Tag Archives: Central Coast

Pandemic hasn’t changed need for Red Cross DAT calls, just the way we’re doing them

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Jillian Balceta, an AmeriCorps worker in the Silicon Valley Chapter, also serves on the chapter’s DAT and Casework teams. She supported the DAT team on two recent calls using her computer at home.
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While the Covid-19 crisis has shuttered businesses, postponed community events, and required widespread sheltering-in-place, the pandemic hasn’t changed at least one thing: Individuals and families are still confronted with home fires and other emergencies that require critical assistance from the American Red Cross. Read more

Thank you, once more, to our incredible volunteers!

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Volunteers are the lifeline of the American Red Cross, providing critical services such as educating clients on home fire prevention. (Photo: Samar M. Salma; American Red Cross)
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Every April, the American Red Cross joins organizations around the world to shine a spotlight on the people who make the real difference in our communities: our volunteers. Their selfless time, energy, compassion, and dedication are what get the work of the Red Cross done.

National Volunteer Week takes place this year from April 19th through April 25th. As a ramp-up to this special time, now is the perfect moment to recognize – once more – the incredible volunteers honored throughout our region at our 2019 Volunteer Recognition Events:

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Our region is helping address the severe blood shortage

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Individuals can schedule an appointment to give blood with the Red Cross by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device. (If you can’t find a blood drive in your area right now, please check back as Red Cross teams are rescheduling them as quickly as possible. Thank you!)
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As the coronavirus pandemic has grown in the U.S., blood drive cancellations have also grown at an alarming rate. As of March 18, nearly 4,500 Red Cross blood drives have been cancelled across the country due to concerns about congregating at workplaces, college campuses, and schools during the coronavirus outbreak. These cancellations have resulted in some 150,000 fewer blood donations. More than 80 percent of the blood the Red Cross collects comes from drives held at locations of this type. Read more

Volunteer LouAnne Williams keeps it simple in order to serve hundreds

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(l to r) Eva Marquez, Keith Hoffman, LouAnne Williams, and Jeff Airth. Photography: Kane Wong | American Red Cross
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LouAnne Williams keeps it simple. On October 31, 2013, she began to look for ways to give back to her community. She tried to register with a local hospital but felt that they had an overwhelming number of rules and regulations.  Craving something simpler and more direct, she sought counsel from friends and family. Her son-in-law suggested she try the Red Cross, so LouAnne walked into the front door of the Red Cross, literally across the street from the hospital. And she has never looked back.

LouAnne began her journey as a preparedness instructor and now leads her peers in multiple capacities. Last year, she received the San Mateo County Volunteer of the Year Award, something that came as no surprise to her colleagues.

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Danny Lucas blood drive nets 80 units of blood, almost half of which came from first-time donors

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About 100 local residents turn out to honor Watsonville fire captain

Photo of Danny Lucas and his family.

Danny Lucas was joined at last Friday’s blood drive by his sons, Danny Jr. (left) and Chad (right) and by his wife, Cindi. For more photos of this very special drive, please go to this album. For a video clip of blood donor Hilary Weaver, please go here. (Photo: Virginia and Albert Becker)
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Some of the blood donors who flocked to a Red Cross blood drive in Watsonville last Friday are regular donors at the once-a-month blood drive at the Pajaro Valley Health Trust. But, on this particular day, at this particular drive, it was clear that many more came out of respect for a local resident who has given so much to his community during a 35-year career with the Watsonville Fire Department.

“When I read the story about Danny Lucas’ accident and this drive in his honor, I immediately made an appointment,” said Hilary Weaver, a Santa Cruz resident who worked alongside Lucas during her dozen years as a paramedic in the Watsonville area. Read more

Watsonville Fire Captain knows — firsthand — the value of blood donations

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Danny Lucas, who miraculously survived a near-fatal hunting accident, is promoting a Red Cross Central Coast Chapter blood drive on February 21

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Danny Lucas, shown in his Watsonville backyard with his dog Stella, desperately needed two dozen units of blood to survive his brush with death. Taking time away from his own recovery, Danny is now helping to promote an American Red Cross blood drive on Friday, February 21, at the Pajaro Valley Health Trust Hall in Watsonville. (Photo: Jim Burns)
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As a 35-year veteran of the Watsonville Fire Department, Captain Danny Lucas has seen more than his share of fire- or accident-related tragedies. “I’ve had to give the worst kind of news to next of kin,” he says.

Fighting to hold back tears, he quietly adds: “I didn’t want our own sons to have to make that kind of a call to my wife.”

But, because of a hunting accident in the wilds of Montana this past November, an emergency call to Danny’s wife had to be made. Cindi Lucas was told her husband was clinging to life and that she needed to immediately travel to his bedside. Read more

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