Ready for an 'Extreme Makeover'?

A family in the Salem, Oregon area is receiving a very special knock today as Ty Pennington and the ABC 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' team are paying a visit to start a week long home construction for a deserving family. You can visit http://richduncan-emhe.com for more details about the construction and volunteer efforts. Details about the family are expected later today.

You might remember the story of Lizzie Bell from Tuscon, AZ who received a visit from 'Extreme Makeover' early last year. Lizzie, who was born with a rare condition that requires her to receive blood transfusions every few weeks, has made it her mission to raise awareness about the ongoing need for blood and has been a vocal advocate for the Red Cross mission. 'Extreme Makeover' previously visited Oregon in 2007, to help the Byers family in Corvallis after their late daughter Boey was diagnosed with a very rare, aggressive childhood cancer.

Our blood center in Salem is holding a special blood drive in honor of this latest family and event. The drive will be held this Friday, September 10th, from 11 AM to 4:30 PM. It is suggested that you make an appointment to donate online.

Photo: ABC Network

California Community Rolls up Sleeves to Donate for Officer

A regular lesson in the Red Cross is that tragedy can bring people together to do amazing things. This story comes out of the Bay Area over the past two weeks, in which Fremont officer Todd Young was shot twice while serving an arrest warrant in East Oakland. The suspect, Andrew Barrientos, fled and was arrested within feet of the U.S.-Mexico border two days later.

This past week Young has been undergoing several surgeries. To stabilize him alone, 60 units of blood were needed (60 successful donations). In all, 127 blood products were needed. The local Red Cross, as with our area, was already suffering from a lack of donations and suddenly was put into a tough situation. Thankfully, the area Police Departments had their officers donate while on duty and the community came together to show a strong increase in donations. Young's status has been upgraded from critical to serious condition.

While it is great that the community has come out to show support, the ideal is to have the blood on hand before the crisis situation occurs. We rely heavily on regular donations, and with vacations typical to the summer and Labor Day weekend the thought of donating can be forgotten. We are currently in an urgent need of blood and September is National Preparedness Month. Why not help us prepare by scheduling an appointment if you are eligible, and passing along the message to your friends and family?

Photo: Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Pat Cohen Donating Blood with the Red Cross, Mercury News

Tracking Earl

Interested in tracking Hurricane Earl? Here's Mashable's list of great online resources to check out now and in case of future disaster.

You can also track the Red Cross' preparation and response to the storm right here.

The Sound Of Infant CPR

Why should you make the time to learn CPR? This PSA from the British Red Cross answers the question...and then some. Check it out...and then sign up for a class.

Happy 90210 Day!

Today is 9/02/10, so in the spirit of the holiday, I thought I'd share my favorite clip. Note that it doesn't get very exciting until the last minute or so...

Note also that Brandon does a good job with the check, call, care process, but a rather bad job with CPR. If you need to perform CPR on a stranger, this is a better way to do it.

Free Chipotle Burrito? Just Roll Up Your Sleeve!

Hungry? Next Thursday, September 7th, the Red Cross and Chipotle want to satisfy your hunger and your appetite for helping others. The first-ever Chipotle Blood Drive is offering a free burrito to every presenting donor!

This event will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. at Chipotle Mexican Grill in Portland, located at 710 NE Weidler Street.

To participate, call (503) 528-5603 to register as a blood donor for the “Chipotle” drive. Donor appointments are not required, but are preferred. All interested participants can also register online at this link: http://bit.ly/aWplU3

Chipotle image courtesy of chipotle.com

Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up

Welcome to the Worldwide Wednesday Wrap-Up, in which we consolidate the international Red Cross and Red Crescent news into one list of bite-sized links for you. It's a non-comprehensive sampling of the larger and/or more intriguing aspects of our global work...

CHILE: A red card from a soccer referee is bad news, but a "RED Card" from the Chilean Red Cross brings funds for families to repair and rebuild their homes after the earthquake.

INDIA: As thousands struggle with flash floods and landslides, the India Red Cross Society responds with first aid, relief supplies, clean water, and more.

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Severe floods have forced more than 23,000 people to evacuate. Hundreds of Red Cross volunteers have helped distribute tarps, relief supplies and water purification units.

INDONESIA: More than 28,000 people have been displaced after the eruption of Mt. Sinabung last weekend. The Indonesian Red Cross is responding with medical units, field kitchens, and relief supplies including face masks to protect against volcanic ash in the air.

PAKISTAN: The multinational relief efforts continue, and IFRC officials say the flooding is "only the start of a bigger catastrophe."

GLOSSARY:

ICRC = International Committee of the Red Cross
IFRC = International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

CONTEST: Tell Us #Just1Thing (Again!)

It's contest time, my friends!

In honor of National Preparedness Month, we're bringing back our incredibly awesome Twitter contest from last year -- #just1thing. And, if you do exactly that --

tell us just one thing that you're doing to get prepared for emergencies via Twitter

-- we'll throw you in the mix to win some super sweet prizes.

Things to know:

1. None of this would be happening without our amazing partners at Oregon Public Health Emergency Preparedness (aka, the State of Oregon).

2. The prizes for 2010 are WAY better than 2009. There are FOUR of them and the value is in the $100 range. Pretty sweet.

3. Anyone can share anything they're doing to get prepared at any time, but *new this year* each week of September will have a special theme and corresponding prize:

Sept. 1-10: Children

Sept. 13-17: Families

Sept. 20-24: Workplace

Sept. 27-30: Pets

4. All participants are welcome, however only Oregon residents are eligible for prizes, to be awarded via random drawing. [Sorry to our friends across the country and around the world, but this is one of the stipulations since we're partnering with the State of Oregon.]

And, as always, the contest is free and there are no requirements to purchase anything to participate.

Once again:

To participate, send a tweet to @RedCrossPDX with whatever you're doing to get prepared and use the hashtag #just1thing.

That's it! Now go forth and WIN!

It's That Time Again...

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH! w00t!

NatlPreparedness0910

Hurricane Earl, As Seen From Space

From the MSNBC photoblog:

Wondering what the Red Cross has already done in response to Earl? Lots, as it turns out. Check the Disaster Online Newsroom to see what's been happening in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

You can also watch this video to see what we're doing to get ready along the Eastern Seaboard.

In the Time it Takes to Give Blood...

Farmville, Facebook, squirrels on water skis...we're all guilty of a little internet distraction (Red Cross followers are exempt!). However, when getting hooked on useless web browsing, do you ever wish you could have that hour of your life back?

Unfortunately, science has yet to invent a "successful" time machine to change your own past. Nonetheless, you can redeem yourself by helping to save up to three lives! In the time it takes to check out Lolcats and your Twitter account, you could be donating blood, which has a huge impact in the lives of cancer patients, trauma victims and others.

Still not convinced? Then check out this great video and give blood today! Call 1-800 RED CROSS or visit us online.



Video courtesy of The Telling with educational funding from Johnson & Johnson