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Generosity of Donors Enables Rappahannock Are Chapter to Touch the Lives of one in five area residents.
The Rappahannock Area Chapter is Thankful for
Critical Donor Support
July 10th 2007— It was early Wednesday
morning. Lt. Kevin Yeziersky, member of the
Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Department received a call. He was asked to
respond to a fire on Bragg Hill road. Kevin was the first on the scene and
it was clear that he had a job to do. Inside the burning house slept Rodrigo
and Felipa Cevallo
and their 1month son Brian. Kevin started to bang on the windows to
wake the sleeping victims and then proceed to help them escape through
a broken window. The family was now physically safe.
The
Cevallo family stayed with family that night
and the next morning awoke to the daunting task of recovery. They
contacted the Rappahannock Area Chapter of the Red Cross were they
spoke with Paula Shaver, Director of Emergency Services. Paula provided emotional support for
the family, made sure they had shelter for the night and provided
vouchers to be used for food, clothing, shoes and infant supplies. This
assistance gave the Cevallo’s the
foundation for recovery.
In
the days that followed the family met with Paula to discuss their path
to recovery. Since the family did not have renters insurance they were
issued additional referrals to other community resources to assist them.
The
Cevallo’s life has been touched by the Rappahannock
Area Chapter, however, this is only one story
out of hundreds/thousands. This year, Rappahannock Area Chapter has
touched more than 13,131 of lives throughout the area, an increase of 33%
percent over last year This year, the chapter has-
- responded to more than 59
local disasters, 59 of them home fires,
- trained 9,255 individuals in
lifesaving skills like CPR, first aid and how to use an automatic
emergency defibrillator.
- trained 1,507
individuals, including school groups and businesses, in community
disaster education – empowering people with the skills and
confidence to be ready for disasters and life’s emergencies
- provided 506 emergency
messages, referrals and related services to U.S. service members,
veterans and their families through our Service to the Armed
Forces department.
- Provided Last year over
660 children, between the ages of one and twelve years, received
new toys and a winter coat.
“When you take a step back and
look at the numbers of how many people were helped, and in so many
different ways, it really is quite something,” said Luis Garcia
Executive Director. “But even more special is the fact that the
only reason that we can do this work is because of the generosity of our
donors and volunteers. Their
support and compassion, enabling us to do extraordinary things in this
community every day, is simply magnificent. I can’t put into words how
thankful I am for their generosity.”
More
than 276 of people volunteer at the Rappahannock Area Chapter, donating
countless hours of service each year.
Nationwide, volunteers make up 97 percent of the Red Cross
workforce, allowing the Red Cross to operate with great efficiency.
“We
understand how precious gifts of time, money and blood are to members
of this community,” said Will Kinnamon, Board Chair. “We are
committed to being good stewards of the gifts and trust that our donors
place in us. I encourage our
donors, if they want to see their compassion in action, how their
donations are being put to work helping people in our community and
around the nation, to visit our website http://rappahannockarea.redcross.org
or check out www.redcross.org ”
An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red
Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs.
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