Tag Archives: North Bay

Local young Red Crossers wins the Regional International Humanitarian Law Red Cross Youth Action Campaign

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Paulina Munoz, lead for the winning team
Photo courtesy of Paulina Munoz.

Story by Richard Payne

Creating a successful campaign focused on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that is fun, engaging, and educational would seem like a daunting task.  Doing it with a virtual team of high school students who never met face-to-face would seem doubly difficult.  Yet, the winning team in the 2022-2023 Northern California Coastal Region (NCCR) IHL Youth Action Campaign did just that.

In Northern California, 8 teams, comprised of nearly 40 high school students, participated in IHL training.  Each team then developed and delivered IHL awareness campaigns at their schools during the academic year. As a culmination of the campaign, a symposium was held to showcase each team’s work, the struggles they faced and the efforts they took to overcome those challenges. A panel of judges scored each campaign on a series of factors and chose the team that demonstrated the best problem-solving and leadership skills.

Razi Aftab and Paulina Munoz led the winning team, which included students from two of the region’s Red Cross chapters – the North Bay and the Heart of the Valley Chapter, covering Stockton and the surrounding area.  Because the team members lived far apart, they only met virtually in weekly calls.

Paulina believed the bond they formed was one of the team’s greatest strengths. “The best part of the campaign was being able to work as a team throughout the term. We got to know the other team members and felt connected. As a result, we were a lot more productive,” she said/

A screenshot from the Instagram account of the team, showing the activities they planned for the campaign.

In building their campaign, the team members identified that their peers had limited knowledge of the Red Cross or International Humanitarian Law. That’s why the team felt that engaging students had to be their number one priority. 

“Attracting youth to be involved in the campaign was a challenge.  That’s why we focused on having activities that we thought our peers would enjoy as opposed to approaching this campaign from a teaching perspective,” Razi explained.

During the academic year, each team member organized and hosted events at their school around the topic of IHL. The team also created activities and events such as interactive question-based games that tested the advocate’s knowledge on IHL.

“Probably the most distinct event was our escape room,” Razi said. “We had case studies on International Humanitarian Law and asked the advocates to work through those examples. They had to review the scenarios and apply the information they had learned to come up with the best option. We had very good engagement with that!”

In summarizing their personal experiences with the campaign, Razi shared: “Our greatest takeaway was that we were able to foster a sense of community.  The program felt like a group effort rather than an academic exercise. It was voluntary and each person contributed to reaching the end goal of increasing the understanding of International Humanitarian Law.”

Paulina had similar sentiments about this experience: : “A lot of the students who participated in the campaign came into it with no idea what international humanitarian law was about. Through their participation in the campaign, they took away an understanding of IHL and the knowledge that international humanitarian law and services were more available to them than they thought. It was a great way to get them to know their community, the Red Cross, and what we stand for as a society.”

Congratulations to these incredible teams on formulating a thoughtful campaign and for spreading awareness about IHL!

Sound the Alarm: Red Cross volunteers and partners installed more than one thousand free smoke alarms and made 462 homes safer in April

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Red Cross volunteer John Gee has installed more than 2,000 free smoke alarms in homes across the region since the launch of the Sound the Alarm campaign in 2014.
Photo by Ashish “Ash” Mantri/American Red Cross

Home fires claim seven lives every day in the U.S. and remain one of the most frequent disasters across the region — but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half. That’s why, over five weekends in April, volunteers with the American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region, along with local fire departments and community partners, installed 1,294 free smoke alarms and made 462 homes safer as part of the annual Sound the Alarm campaign.

“A working smoke alarm can be the difference between survival and tragedy when a home fire strikes,” said Ana Romero, Red Cross Regional Preparedness Manager. “That’s why the Red Cross is teaming up with community partners to help ensure local residents, especially those most vulnerable, have these lifesaving devices.”
Sound the Alarm events are part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign which has helped save at least 1,664 lives nationwide since launching in October 2014. Working with local fire departments and community partners, Red Cross volunteers visit high-risk neighborhoods, install free smoke alarms and provide residents with information on common causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan.

This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from our regional Sound the Alarm campaign partners: Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Arista Networks; CSAA Insurance Group, State Farm; and Gloria and Mike Ipson.

For a full suite of photos from the month’s events, visit the regional Sound the Alarm Flickr album.

Bay Area Chapter

Photo by Martin Gagliano
American Red Cross

Red Cross volunteers and partners installed 396 free smoke alarms and made 190 homes safer in April across the Bay Area Chapter. More than 500 residents of San Francisco, San Bruno, Brentwood and Hayward are now better prepared to face emergencies after receiving education about home fire prevention.

“Every day, our department sees first-hand the damage and destruction that home fires can have on a community,” said Willie McDonald, Fire Chief for the Alameda County Fire Department. “This is why campaigns, like Sound the Alarm, are so important. A little home fire prevention can go a long way toward keeping families and the community safe, and a smoke alarm is one of the most effective tools we have to do that. We are proud to partner with the Red Cross for this very important event.”

Photo by Nanette Shamieh
American Red Cross

Heart of the Valley Chapter

71 homes were made safer in the Heart of the Valley Chapter after two Sound the Alarm events in Stockton and Los Banos.

Red Cross volunteers and community partners installed 169 free smoke alarms and helped 210 residents to create an escape plan and be better prepared in case of a home fire

North Bay Chapter

Photo by Nanette Shamieh
American Red Cross

Community partners and Red Crossers installed 354 free smoke alarms and made 116 homes safer in the North Bay Chapter. Over the three events in Sonoma, San Rafael and Vacaville, the teams shared home fire prevention educational information with more than 230 residents to make the community safer.

Captain Drew Kostal and his K-9 “Kepi” from the Vacaville Fire Department attended the installation event on Saturday, April 29. He spoke with the team about the importance of working smoke alarms.

Silicon Valley Chapter

Photo by Atul Trviedi
American Red Cross

Red Crossers and community partners gathered at Millpond Mobile Home Park on Saturday, April 29 to install 205 free smoke alarms in 85 homes to make more than 140 residents safer.

Red Cross Board and Tiffany Circle Members participated in Sound the Alarm events across the region to help make their community safer.

Sound the Alarm – Signature Event in Hayward (CA) – April 29, 2023
Photo by Martin Gagliano – American Red Cross

The Heart of the Mission: Red Cross Volunteers Assess California Storm Damage

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Story and Photos by Marcia Antipa, Public Affairs Volunteer

Joe Baldi and Dianna Soula inspect damaged Marin County building
Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross volunteer

After weeks of heavy rain and high winds, the sun has come out again in California. However, the American Red Cross disaster response continues. More than 800 trained Red Cross volunteers from nearly all 50 states have been supporting people in the affected communities. Eighty shelters were opened during the disaster, and the Red Cross, working with community partners, distributed thousands of meals and relief items such as comfort kits and cleaning supplies. Now, as people slowly move toward recovery, volunteer Red Cross Disaster Assessment Teams are spreading out through storm-ravaged communities, taking stock of damage to homes.

“The assessment gives us information on the homes that were destroyed or had major damage,” says DA volunteer Joe Baldi of Sacramento.

Baldi and fellow volunteer Dianna Soula of Lancaster, Ohio recently visited an apartment complex in Marin County, California.  During the heavy rains, a mud-soaked hillside slammed into one of the buildings, making it uninhabitable. The two walked through thick mud to view the home, then documented the damage using guidelines from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). That information helps the Red Cross and its partner agencies provide assistance for those displaced by the disaster.

Al Gharibian and Howard Wilkens doing Disaster Assessment in Guerneville
Photo by Marcia Antipa /
American Red Cross

Right now, more than a dozen of Disaster Assessment teams have “boots on the ground” in California. Volunteers Howard Wilkens of Kansas City, MO and Alan Gharibian of Glendale, CA, took a preliminary Disaster Assessment tour of the Sonoma County town of Guerneville along the Russian River. After days of heavy rain, the river was swollen, muddy and threatening to crest its banks. The two men visited the Guerneville Fire Department to get information on which neighborhoods were hardest hit. Wilkens, who has deployed for the Red Cross to 30 disasters across the country in five years, explains just some of the damage they look for after a storm.

“For example, we look for water lines on the side of the house, broken joists on the roof decking, or homes where the winds have blown off the siding or the roof shingles.”

Alan Gharibian recently deployed to Hurricanes Nicole and Ian in Florida. He says the devastation and the suffering in the wake of the hurricanes was “heartbreaking, to say the least.” But he says he is happy to volunteer again, using his 37 years of experience in the insurance business to help assess the damage in California.

Ultimately, Disaster Assessment volunteers are the heart of the Red Cross mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.

“It’s the Red Cross’s goal to assist them in any way they can,” says Dianna Soula, “to get them into a recovery state, someplace where they’re safe, have comforts and feeding, and medication that they needed, and just try to get their life back on track as quickly as we can.”

To find out how you can help those hit by the California storms, visit redcross.org.

Shelter from the Storm

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“You feel good. You’re glad to do something.”

John Sternberg

Volunteer John Sternberg flew to California from Kentucky to help with the Red Cross response to the powerful storms and flooding. John joined other Red Crossers to help set up a shelter at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. He also welcomed new shelter clients and got them settled in with a cot and a blanket.

“We’ve met everybody in the shelter here. I’ve talked with them and dealt with them.” Volunteers are available to listen to evacuees’ experiences and help them begin to recover and process the experience they went through.

Volunteer Andy Witthohn of Santa Rosa also is working in the shelter. He and his wife Betsy first volunteered with the Red Cross in 2017 when the devastating Tubbs fire swept through Sonoma County.

“There was a disaster headquarters and we walked in and said ‘what can we do?’”

Andy sorted clothing, drove supply trucks and distributed food and cleanup kits to fire-ravaged neighborhoods.

“It was very tough. Friends of mine lost their homes. It was very difficult.”

Now during the California floods, Betsy is working at Disaster Headquarters while Andy is in the Santa Rosa shelter, serving up food with a smile and friendly conversation. The people staying in the shelter say they are thankful for people like John and Andy.

“Amazing. I’m very grateful,” says Erick Langbehn. “I just needed someplace to get out of the rain for a little bit. I can’t sleep in my car. It’s a Challenger so that’d be a little hard he says, laughing. “If this wasn’t here, then I don’t know what I’d do.”

Wajeeda Curtiss of Guerneville is staying in the shelter with her teenaged son. Her apartment building sits safely above the Russian River, but they lost power days ago. “We stayed in a hotel a couple of nights but I didn’t want to use up my money for a hotel, so I decided to just come here.”

Wajeeda says she has been homeless in the past, and that she is grateful for this temporary home with the Red Cross. “Just be thankful for what you do have. The food here’s good. I can’t complain. I like that they always have water and snacks, something available.”

Everyone is welcome to take refuge inside the Red Cross shelters, as the storms continue to pound the region.

To find a shelter, or to learn how you can help those hit hard by the rain and floods, visit redcross.org, or call 1-800-REDCROSS.

The Spirit of Volunteerism: Celebrating our Volunteers of the Year

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The Volunteer of the Year Award is the highest honor a volunteer can achieve within our chapters, awarded annually to the individuals who best exemplify the spirit of volunteerism.

The most recent awardees have contributed significantly to the American Red Cross across all our lines of service and worked alongside staff and other volunteers in multiple roles.

Their contributions have enabled the Red Cross to fulfill our mission to the community throughout the region.   
We proudly present:

Cindy Leung
Bay Area Chapter
Alameda County

Cindy has been part of the Community Partnership outreach program in Alameda County since 2020.

Her leadership has made the program a model for similar initiatives across the region. Her professionalism and dedication has allowed the Red Cross to reengage with multiple key partners while developing new relationships.

Cindy is a passionate volunteer who believes that “we can only fulfill our mission as a team and as a community.”

“I’m motivated by the incredible selflessness and dedication of other Red Cross volunteers, the staff and our partners who all drive towards disasters instead of away from them. With climate change, I see more and more human suffering and displacement in our future, and there will be even greater need for our services, before, during and after emergencies.”

Suzanne Garrett
Bay Area Chapter
Contra Costa County

Red Crosser extraordinaire Suzanne Garrett was honored for her service, dedication and time as a large-scale disaster responder and as a Disaster Action Team member. She’s held several key roles in Contra Costa County, including Disaster Chair, Disaster Action Team Lead, Duty Officer and Caseworker.

She also serves as our county  Program Lead for The Pillowcase Project and has kept the program thriving in Contra Costa County, even through the challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to thank all the many volunteers I have the pleasure to serve with, in Contra Costa and also throughout (our region.) You have made me feel like part of a true family where we all have a common purpose – Sleeves Up, Hearts Open, All In.”

Ann Bennett Young
Central Coast Chapter
Santa Cruz County

Since joining the Red Cross, Ann has supported blood drives as a Donor Ambassador and as a blood drive coordinator.

She has also been an advocate and champion of inclusion, belonging, equity, and access, and has presented on cultural intelligence on multiple occasions within our region and to regions across the U.S.

Ann has also assisted Disaster Cycle Services, working with community partners and residents to ensure they are prepared to respond to disasters.

“Volunteering with the Red Cross allows me to spend time with people who know that they can make a difference for those around them. Problem-solving and meeting needs become so much more meaningful in a context where others can benefit directly. Additionally, I learn so much and am always able to strengthen my skills by taking on new and different challenges.”

Alisa Zhou
North Bay Chapter
Marin County

Alisa is a kind and passionate volunteer, and a wonderful leader for her chapter’s Youth Executive Board.
From her position on the North Bay Board of Directors, Alisa was inspired to create a storybook that highlights Red Cross volunteers around the world. In addition to her storybook project, Alisa is always thinking of new ideas to engage chapter youth volunteers and promote Red Cross Clubs.

Furthermore, she has invited notable guest speakers to events that allow high school students to learn about the organization’s impact.

“I’m blessed to have found a family among the Red Cross community and look forward to continuing to grow — both personally and professionally — together. The Red Cross community is one that is so special…(t)his organization truly bridges the line between friends and colleagues,” she said.

Matthew Tsai
Silicon Valley Chapter
Santa Clara County

With his determination to serve communities impacted by wildfires, Matthew became an effective advocate for expanding youth engagement in disaster response within our region.

He was the first youth volunteer from our region to be deployed in the staffing function, specifically the Disaster Event Based Volunteer team.

In this role, Matthew supported community members who graciously raised their hands to join our wildfire response. He hosted new volunteer welcome sessions, managed the regional volunteer shift tool, and helped fill open shifts, all while attending school during the day. 

“I am continually inspired by how the collective power of our organization enables us to respond to major disasters and help people across the globe.”

“It’s time for me to give back,” Red Cross Volunteer of the Year says

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By Barbara Wood/Red Cross volunteer

Marcia Antipa interviewing a Red Cross volunteer in a shelter in Reno, Nevada during the Caldor Fire in 2021.

Although she became a Red Cross volunteer in November 2019, just months before COVID-19 changed everyone’s lives, Marin County’s Marcia Antipa jumped in with both feet and quickly became involved in Red Cross activities throughout the Northern California Coastal Region.

This year, Marcia, who is retired from a career in broadcast news, was named the region’s Volunteer of the Year for her contributions, which include serving as an active member of the regional communications team, acting as the emcee for volunteer award ceremonies throughout the region, and deploying to Reno for the Caldor Fire in 2021.

Her award nomination describes Marcia as, “the first person to jump in when an opportunity or a need arises. She is absolutely dedicated to telling the Red Cross story not only during blue skies, but she is also dedicated to ensuring that information about vital relief and recovery efforts is shared in a timely and accurate manner with both internal and external audiences during disasters.”

Marcia’s first volunteer experience with the Red Cross was actually more than 30 years ago, in 1991 after the Oakland Hills Fire destroyed more than 3,000 housing units, killing 25 people and injuring 150 others.

“I was in between broadcast journalism jobs and raising our baby when the Oakland Hills firestorm hit,” Marcia said. “It was one of the most terrifying things we had seen in the Bay Area, and shocking really.”

“To think about that now with some of the horrific fires that we’ve had — Paradise, Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, just whole communities going up — it doesn’t seem as shocking now. But back then, that wasn’t happening,” Marcia said.

Marcia Antipa on assignment as a public affairs volunteer during the Caldor Fire in South Lake Tahoe, California in 2021.

In the aftermath of the fire, Marcia said she noticed the Red Cross was helping. “It’s like Mr. Rogers said: His mother always told him ‘Look for the helpers. When you hear a siren, when you hear about bad news, don’t worry, look for the helpers because they’re going to be there. Well that’s the Red Cross.”

 “So I thought, OK it’s time for me to give back.”

Marcia said she was quickly trained and sent to a service center to help those affected by the fire. “To see people walk in with that glazed and frightened look on their face. It was like they were the walking dead because they had just had everything ripped out from under them. When they saw someone was listening and there to help them, they just brightened up.”

“So I thought, I can help them a little bit.”

“Jobs and children got in the way,” of further volunteering until late 2019, when Marcia rejoined the Red Cross. “I had seen all the ways the Red Cross had helped during the fires in California and I wanted to be part of that mission and bring help to people in whatever way I could.”

Marcia and her husband of 46 years, Ron, have an adult daughter and son and three grandchildren, twin 9-year-old girls and a 3-year-old boy. They live in Main County, where she spent most of her childhood, on what Marcia describes as “the knees of Mt. Tam,” part way up Mt. Tamalpais.

She has a degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C. She worked as a writer, reporter and news anchor during her broadcast news career, working in Washington, D.C., Sacramento and San Francisco.

Marcia also loves to sing and throughout her life has performed in choirs and musical theater.

See some of her work for the Red Cross here:

https://redcrossblognccr.org/2021/11/20/im-here-to-help-and-i-care/
https://redcrossblognccr.org/2021/07/17/melissa-kaplan-of-sonoma-county-receives-gene-beck-memorial-volunteer-of-the-year-award/
https://redcrossblognccr.org/2021/06/16/in-her-fathers-footsteps/
https://redcrossblognccr.org/2021/04/07/full-circle-how-the-sound-the-alarm-campaign-saved-the-lives-of-a-family-in-northern-california/
https://redcrossblognccr.org/2021/01/15/he-is-meant-to-be-alive-the-dramatic-story-of-how-quick-action-and-training-saved-the-life-of-a-young-santa-rosa-man/
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