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Bill Sinn Knows Blood

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Jill Feldon LaNouette

Bill Sinn spent 35 years working for Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 20 of which as the hospital’s blood bank manager or, officially, the blood bank’s lead technologist. Highly respected for his expertise in testing, matching, and preparing blood for transfusion to meet a variety of the hospital’s patients’ needs, Sinn is now a quiet, humble, and extremely skilled volunteer serving with the American Red Cross Biomedical Services department as a Transportation Specialist.

“He’s the blood bankers’ blood banker,” said Michael Gregory, a Red Cross board member and former staff member. “If I were having surgery, I would want the best person in charge of identifying the right match for my blood transfusion. That would have been Bill Sinn.”

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Mother/daughter duo is Red Cross ready for any disaster: Volunteers team up for Fleet Week

Posted on October 23, 2024 by redcrossnorcalstaff

By Alex Keilty

She was sprawled on the ground with her arms and face covered in bruises. “I remember the firefighter scooping me up,” says Sophie Rebecca Najjar. She was just 6 years old and it was her introduction to the American Red Cross. Lucky for Sophie, the firefighter was real, but the bruises were not. She had been painted with makeup to look like a victim for a disaster practice exercise she attended with her mom. She had a great time that day!

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The Powerful Impact of Disaster Preparedness in Local Communities

Posted on September 3, 2024 by redcrossnorcalstaff

by Selena Nisha

Photo courtesy of John Earthy
American Red Cross

Prior to becoming a longtime community preparedness volunteer with the American Red Cross, John Earthy reminisces about his time traveling across Southeast Asia stating, “It was my passion helping individuals, teams and organizations achieve their aspirations and missions. I took myself trekking alone for several years across Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, mostly out in remote villages. In time I found myself absorbed in the day to day lives of villagers, survival and the simpler things in life that brought safety, comfort and happiness.”

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Red Cross Memories of the Maui Wildfires: Finding Meaning and Solutions after a Disaster

Posted on August 8, 2024 by crystalreiss

Reflections, One Year Later

One August morning in 2023, Katie “Sully” Sullivan awoke to the first news segments about the Maui wildfires. An experienced American Red Cross Disaster Program Manager for Alameda County, she soon realized things were going to get bad. Later, the phone rang. It was American Red Cross national headquarters asking her to deploy. “Over the six years I’ve been with the Red Cross, I’ve seen the aftermath of large-scale disasters, from hurricanes to tornadoes to floods. Each brought unique challenges,” she recently said when remembering the disaster nearly a year later. But for Sully, this one stood out.

Hurricane Dora crashing into Maui’s tinder-dry foliage on August 8, 2023, meant there was little warning for what would become the worst natural disaster in the archipelago’s recorded history. The result: the historic district of Lahaina was virtually vaporized—as were sections of Palehu and the smaller Upcountry community of Kula—causing approximately 100 fatalities. A year later, the effort to heal and rebuild is still underway.

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An Exhibit of Humanity Through Donation Letters and Phone Calls

Posted on June 5, 2024 by crystalreiss

Gifts Greater Than Their Appearance

Veronica Oberholzer has read thousands of letters during the five years she has been with the American Red Cross. But as a Development Operations Manager she knows that each donation letter that arrives at her desk in the fundraising department has a meaningful backstory, like the one that still touches her.

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Sound The Alarm: 452 Homes Are Now Safer Thanks to Red Cross Volunteers, Local Fire Department and Community Partners

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Martin Gagliano

1,236 smoke alarms installed throughout the Northern California Coastal Region in April

Did you know that if a fire starts in your home you may have as little as two minutes to escape? During a fire, early warning from a working smoke alarm plus a fire escape plan that has been practiced regularly, can save you and your loved ones by cutting the risk of dying in half.

The American Red Cross responds to home fires more than any other disaster combined and for that reason, in April, our, along with local fire departments and community partners, installed 1,236 free smoke alarms, making 452 homes safer and provided home fire prevention and safety information to 1,210 local residents.

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