By Kathleen Maclay, Red Cross volunteer
With hundreds seeking Red Cross help as Northern California wildfires have forced residents to evacuate, the American Red Cross is offering a one-stop Volunteer Intake Center (VIC) in the Lake County community of Middletown from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday, August 4. Maybe longer. Read more
When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, George Dresnek explored ways to help and found himself in an American Red Cross call center in Oakland. He now regularly deploys for the Red Cross as a facilities expert to 6 to 7 disaster responses a year, volunteer work that can take him away for up to 28 days at a time. Acknowledging the incredible sacrifices he makes on behalf of those in need, George readily credits his wife for this generosity. “I retired in 2012,” he smirks, describing his ongoing availability for service. “But she was the one who told me to ‘get a hobby.’” Read more
CalNW Chapter Executive Director Jeff Baumgartner spoke with KSRO’s Pat Kerrigan to discuss the California Wildfires Six-Month Update from the Red Cross. Baumgartner recalled the Red Cross response and confirmed that recovery would likely take one to three years. Baumgartner described the vast number of community partners involved in the recovery effort and stated it would be an opportunity to build back community systems and infrastructure with more insight into future needs. He also recognized the deep generosity of the broader community in their combined response efforts saying that the level of community response was “extremely impressive.”
Click here to listen to the full interview on KSRO.
Click here to access the California Wildfires Six-Month Update.
By Kathryn Hecht
Benjamin Greenberg looked for a way to give back for a long time. A resident of Santa Rosa since 1999, Ben grappled with frustrating circumstances and a host of medical issues that left him on disability with a light work schedule. However, when the fires hit in October 2017, the Coddington resident thought, “I should do something.”
So he just showed up. Read more
The CAC Team includes ARC staff and volunteers plus SSCRA staff members Calvin Lee, Indigo Perry, Rebecca Samad, Magdalena Valderrama Hurwitz, and Melanie Garrett.
Starting 40 odd years ago, 300 like-minded members of the Adidam Spiritual Community moved to Lake County to be near the Mountain of Attention Sanctuary, one of the worldwide group’s meditation centers. Varied as their backgrounds were, members of the community shared a common vision of caring for their sacred grounds. Read more
Peggy Goebel is shown with Rene Steinhauer, center, and State Senator Mike McGuire.
American Red Cross volunteer and Windsor resident Peggy Goebel had barely unpacked from her deployment to Hurricane Harvey when she was evacuated to the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building in the early hours of October 9. She was one of hundreds of area residents, fleeing wildfires, who were streaming into the facility. Read more
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