Tag Archives: Regional

How to Give Blood as a Vegetarian 

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I walked into my American Red Cross blood donation appointment in February feeling confident. I eat well, I exercise and I care about doing my part. Then came the results from the hemoglobinometer they slipped over my finger and a polite but firm rejection. My hemoglobin was too low. 

It was frustrating, but it sent me down a path I’m grateful for. Because I learned that if you’re vegetarian—or, like me, eat a mostly plant-based diet—you can give blood. You just have to be a bit more intentional about iron. 

A pint of my finest B+ (and who wouldn’t want their blood to Be Positive?), donated and off to do its part to help save lives.
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Five Shelters. One Week. Dozens of Amazing Red Cross Volunteers. 

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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. 

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

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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.

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Colleagues Connect to Make Community Safer  

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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. 

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

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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. 

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

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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.

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