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Five Shelters. One Week. Dozens of Amazing Red Cross Volunteers.

Posted on May 18, 2026 by Alex Keilty

What a busy time for local American Red Cross shelter volunteers! Earlier this year, volunteers in Silicon Valley, Calif., had to set up not one, not two, but FIVE shelters in one week!

Volunteers aced their test to get staff and supplies to a shelter site on time

It all started on February 26, when the volunteers underwent a test to see if they could set up three shelters simultaneously within a certain timeframe. They had to get enough staff and supplies to three locations to shelter 100 people at each for one night. This annual disaster simulation is part of a national campaign to ensure our communities are prepared for unexpected emergencies. The Silicon Valley volunteers did great and scored 95 percent and higher on all aspects of the test.

Before they could even celebrate their accomplishment, two days later on February 28, a real emergency occurred. The Fire Department in Santa Clara urgently evacuated an apartment complex due to structural issues and it was deemed unsafe for occupancy. The Red Cross responded immediately and set up a shelter so residents didn’t have to sleep in their cars.

Sound The Alarm: 459 Homes Are Now Safer Thanks to Red Cross Volunteers, Local Fire Departments and Community Partners

Posted on May 12, 2026 by redcrossnorcalstaff

By Quinn Aftab

The American Red Cross is widely known to respond to disasters caused by home fires across the nation – but what about preventative action?

All the tools and assets necessary for a *Sound the Alarm* event. Photography by: Pooja Klebig | American Red Cross

As part of the Home Fire Campaign, the Red Cross does not only seek to aid communities in home fire recovery, but also in the necessary steps that lead to home fire prevention. By installing free smoke alarms in residential neighborhoods and educating communities about home fire safety, Red Cross chapters ensure a holistic approach to protection is enacted. As of today, the Red Cross, alongside local fire departments and community partners, has installed 1,128 smoke alarms in 459 homes, creating a safer space for 1,502 residents across the Northern Coastal California Region.

Colleagues Connect to Make Community Safer

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Dej Knuckey

Vanir team ready to head out to install smoke alarms for community members in Richmond, Calif., for Sound the Alarm. L to R: Project Directors Santiago Harris and Cymbre Potter, Construction Manager Tierra Andrews, and Senior Project Manager Laurence Maller

On a cool Saturday morning in Richmond, Calif., a group of colleagues from construction management company Vanir traded hard hats and project schedules for clipboards and smoke alarms. They were part of the American Red Cross Sound the Alarm campaign, installing free smoke alarms and sharing fire safety information in at-risk communities.

But for this team, the day was about more than just service. It was also about connection.

Earth Day, Then and Now: Finding Hope on the Frontlines of a Climate Crisis

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Dej Knuckey

By Dej Knuckey

On the first Earth Day in 1970, twenty million Americans gathered to protest pollution and industrial waste. No one was using the term “climate crisis” yet, but the biggest pollutants of all—greenhouse gases—were just beginning to take their toll.

Since then, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen from 325 to 430 parts per million, a powerful measure of how much the climate has changed in just over five decades.

Now we see the effects every day: The American Red Cross is responding to nearly twice as many large disasters as it did a decade ago.

Prepared to Act: How Lifesaving Skills Helped a Teen Save His Father

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Pooja Klebig

17-year-old Edward Kuan is presented with the Red Cross Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action on April 11, 2026, at the Emeryville Sound the Alarm event.

Emergencies don’t wait for the perfect moment.

They can happen without warning, in the middle of an ordinary day, at home, surrounded by family.

But what happens next often depends on one thing: whether someone nearby knows what to do.

For Edward Kuan, that moment came unexpectedly. At just 15 years old, his actions made the difference between life and death.

Laura’s Lesson from Alaska: Appreciating the Communities We Serve

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Michelle Limpe

Laura (in purple) with other Red Cross volunteers who deployed to the same shelter in Anchorage.

Being called to assist those whose lives have been upended by a natural disaster is not only an opportunity to provide aid and service. A deployment is also a unique opportunity for cultural exchange, and Laura Hovden’s deployment to Alaska in the wake of Typhoon Halong in October 2025 was a testament to that.

Laura first got involved in local disaster management volunteer opportunities with the American Red Cross in 2014. Once her children left home for college, she left her own backyard to deploy to natural disasters across the country. She focused on organizing shelters during her initial deployments, but she soon secured more responsibilities as part of the Mass Care team that manages relief operations for larger natural disasters.

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