Local Red Cross sets preparedness event

VW independent/submitted information

The Red Cross will be celebrating Red Cross Month by hosting a preparedness event at Lee Kinstle GM Sales & Service (650 W. Ervin Road in Van Wert) on Saturday, March 17.  The event will run from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and will begin with a 1-mile fun run at 9 that morning. The first 100 children there will receive a free t-shirt.

After the fun run, there will be multiple activity stations for the entire family, including rock painting, CPR, face painting, preparedness presentations, cookie decorating, and making cards for the military. The Red Cross, along with its community partners, will also offer a touch-a-truck station where participants can see first-hand the vehicles used by the CERT, EMA, fire department, police department, and the Red Cross Disaster Team.

In an effort to prepare the community, the Red Cross will be distributing free first aid kits to the first 100 adults present. There will also be opportunities to learn more about volunteer opportunities in the community through the Red Cross and its partner: the United Way.

March was first proclaimed Red Cross Month in 1943 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to raise awareness of the organization and its humanitarian mission. President Roosevelt’s last radio talk to the nation on March 20, 1945, was in support of the Red Cross War Fund. He died 23 days later, on April 12, 1945.

This year, the Red Cross salutes all the heroes who make a difference in their communities by:

• Donating blood or platelets
• Volunteering to help people impacted by a disaster
• Taking a first aid or CPR class to help in an emergency
• Providing comfort to a member of the military, a veteran or their family

“The Red Cross is powered by our volunteer heroes who give of their time, talents and compassion to fulfill our vital humanitarian mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering,” said Derek Stemen, executive director of the American Red Cross of West Central Ohio. “They are people from your neighborhood who donate blood, who teach First Aid and CPR classes, and who support those in need. We honor them during Red Cross Month and ask you to consider joining us and making a difference.”

During March, be a hero and join the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross. More information is available on how people can help at www.redcross.org/volunteer.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or check out the organization on Twitter at @RedCross.