Tag Archives: Regional

The Essence of Being a Red Crosser

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Meet Susanne Newswanger, a Red Cross nurse recently honored with the Clara Barton Award for Meritorious Leadership

Photo courtesy of Susanne Newswanger

Over 13 years with the Red Cross, Susanne Newswanger has demonstrated the essence of being a Red Cross nurse: she cares for people during disasters and emergencies and works hard to ensure the well-being of volunteers, staff and the communities we serve are met.

From her role as the Coordinator of Disaster Health Services in the Silicon Valley Chapter to her current position as the Pacific Division Staff Health Lead, Susanne has been a driving force for recruiting, onboarding and training Disaster Health Service volunteers.

“When I first joined [the Red Cross]in 2009, my primary goal was to deploy to disasters. [In addition,] I also joined the Deployment Team and found great satisfaction in preparing our members to respond to a disaster,” she said.

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Spotlight on the Region’s Chapter Board Chairs

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By Chloe Li

At the heart of the Red Cross’s vast network lies an essential role: that of the Board of Director’s Chair for a local chapter. These individuals play a pivotal part in guiding community leaders and leading their respective chapters to fulfill the organization’s mission to alleviate human suffering.

Our region’s five Chapter Board Chairs share their inspiration for joining the Red Cross below, and the critical responsibilities and significant contributions they hope to make in the community. We thank all our Board Members for their dedication, commitment and impact to ensure the Red Cross remains a beacon of hope and support when it is needed most.

To learn more about our chapters within the Northern California Coastal Region and our Board Members, visit: redcross.org/norcalcoastal

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Paying it forward: Red Cross Platelet Donor Achieves 100-gallon Milestone

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Craig Wilson donating platelets
Photo by Martin Gagliano – American Red Cross

“I believe that when you receive blessings in life then you really have to give something back,” said Craig Wilson, a platelet donor who has reached an incredible 100th-gallon milestone at the Oakland Blood Donation Center. “I’ve been blessed with good health, and this is my way to pay it forward. Even if I’m not getting anything out of this -well, I get a T-shirt sometimes- it doesn’t matter because I know I’m helping the community. That’s the point”.

Craig started donating blood in Chicago around 1978. “There was a need for blood donors and I decided to donate for the first time. I did it a couple of times in the year, but with not much awareness,” he remembers.

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A Volunteer Committed to Helping Others

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Photo courtesy of Barbara Atlas
American Red Cross

Barbara Atlas is an example of volunteerism. She has been committed to the Red Cross mission since she started as a Disaster Action Team (DAT) member with the National Capital and Greater Chesapeake Region in Washington DC. “For 4 of the 37 years we lived four miles from the White House, I enjoyed responding to fires and other local disasters as a DAT team member,” she said.

After they retired, Barbara and her husband moved to Oakland in 2019. She knew she wanted to continue supporting the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross. One of the many ways she jumped back into volunteering locally was by becoming a blood delivery driver for the Bay Area Chapter Blood Services team. “I get a lot of pleasure from driving a Red Cross van to transport blood, both the pickup of new blood from donor centers and delivering blood as needed to local hospitals. I know that donated blood is saving lives. It is also gratifying to train new drivers for transporting blood and thrilling to see my former trainees on the job. But most important is getting to know the generous people who work in Blood Services helped me learn how,” she said.

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Sound the Alarm: A lifesaving service helps keep one Marin mobile home park safer 

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“What you guys are doing, you reassure us that people are out there and care.” 

Lucie Tison and her husband Tom at his house in San Rafael.
Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross

Lucie Tison and her husband Tom have lived in the Contempo Marin Mobile Home Park in San Rafael for 17 years. On a recent Saturday morning, teams of volunteers from the Red Cross fanned out across this community of 400 homes to install free smoke alarms for residents. This Sound the Alarm event is part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, a national program designed to save lives from home fires through installation of free smoke alarms and fire safety education. 

As of August 23rd, the Red Cross announced that since the start of the Home Fire Campaign in October of 2014, volunteers have installed more than 2.5 million free smoke alarms with almost 2,000 documented lives saved thanks to those smoke alarms and fire safety education. 

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A Childhood Dream Achieved: Ola’s Journey with Restoring Family Links 

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American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces volunteer and Army spouse Sara Andrews, assists an Afghan guest at the Fort Bliss Doña Ana Range Complex in Chaparral, New Mexico. Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross

In a world where armed conflicts often divide families and disasters can tear loved ones apart, Ola Alani stands as a beacon of hope. As a Restoring Family Links (RFL) volunteer with the Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region, Ola’s story is one of resilience, determination, and the pursuit of a childhood dream. 

Born and raised in Iraq, Ola grew up against the tumultuous backdrop of war and conflict. The Red Cross, with its reputation for compassion and assistance, had always held a special place in her heart as she had seen the emblem in action many times growing up. She had a lifelong desire to play a part in the organization. When she moved to the United States and graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 2015, her dream was finally realized when she embarked on her Red Cross journey as a volunteer. “Getting to volunteer with an organization I had highly regarded was a childhood dream come true for me!” shared Ola.  

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