew your CPR, First Aid, and AED certification, please call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit Redcross.org to sign up for a class through Training Services. There is no better feeling that knowing how to react when an emergency happens in front of you, being able to help someone, and putting your training into action.

As a volunteer, if you would like to be more engaged in our operations or learn about new opportunities, please contact:

John Price
Disaster Workforce Engagement
John.price@redcross.org