Have You Made Your Emergency Kit for the Zombie Apocalypse?

It has been over 6 weeks since I began my journey here at the American Red Cross. I am pleased and excited to collaborate with the fantastic six AmeriCorps members this upcoming year. With all of our past experience, ambition, and determination I am confident that all six of us will get things done for future AmeriCorps members to follow.

Within these six weeks I have learned so much and have seen many wonderful humanitarian efforts the Red Cross provides nationwide and even in the community I live in. I have engaged in presentations that educated and prepared families to be safe for disasters, and provided assistance to families after a house fire. It is a great pleasure to see the smiles of each family member when we show up to community events or during a disaster response. I am excited for what the future holds for me at the Red Cross.

I cannot stress how important it is to have an emergency kit in your household. During my presentations I have seen on an average of five audience members have kits. A kit will provide you the basics in order to live on your own until first responders arrive. Therefore having a kit will develop you to be more independent rather than depending on others to take care of your family. A kit should consist of water, food, documents, first aid and many more.

Many of us watch the show The Walking Dead, where they even stress the importance of having a kit as well. You cannot always depend on Daryl or Rick to take care of you during a zombie apocalypse. You should be prepared at all times. I was looking at previews for the upcoming season of The Walking Dead and came across this amazing item:

The Walking Dead offers a survival kit at a reasonable price that includes the following:

1. Emergency food ration
2. First aid kit
3. LED flashlight
4. Blankets
5. Ponchos
6. Waterproof matches
7. Face masks
8. And packets of water

If Daryl and Rick are fighting for their life from these flesh eating ugly zombies, I think you should make an investment and begin your kit for your family.

Daniel Avina
AmeriCorps NPRC 2014-2015
Preparedness Coordinator
American Red Cross Central Valley Region

Volunteers to the Rescue!

The American Red Cross relies heavily on the help of volunteers. Volunteers help our organization in many different ways, from helping out Red Cross staff in the office to assisting clients on disaster calls. I have been an AmeriCorps member serving in the Central Valley Region for over three weeks now and I have worked side by side with many Red Cross volunteers.

My first opportunity to work with Red Cross volunteers was at the 2014 A Taste of River Park event. This fun event provided guests with great food, drinks, and fashion shows. The best thing about this event was that a portion a of the ticket proceeds helped benefit the Red Cross. At this event, I was able to see how the Red Cross in the Central Valley Region came together to work as team. The Red Cross employees and volunteers worked diligently to make sure guests had a great time.

But I want to share a positive experience I had with a specific volunteer and how she saved the day.

A fellow AmeriCorps member, Alex Desiga, needed assistance with three presentations that she had scheduled at a military base.  The coordinator at the base needed two children’s safety presentations and a Be Red Cross Ready presentation for adults. All three presentations needed to be done simultaneously so a volunteer and I assisted Alex by presenting Masters of Disasters and Andrew Bashman from the Visalia office presented The Pillowcase Project.

From Left to Right: Alex Desiga, Elizabeth Barragan, Nicole German, Andrew Basham

Nicole German, the volunteer that assisted me with the presentation is a nursing student at Fresno City College and she is volunteering with the Red Cross to get presentation experience. We only had a handful of children for our Masters of Disasters presentation. In our group of children, there was a little girl that was hard of hearing. Her mother was by her side as she seemed timid and uncomfortable. Her mother had to leave her side to attend other matters, and this made the little girl so upset to the point where she started to cry.

As I went to attend to the distressed girl, Nicole stepped up to the plate and was able to continue with the other children and presentation. I was able to educate the little girl on safety and preparedness on a  one on one level, which made her feel comfortable to the point where she was able to joined the other children at the end.

The coordinator and the little girl’s mother were so grateful and pleased with how we handled the situation. I was also thankful to have Nicole there volunteering with me. I know it would have been a stressful situation for me if she was not there.

Volunteers perform 98% of outreach and disaster response in the Central Valley and are essential to the Red Cross mission.

Registering to volunteer is easy! Click here to sign up today.

Elizabeth Barragan
AmeriCorps NPRC 2014-2015
Preparedness Coordinator
American Red Cross Central Valley Region