A quick reminder...
Posted Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 10:26 AM by Luke Van Meter
... not to attempt your own electrical work
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Tags: The End is Really the Beginning of the Next Chapter
Posted Monday, April 5, 2010 at 1:37 PM by Melissa Hunsberger
Laura Hahn is a former Americorps Member with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross who will be spending the next four months in Baghdad, Iraq. She will share her experiences on this blog.
I apologize for the delay on this one, I have been home for a week and life has been crazy with re-adapting, the holidays and many hard choices. I would like to re-cap my return trip adventure and conclude with some great news on the next chapter in my life. The emotional trip started with walking on the tarmac in full battle rattle (helmet and bullet proof body armor) onto the back of that C130. It was a true moment of reflection. I have seen a lot of things that people hope to never have to witness. I have been to war. I have seen death. I have witnessed disaster and its aftermath and have seen true poverty in third world nations. I wish I was wise enough to know the lesson these experiences should amount to, but the significance of these events will continue to shape the person I am becoming.
Starting the transition week out of Baghdad included moving rooms, arranging flights, and helping my replacement get adapted to life and work as fast as possible. To add to this, I had my scariest expense of the trip. I was going for my last run when I heard sirens go off. I have been trained to hit the deck many times. But this time I just froze, I had no idea what to do. Shortly after the initial warning bells, the announcement blared “INCOMING, INCOMING” and I did what I knew not to do. I ran as fast as I could to the bunker for shelter. Luckily, we were able to disarm the impact mid-air and the debris actually fell over top of the bunker, sounding like nuts falling from a tree as they hit the roof.
This sealed the deal for me in my thoughts of wanting to get out of Iraq. The trip home started with trying to catch a flight to Kuwait which is no easy task. The military and the Red Cross are similar: “hurry up and wait.” Our first flight was canceled and the second one was about 20 hours later. Once landing in Kuwait, my team was greeted with very open arms by team members from all over the “theater” (Balad, Kuwait and Afghanistan) that are also returning home. We spent the first 24 hours in a tent city which is really just an overnight waiting camp, but at this point it was like a vacation. The food was amazing. I ate everything I missed: real eggs, pink meat, tons of fresh fruit and veggies, fountain soda, and soft serve ice cream.
Best of all, I was the feeling that I was finally safe. No more drills, no more rockets, and no more gun shots. I have not had a single day off since October. Having no work was a bit of a shock. We had a chance to turn in a lot of heavy gear, work out in a nice gym, and catch up with many of my Red Cross buddies that I have been working with over the phone the entire deployment. Telling stories, being able to vent to each other and just spending time together was great.
After an experience like this it’s easy to develop a family type of companionship and sense of accomplishment with everyone I worked with. At 12:00 am on Saturday we started with customs, briefings, and information formations in the muddy rain. This whole process is considered “lock down”, starting from 12:00 am until boarding a flight which is about 20 hours later. I can’t elaborate much about the process due to security. Sleeping is not easy in the holding cell because we have different meetings. It’s hot, crowded, and there are no beds.
At this point, I was running on days of no sleep so I found a bench outside in the hot sun and passed out for a few hours. In the late afternoon we found out finally that our flight was ready and we would start our isolated trip to the airport. Nothing about this flight is normal. The bus drove for hours and since the military runs the show there is no airport staff. Needless to say, things are done very differently. I volunteered to help load the flight and climbed in the belly of this huge trans-Atlantic aircraft and helped the soldiers load all the gear. It was about 110 degrees in this little space and the bags are about 70 pounds each filled with gear. After sitting around for days and knowing that the flight would consist more of doing nothing and eating for another 20 hours, it felt good to move around and interact with some troops.
Once on the flight, we were greeted by a very thankful crew for our service to the country. It is important to note that all of us have been in transition and camps without sleep, in the heat, and have lacked showers for some time. The smell on the plane is not very pleasant, but the atmosphere is upbeat and happy. While on the “freedom flight,” surrounded by young service members all of which are ending a very long tour of duty, I can’t help but to remember how lucky I am to be an American. I love seeing new places, but I have never been so happy to be back on American soil and be thankful for everything I have. When we landed, the emotion is something that is hard to explain. A soldier got up and sang “American Soldier” on the PA system to the whole plane and I think it left everyone in tears.
Finally landing in Atlanta, we debriefed and dropped off the rest of our gear. It was really strange ending this whole trip at the same place it started so long ago. Once we got all the hard stuff out of the way and slowly got organized and showered we were finally ready for our first beer! Not drinking for 6 months was a bit of a challenge, but being able to share the first few beers with the whole team made it all worth it.
Reality is still slowly setting in as the jet lag, time change and everything about “real” life is very different than my daily routine in Iraq. I never would have seen myself returning from war, but I am glad to say that I was a part of something so real. I have met amazing people and learned things about myself that have forced me to grow up and change a lot.
When I started to write this last blog, I had no clue what was next, but within 12 hours of being home I had two amazing job offers and after an extremely hard decision process I am happy to announce that I am staying with the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces and will be moving to Washington D.C. in May. For now, I am planning on enjoying my month of vacation with family and friends. I thank everyone for all the support and letting me share my story. I hope that it provided a visual of what our brave troops and their families sacrifice every day. Always remember to thank a service member when you see them because a small thank you can mean a lot.
In case you missed our Red Cross Month flags...
Posted Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 4:00 PM by Leah Kristie
...you still have exactly 8 hours left to see them! In honor of Red Cross Month, 188 Red Cross flags have lined Center City streets all month long. And since today is such a beautiful day, why not take a stroll along Market, Chestnut, or Walnut Street to say goodbye? You can even take a book to Rittenhouse Park and sneak glances at them during page turns.
Thank you to our on call photographer, Sarah Wimberly, for taking these beautiful shots!
I Can Has Fyre Saftie
Posted Friday, March 26, 2010 at 9:46 AM by Luke Van Meter
Red Cross Month Update
Posted Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 8:59 AM by Tom Foley
March is Red Cross Month, so proclaimed by every President since FDR, and the SEPA Chapter is marking that proclamation with over 110 events in the course of the month, including the double header we hosted on Saturday, March 6: CPR Saturday in the morning (when 80 SEPA Volunteers trained 309 young people in First Aid and CPR) and The Red Ball at 8 PM that night (when 1140 people and several music and movie stars helped raise funds for Red Cross House at the Please Touch Museum).
We were also at the Clara Barton School with 250 second graders on March 5, and our volunteers will receive a public proclamation and thank you from City Council on March 25 (to go with other proclamations from the Governor and the state legislature). We will celebrate eight phenomenal lifesavers at the Help Can’t Wait Awards with 200 business/community partners tomorrow at the Horticulture Center, and kickoff the Red Cross Walk & Run to Save Lives in Fairmount Park at 8 AM on April 17.
I hope you have seen almost 200 Red Cross flags flying across the city, the 35-floor Red Cross in red lights on the CIRA building, the quite substantial coverage of our activities in the mainstream press and TV/Radio, and the coverage of us on active blogs, flickr, facebook, and other social network sites. Red Cross Month is a great opportunity for us to reinforce our community presence, and we’re honored to continue the Red Cross Month tradition. See you at the Walk & Run on April 17!
As much as you might want to tweet about everything that happens to you...
Posted Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 10:44 AM by Luke Van Meter
The Classifieds Lead Red Cross Volunteer to Her First Paying Job (Part 3)
Posted Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 4:22 PM by Melissa Hunsberger
Recently, I sat down with Alicia Layman, current SEPA Chapter Volunteer, to talk about her experience as a Red Cross Volunteer in Portugal. Read Part 3 of her story here.
This time is was Jacksonville, Florida. After living in Puerto Rico for the past three years and before that Portugal, the Layman family was again moving to a new city. The dentist she had been volunteering for in Puerto Rico would write her a letter of recommendation, which would later prove to be quite valuable.
Once in Jacksonville, Alicia and her husband decided she would need to begin working in order to help put their two children through school. Alicia didn’t know what kind of job to look for, as all she knew was dentistry. And so she began searching through the classified ads in the newspaper where she came across an opening at an oral surgeon‘s office. Alicia again believes that God guided her to this doctor and his practice. It turned out to be one of the most prestigious dental practices in the state. In fact the surgeon was president of the Florida Dental Association, a title he retained for many years.
Alicia had her first paying job in the United States as a dental assistant. The woman who trained her was selfless and gave away her knowledge freely. “All the knowledge that she had she wanted to pass on to another person,” says Alicia. Thanks to the letter of recommendation from the dentist in Puerto Rico and the fact that Alicia already knew the basics, she began to training as a surgical dental assistant.
As the training began, Alicia explained that she was somewhat hesitant because she disliked the sight of blood. The woman commented that most people felt the same way and they would give her three months to get over her fear. Alicia did just that and became a surgical dental assistant lending a hand with implants, biopsies, and wisdom teeth extractions.
Alicia and her family lived in Jacksonville for six years before moving to Horsham, Pennsylvania where she would begin her job search a new. Back to the classified ads she went, though with little success. She again turned to prayer regarding her situation and while searching through the phone directory she came across the name of an oral surgeon from Holy Redeemer Hospital. She picked up the telephone and before long Alicia had a new job. In each of these instances, Alicia partially credits the Red Cross with her success in finding a job.
Unfortunately, due to Alicia’s health, she would be unable to work for the next five years. However, once her health improved she began job searching again and just as before she prayed for guidance. While searching through the phone directory she again came across the name of an oral surgeon and phoned the office to see if there might be an opening. The surgeon’s wife answered the phone and stated the office was in search of a dental assistant. The woman was so impressed with Alicia’s knowledge and experience that she hired her over the phone. Alicia would go one to work for eleven years with the chief oral surgeon at Abington Hospital.
Thanks to the Red Cross Alicia was afforded many opportunities along with those other women who went through the same training program so many years ago in Portugal. Because of the success of her dental career, Alicia knew that one day when she retired she wanted to do something to give back to the Red Cross.
Haiti/Chapter Update
Posted Monday, March 22, 2010 at 11:38 AM by Tom Foley
The focus in Haiti continues to be on emergency and transitional shelter, on health, on sanitation and on the way forward. Although there has been substantial progress on every front of this response, the question remains whether it will be either enough or in time to ward off further tragedy. In the face of all this, I hope you will be heartened to learn that our SEPA Chapter staff and volunteers have never missed a beat. We are front and center meeting the needs of this community, every day and every night.
Since January 12, when the quake hit Haiti,
- Our volunteers have responded to over 150 local disasters, which displaced more than 500 people.
- Red Cross House has been at over 80% occupancy since January 12, with 17 families, 48 people with us today (including a family of five who were burned out of their home on Howland Street in Philadelphia on Saturday night).
- Our health and safety team has taught 1,428 classes, training (and certifying) almost 15,000 people in lifesaving techniques.
- Our emergency services team has helped well over 200 military families by connecting those serving our country with friends and family back home.
- Our Red Cross Club kids have been all over the map helping us with creative fundraising strategies in their schools, raising awareness about Red Cross locally, in Haiti and Chile, and continuing their community service projects (over 60 last year).
We are only able to rise to the financial and other needs in Haiti, in Chile, and in this region because our staff and volunteers have built up a significant level of trust in this five county community, and because this community is so generous. Truly amazing.
Hope this information is useful to you. Thank you for all your support.
Bake Sale for Haiti
Posted Friday, March 19, 2010 at 11:39 AM by Leah Kristie
This morning, I had the pleasure of going to People to People Charter School in Philadelphia to receive a $600 check for Haiti Relief from the second grade students. In order to raise the funds, the students held a dress-down day and sold homemade cookies and cakes. They asked great questions about the disaster relief work of the Red Cross both locally and in Haiti, and they made beautiful cards expressing their love for students in Haiti just like them. Extraordinary work!
Red Ball Photos
Posted Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 5:57 PM by Melissa Hunsberger
In case you missed the Red Ball, click the photo below to see what a wonderful event the Red Cross hosted.
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