Tag Archives: Partners

Deloitte Brainstorms Business Solutions for the Red Cross during its Impact Day

Photo courtesy of Deloitte

By Alex Keilty

Many Bay Area organizations are making community service part of their annual plan by giving staff paid time to volunteer or organizing events that benefit a cause close to their employees’ hearts.

Deloitte, a professional services organization and longtime supporter of the American Red Cross, hosts an annual in-house “Impact Day”. Impact Day is Deloitte’s national annual day of service in the US, an opportunity for professionals to come together and engage in social impact efforts that reflect Deloitte’s purpose commitments to help create positive change for ourselves, each other and our community, and—together—drive progress toward a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

On Friday June 7th, Deloitte professionals, nonprofit relationships, and communities connected in over 1,200 social impact projects across more than 100 US cities to drive social and economic prosperity in the communities where they live and work. This year’s Impact Day took a unique approach when Deloitte’s local staff was asked to troubleshoot a real issue: the difficulty of recruiting and retaining volunteers to transport donated blood to hospitals in the San Francisco area.

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A Twice In A Lifetime Experience: Reflections On Briana’s Most Unique Deployment

By Julia Maniccia

Photos courtesy of Briana Taylor

“We are so focused on responding and getting a job done, but that isn’t how you touch peoples’ lives. You do that by listening to them, talking to them, letting them tell their story and finding out what they need. Then you help them,” is a sentiment that has guided Briana Taylor, first by a career in psychology, and later by two decades of service with the American Red Cross.

Briana’s introduction to disaster response was happenstance. In her professional role in mental health, Briana had spent many years working to alleviate human suffering on an individual level, tending to the needs of her patients in their darkest hour. In 2004, Briana was vacationing in Phuket, Thailand with her family, briefly taking off her psychologist hat, when a tsunami took to the island’s shores. Six weeks later, her drive to alleviate suffering took flight on the community-level, as she returned to Thailand to support islanders in their recovery.

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Driving Hope as Waymo Partners with the Red Cross for its Second Annual Holiday Blood Drive

The holiday season is traditionally hard on the nation’s blood supply. The American Red Cross typically sees a decrease in blood donations through the end of the year. To help boost blood donations and ensure patients have access to lifesaving blood and platelets, autonomous driving technology company, Waymo, partnered with the Red Cross to host its second annual blood drive from November 4-10 in San Francisco. The company generously offered two free rides to Waymo riders and employees who donated blood or platelets at the Red Cross San Francisco Blood Donation Center located on Market Street.

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Home fire survivor continues mission of fire prevention through Red Cross partnership

Nikita Johnson at the CFSBC office
Photo courtesy of Nikita Johnson  

A home fire is one of the many unthinkable, tragic events that cause massive disruptions to the lives of those affected. While these tragedies are often preventable, an American Red Cross survey demonstrated that the majority of Americans are more unprepared to survive a home fire than they believe. This is why the partnership between the Red Cross and the Community Foundation of San Benito County (CFSBC), which started back in 2019, is so integral to protecting communities against home fires.   

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Blood, Service and Sacrifice: A Major’s Lifelong Red Cross Connection

Zahra (left) with her older sister, Crystal, enjoying the holidays circa 1993. – Photo courtesy of Zahra Moutabakkir

At just two years old, Zahra Moutabakkir was fighting for her life. Diagnosed with a mysterious autoimmune disease, she spent 12 weeks in the hospital, undergoing numerous blood transfusions as doctors struggled to save her. “My mom prayed for a miracle,” Zahra recalls, “and after weeks of uncertainty, my white blood cell count miraculously started to recover.” Those transfusions saved her life, leaving an impactful mark that would shape her future and create a lifelong bond with the American Red Cross while donning the honorable military uniform

“My connection to the Red Cross began as a child, and it’s been a constant in my life ever since,” Zahra says. “Without those blood transfusions, I wouldn’t be here. I’ve been donating blood ever since I could, knowing how important it is.”

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