You can help save someone’s life by donating blood during Monday’s WKVI blood drive. The American Red Cross will be at the WKVI studios at 400 West Culver Road in Knox Monday afternoon.
Continue readingWKVI to Host Blood Drive Monday
WKVI Hosting Red Cross Blood Drive Thursday
You can help save a life by donating blood during a Red Cross Blood Drive at the WKVI studios tomorrow afternoon. The Red Cross Bloodmobile will be at the radio station at 400 West Culver Road in Knox from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Continue readingTake Some Time this Month to Thank Your Local Red Cross Volunteers & Donors
Every year, March is recognized as Red Cross Month in order to honor the individuals who donate time, funds or blood to help the charitable organization make a difference in communities all across the country.
Continue readingRed Cross Volunteer Training Discussed by Starke County COAD
Local individuals driven to help in the event of an emergency recently attended a Red Cross volunteer training session held at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox. Continue reading
This Volunteer Training Course Will Help You be Prepared If a Disaster Strikes
If you’re interested in preparing yourself to provide assistance in the event of an emergency, you should consider attending the free Red Cross volunteer training session scheduled for Sunday, September 23rd.
This training course is being held in conjunction with the Starke County COAD’s efforts to form a local Disaster Action Team. The course will be held at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox. Prospective volunteers should show up around noon CST. Continue reading
Local Leaders and Volunteers Encouraged to Join Starke County COAD
If you’re looking for a way to get more involved in your community, you should consider joining the Starke County COAD.
The group will be meeting this coming week on Tuesday, August 7th in order to coordinate more about local efforts.
Starke County COAD, or Community Organizations Active in Disaster, aims to encourage collaboration among local residents and officials in order to strengthen the community to be better prepared for disaster response and recovery. Continue reading
Community Wellness Center of Winamac to Host Blood Drive Today
You can do your part to help Red Cross restock their shelves with blood donations by attending a local drive today.
From 12:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. (EST) the Community Wellness Center of Winamac will be hosting a blood drive. Continue reading
Blood Shortage Prompts Red Cross to Issue Urgent Call for Eligible Donors of All Blood Types
The American Red Cross saw a dip in the number of blood drives held during the beginning of July and it has prompted them to issue an urgent call for eligible donors of all blood types.
According to a press release, the Red Cross delivers blood donations to 80 hospitals across the Indiana-Ohio Blood Services region and needs an average of 500 blood donations each day to support patient needs. Continue reading
Starke County EMA Director Holds First Community Organization Active in Disaster Meeting
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director J. Nier hosted a meeting with community members who interested in participating in a group focused on local disaster preparation and response efforts.
Church representatives, members of the medical community and concerned citizens were among the individuals who attended the first Community Organizations Active in Disaster or COAD meeting on Tuesday night.
Director Nier explained that Starke County COAD was actually established a while ago. However, she said when she took the position in October of last year, the group had been inactive for some time. During the flooding event in February, she realized that there were certain needs that were being unmet so she’s attempting to revive the organization. Continue reading
Pulaski County EMA Director Updates Commissioners on Flood Response
The Pulaski County Emergency Management Agency is assessing damage and helping residents clean up from recent flooding. EMA Director Sheri Gaillard gave an update to the county commissioners Monday. “I gave out 3,250 sandbags to the Pulaski County citizens,” she said. “Both the gauges are finally down into minor flooding stage, but damage assessment is still ongoing because there were a lot of places that we couldn’t get to still, at least 10 that I can think of off the top of my head.”
Knox Schools Superintendent Thanks Staff, Community Members for Flood Response Efforts
When recent floods threatened to force Knox residents out of their homes, school staff and local community members came together to make sure everyone had a safe place to stay. Knox Community Schools Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart issued a letter last week, publicly thanking those who helped with the schools’ flood response.
Emergency Response Vehicles Delivering Food and Clean-Up Kits Around Indiana
On Wednesday, Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles started delivering food and supplies to flood-affected areas around Indiana, including the counties of Marshall, Starke and Pulaski.
Lead Disaster Action Team Member and Local Red Cross Volunteer Sherry Fagner spent the beginning of this week working with the Mass Care Feeding League at Red Cross Headquarters in South Bend, organizing contracts with areas requesting assistance and preparing kits to deliver to the spots that were hit the hardest by the recent floods. Continue reading
Emergency Management Officials Coordinate Response Efforts For Residents Affected by the Floods
As the flood waters start receding, emergency management officials are beginning to plan out ways to assist those most severely impacted by the recent floods.
The Salvation Army recently delivered a few clean-up kits to emergency management officials in both Starke and Pulaski County. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier and Pulaski County EMA Director Sheri Gaillard said they will be handing those out to the citizens who need them in the near future.
They also said they’ll be conducting more thorough damage assessments once the water recedes more. However, residents are still reminded to fill out damage assessment reports through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to assist with relief efforts. Only uninsured property damage should be reported. Continue reading
Blood and Platelet Shortage Has Reached a Critical Level, Donors Needed
Recent severe weather conditions have resulted in multiple blood drive cancellations, causing the Red Cross to declare that the blood and platelet shortage has reached a critical level.
According to a press release from the organization, no matter the weather is like, every day the Red Cross has to collect more than 13,000 blood and platelet donations to help meet the needs of patients. Due to the winter weather conditions in January, more than 550 blood drives were forced to cancel causing over 16,500 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected.
Red Cross Communications Manager Rodney Wilson said currently, blood and platelet donations are being distributed to hospitals faster than they’re coming in. Continue reading
Red Cross Blood Mobile will be at Culver Middle/High School Thursday + Additional January Opportunities
The Red Cross Blood Mobile will be stationed at Culver Middle/High School from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 11th.
If you’re unable to attend Thursday’s blood drive, or if you wish to make multiple donations in January, there are a few other local opportunities available this month.
The Red Cross has a blood drive scheduled at the Community Wellness Center of Winamac, formerly the Pulaski County YMCA, from 12:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. ET on Friday, January 12th. Continue reading
Upcoming Local Red Cross Blood Drives
The Red Cross is always in need of blood donations. However, in the aftermath of the recent natural disasters that have impacted different portions of the country, it is vital to have a wide variety of blood types from a plethora of donors.
Some blood types are unique to certain racial and ethnic groups, so having an assorted blood supply is important to meet the medical needs of an increasingly diverse patient population. Red Cross reports that patients are less likely to experience complications from blood donated by someone of a similar ethnicity. Some local blood donation opportunities are coming up during the month of October. Continue reading
Local Red Cross Volunteer One of Six Hoosiers Chosen for U.S. Virgin Islands Deployment
The Winamac woman who recently returned from Texas after spending two weeks assisting the Red Cross with mass care efforts there, is leaving once again – this time to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sherry Fagner is one of six Indiana volunteers who were chosen to be a part of the jump team that was assembled to be deployed to the area.
When Sherry returned from Texas, she was a little under the weather. However, she said she is feeling better now as she physically, mentally and emotionally prepares for her journey. She leaves today and will spend a day or two in Atlanta, Georgia for staff collection then she will leave from there to the islands. Continue reading
Local Red Cross Volunteer Returns Home Briefly Before Another Deployment
Local Red Cross volunteer Sherry Fagner returned home last Friday, after spending two weeks working as the supervisor of a staff shelter in Beaumont, Texas. Sherry is the sole Lead Disaster Action Team member for Pulaski and Starke Counties. She is also a longtime Red Cross volunteer who has assisted in past natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, the Henryville tornadoes and the 2016 floods in South Bend. Continue reading
Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort Update from Local Volunteer
The last time Sherry Fagner, spoke with WKVI, she was two days away from joining the Red Cross in Houston to assist with mass care efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Fagner is a Lead Disaster Action Team member for Pulaski and Starke Counties as well as a long-time Red Cross Volunteer. Sherry has been on the ground for a little under a week now and has been quite busy as the supervisor of a staff shelter there. Continue reading
Local Red Cross Volunteer Heading to Houston
A local woman who volunteered during past natural disasters such as the Henryville Tornado and Hurricane Sandy will be deploying to Houston this weekend to assist the Red Cross with mass care efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Sherry Fagner is a former Incident Management Team member of the District 2 Task Force who now serves as the Lead Disaster Action Team member for Pulaski and Starke Counties. Fagner will be providing assistance in one of the mega centers that has been set up in the Houston area. Continue reading
