Tag Archives: Donors

Our Farm to Table Dinner, cancelled because of the pandemic, would have taken place this Sunday

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We’re still very grateful for our partners, sponsors, and other supporters who make this dinner possible — and look forward to next year’s event

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Danny Lucas, a longtime captain with the Watsonville Fire Department, was to be honored at this Sunday’s Farm to Table Dinner.

The Farm to Table Dinner is a spectacular event, hosted annually by our American Red Cross chapter here in the Central Coast. Held in a beautiful outdoor setting, this family-style dinner is prepared by some of Northern California’s most preeminent chefs. This signature event provides guests with a special opportunity to celebrate our organization’s local impact and raise critical dollars for those programs, all while enjoying some of the finest offerings from local farms and wineries.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many weeks ago we made the decision to cancel our 6th annual dinner. It was to have occurred this Sunday, June 7, at the stunning Carmel Valley Ranch. Proceeds from the event this year were to have supported the lifesaving work we do in Blood Services. Read more

A surprise phone call: one woman’s American Red Cross story

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By Marcia Antipa

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Abby and son, Carl, in 1967.
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In October of 1966, Abby Chapman and Carl Borders had been married just a year and a half, when Carl shipped off to Vietnam. Abby had just learned that she was pregnant with their first child. The war and the pregnancy would bring the American Red Cross into her life for the first time.

As a recent medical school graduate, Carl was in high demand in wartime. He was assigned to a new Army MUST field hospital in Tay Ninh. MUST stands for Medical Unit, Self-contained, Transportable.

“I felt as though he was fairly safe there, and he wasn’t. Mortars were attacking his company and the hospital. It was very disheartening for me to think this was where he was going.”

Read more

Paying it forward

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arc 420x279On January 24, 2018, Alan Freberg and Laura Bellizzi were running errands only to return to their apartment and find that their home of twenty-five years had burned down. “There were ten fire engines…there had been an electrical surge,” remembers Laura.

Laura and Alan had no prior experience with the American Red Cross. “The Red Cross was there immediately,” explains Laura. “They gave us blankets and kept offering us food…It was kind of drizzling out, and I was shaking. I finally told them I don’t need another blanket, I’m not cold. I’m shaking because my house just burned down,” Laura recalls. Read more

Salesforce employee shares collaborative talents with Red Cross

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This is another in a series of stories we are posting on this regional blog related to the American Red Cross response to the Kincade Fire disaster:

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Chris Reese, shown at the Red Cross shelter in Petaluma last week, was also interviewed for this video about the partnership between the Red Cross and Salesforce. (Photo: Jim Burns | American Red Cross)
See more stories related to the Red Cross response to the Kincade Fire.
See photos from this response.

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Two years ago, Chris Reese decided to shift gears, leaving the technology company that had employed him so he could pursue a better work-life balance. “I embarked on a year of service,” he said, smiling.

It was also a year that introduced Chris to the American Red Cross. Read more

Community in a shelter full of strangers

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This is another in a series of stories we are posting on this regional blog related to the American Red Cross response to the Kincade Fire disaster:

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Red Cross cots and blankets await evacuees earlier this week at the Marin County Fairgrounds shelter.

To see more stories related to the Red Cross response to the Kincade Fire, please go here.

By Taylor Poisall,
American Red Cross

In a room filled to capacity, a sense of community was present.

“It’s actually been really nice. There’s a sense of bonding that makes us all feel like close neighbors” said Cathy, who moved to Northern California a few years ago from the East Coast. This was her first time ever staying in a shelter. “My daughter has had a great time; it’s like she has been at camp. She played games with other children, read books from the mobile library, and visited with many elderly residents.” Read more

This Red Cross shelter is just what this trio — and hundreds of others here — have so desperately needed

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This is another in a series of stories we are posting on our regional Red Cross blog related to the American Red Cross response to the Kincade Fire disaster:

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Jim Armstrong (left), Luke Armstrong, and Cynthia Jackson are grateful for the “open-armed” reception they and others have received at a Red Cross shelter in Petaluma. (Photo: Jim Burns | American Red Cross)

To see more stories related to the Red Cross response to the Kincade Fire, please go here.
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It’s fair to say that Jim and Luke Armstrong, a father-son pair who both live in the North Bay community of Sebastopol, have a well-honed habit of looking out for each other. So when mandatory evacuation orders came to their respective neighborhoods in the dark of Sunday morning, they quite naturally left town together in search of alternative housing.

With upwards of 200,000 other people getting similar orders related to the Kincade Fire, the Armstrongs couldn’t find any. Read more

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