Nurse's Blood Donations Encourage Students

Judy Matzke, when asked about blood donations, smiles and says “is there anything better than giving blood?” Judy was waiting to go through the process of donating her 104th unit of blood. This lady, who because of her dolphin jewelry, is known by the Red Cross Blood Services staff as the Dolphin Lady, is a member of the Sandhills Community College Nursing Facility. In that role, she encourages her students to become donors and has been known to accompany them to the donation site. One of Judy’s favorite sayings is: “What greater gift can you give someone; you  can save three lives with one pint of blood you donate.” Judy's message is extremely pertinent now that the American Red Cross is experienceing blood shortages this winter. We need more donors like Judy.

Judy is seen here with Red Cross Carolinas Blood Service region staff as she reached the 13th gallon mark with her donation on December 28.

Blood Drive is an Occasion to Celebrate

Blood Donor David Gordon and Volunteer Elinore McCaskill both had reason to celebrate at the December 28 blood drive at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital. David proudly received his 10 gallon pin, commemorating his 80th donation of a pint of blood to save the lives of others. He was congratulated by long time American Red Cross volunteer Elinore McCaskill, who was celebrating her 88th birthday. David is a familiar face at this blood drive held every 2 months, and Elinore and her daughter, fellow Red Cross volunteer Jane Rock, regularly serve refreshments at the canteen. Also pictured in this photo is faithful blood donor and Red Cross volunteer Ron Flock.

Volunteers Honor War Heroes

Volunteers Tama Carlin, Steve and Lynn Drinkwater joined Executive Director Buddy Spong at the annual World War II Memorial Dance November 12 at the Moore County Airport. They served coffee and donuts to the guests, just as Red Cross volunteers served coffee and donuts to the troops over 60 years ago.

August 2011

National Red Cross and Local Chapters Encourage Everyone to be Prepared!

The Red Cross challenges every individual, family member, school and business to know what to do and where to go in the event of any type of disaster. We recommend that individuals identify potential disaster scenarios and practice what they would do if evacuation is needed. It is also important to identify a person residing out of town whom each family member will contact in case of emergency.

Build a kit.

Whether evacuating or sheltering in place, a disaster supplies kit can save lives. The contents should be placed in an easy-to-carry container such as a large backpack, duffle bag or plastic bin. It’s important to have everything in one place. Don’t wait until the power is out to look for your emergency supplies in the dark. Assemble essential supplies, including:

• Flashlight
• Batteries
• Portable, battery powered radio
• At least one gallon of water per person per day
• Supplyof food

Also, it is important to pack enough non-perishable food items, extra batteries and special items such as medications, diapers, infant formula, etc. Specifically, when a blackout does occur, there are more steps families can take:

•  Turn off electrical equipment in use when the power went out because returning power can surge or spike and may damage anything left plugged in. Leave one light on     so  you'll know when power returns
• Avoid opeing the refrigerator and freezer
• Do not run a generator inside a home or garage
• If you use a generator, connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.  Do not connect a gererator to a home's electrical system
• Listen to local radio and television for updated information  

 In addition to disaster-specific preparedness and response during a blackout, the Red Cross also provides recommendations and guidelines about water treatment, food safety, generators and recovering financially after a disaster. This information is available at www.redcross.org

Make a plan.