Red Cross Welcomes New Regional Executive to the River Valley Blood Region

We would like to give a warm welcome to Cyndi Dahl, who is our new Regional Donor Services Executive for the American Red Cross River Valley Blood Region.

Cyndi was born and raised in Portland, Oregon with her younger sister, who also works for the American Red Cross.  While in college, she began volunteering with the Red Cross at blood drives and for Service to the Armed Forces. Her love for volunteerism developed into life-time passion for serving the community.

Blood drives and supporting military families was just a stepping stone into her next chapter of service. Cyndi joined the Cascades Region of the American Red Cross in Volunteer Services serving the Portland Metro area and Central and Eastern Oregon. In ten short months, she moved to the Executive Director role in Central and Eastern Oregon.

After a month-long deployment to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Cyndi decided she wanted to make a larger impact and accepted a position as the Executive Director serving the Heart of Texas. She brought many years of experience in community relations, board and volunteer management to this role.

Today, Cyndi brings a deep appreciation for the Red Cross, dedication to volunteers and donors, and a love for Kentucky to the Regional Donor Services Executive position in the Kentucky Region.

Click here to learn more about the Kentucky Red Cross.

Kentucky Red Cross Recognizes Presidential Award Nominees

This week, we were pleased to recognize two volunteers for their extraordinary service to the Kentucky Red Cross. Congratulations to Marcia Brey and Sally Higgins for receiving this recognition and representing the Kentucky Region as nominees for the National Red Cross Presidential Award.

Marcia Brey

Marcia, from Louisville, is truly a volunteer who leads by example. Marcia is as comfortable leading the Louisville Area Chapter board as she is going out into the community to install smoke alarms. She is both a high level strategist and a boots on the ground doer. This is a rare quality that makes her invaluable to the organization. As an engineer for GE Appliances, she has combined her eye for detail with her heart for service to organize and lead seven smoke alarm installation events over the past few years. This is unprecedented throughout the region, division and across the country.

Sally Higgins

Our second recipient, Sally, is from the Frankfort area and is active throughout the region as a Disaster Services volunteer. There’s not much that she doesn’t have her hand in. The Kentucky Red Cross depends on her as an instructor, as someone who responds to disasters big and small, and as a mentor and guide to our new volunteers. Her peers know her as someone who expects a lot from herself, from others and from the Red Cross. She brings out the best in others and propels us all to be better at fulfilling the mission of the Red Cross.

Thank you, Marcia and Sally, for all you do here at the Red Cross!

Learn more about becoming a volunteer here.

Fire Prevention Week: Practice Escape Plans, Test Smoke Alarms

National Fire Prevention Week is October 6 to 12, and the American Red Cross urges everyone to practice their home fire escape plan and test their smoke alarms.

“As cold weather increases the risk of home fires, please prepare your family now during Fire Prevention Week,” said Trevor Riggen, senior vice president, Red Cross Disaster Cycle Services. “Install and test smoke alarms on every level of your home, and practice your escape plan until everyone can get out in two minutes or less.”

In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Escape planning and practice can help you make the most of the time you have, giving everyone enough time to get out.

Plan ahead for your escape:

• Include at least two ways to get out of each room in your home fire escape plan.
• Select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone can meet.
• Practice your escape plan until everyone can get out in two minutes or less.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, placing them inside and outside bedrooms, and sleeping areas.
• Test smoke alarms monthly, and change the batteries at least once a year, if your model requires it.

Children are most at risk during fires. In fact, children under five are twice as likely as other people to die in a home fire. In addition to including them in practicing your escape plan, parents should teach their children what smoke alarms sound like and what to do when they hear one.

Home fires take seven lives each day in the U.S., most often in homes without working smoke alarms. That’s why the Red Cross is working with partners to install free smoke alarms in high-risk communities and help families create escape plans through its Home Fire Campaign, which launched five years ago in October 2014.

Over the past five years, the campaign has saved at least 642 lives across the country by installing nearly 2 million free smoke alarms and making more than 793,000 households safer from the threat of home fires. Learn more about preparing and preventing home fires here.

Welcome to New Arrivals on our Disaster Team!

We are excited to welcome three new faces to our disaster team here in the Kentucky Region!

Welcome Racheal Greer, Nikki Salladay and Tiffany Gartley!

Racheal

Nikki

Tiffany

Racheal is joining us as the Disaster Program Specialist for Eastern Kentucky serving the region in the Eastern Kentucky Chapter. She will primarily be based out of the Pikeville office. Racheal has spent several years serving the community members of Kentucky through her role in Emergency Management. She worked many local disasters in Pike County serving in the EOC as well as being deployed to the Western part of the state to serve on the State IMT during severe flooding of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, earning membership into the Kentucky Colonel organization.

Nikki is joining us in the Senior Disaster program role serving the region and will be primarily based out of the Louisville office. Nikki joins the Kentucky American Red Cross team most recently from the Michigan Region where she has been serving as the Disaster Program Manager in the Grand Rapids area. She has a background in working with and for volunteers with the Red Cross and prior to joining the Red Cross. She is no stranger to Kentucky as she was born and raised on the south end of Louisville and has several family members throughout the state.

Tiffany is joining us as the Disaster Program Specialist for Western Kentucky and will be serving the region in the Western Kentucky Chapter based out of the Paducah office. Tiffany joins us with an extensive background working for non profit and government based organizations in the Paducah area. Over the years she has held vital roles within reputable organizations such as the Paducah Housing Authority, Boy Scouts of America, United Way of Paducah-McCracken County, Kentucky Career Center/Kentucky Works and Ttec. Caring for others and doing the right thing are passions for Tiffany. She is excited to have to opportunity to be a part of the Red Cross team and continue her career aligned to a mission that she believes in.

Welcome, everyone!

Financial Development Staff Announcement

The Kentucky Region Development team is pleased to welcome three new staff members!

Tonya Schweitzer joins us as the new Regional Philanthropy Officer for the Kentucky Region. Based in Louisvillle, Tonya will be focusing on focusing on fostering relationships with foundations throughout the Kentucky Region. Tonya spent more than 20 years at Metro United Way working in development. Most recently, Tonya was the Chief Development Officer at Boys and Girls Haven. Tonya has a long-history of fundraising experience and relationship management.

Vanessa Miller is joining Team Kentucky as the new Donor Development Officer. Vanessa lives in and will work out of the Louisville office. Vanessa has a long history of experience working with high net worth individuals in a sales and customer service capacity. Her skill set is in strong alignment with what’s needed to be successful in this role where she’ll be called upon to win back lapsed donors and bring on new donors to the Red Cross.

Finally, we welcome Garrett Messer as our new Development Specialist for the region. In this role, Garrett will serve as our lead in Salesforce, our customer relationship management database, help develop and execute a consistent donor stewardship plan, invoice processing, and many other activities related to donor data. Garrett worked at ZirMed for many years and the past three years at Norton Healthcare with responsibilities in IT.

Welcome to the team!

Red Cross Helps Louisville Family Prepare with Bedside Smoke Alarms

“Alright, we’re going to practice,” says Clair, a Disaster Program Manager for the Louisville Area Chapter Red Cross. She stands in the hallway of the Mansfield’s home, poised beneath one of the smoke alarms Red Cross volunteers had installed just a few weeks before.

In their rooms, Gabriella Mansfield, 8, and Estfeanie Mansfield, 10, giggle and nod. A sign language interpreter translates for Estfeanie and her mother, Sharonda Mansfield, who are both deaf, as they prepare to practice their fire escape plan for the first time.

Then, the smoke alarm sounds and triggers the bedside alarms to flash and vibrate in the sleeping spaces. Clair and the interpreter both sign in time to the sound of the smoke alarm as the girls and their mother quickly leave the house and race to get outside to their meeting spot.

Gabriella and Estfeanie creating a fire escape plan with Clair

Sharonda and three of her four children are deaf, and did not have working smoke alarms in their home. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire nearly in half. But those who are deaf or hard of hearing cannot depend on the sound of a regular smoke alarm to alert them to a fire. The Kentucky Red Cross is working to provide bedside smoke alarms for those who are deaf or hard of hearing: these smoke alarms have strobe lights and bed shakers to help alert residents in case of a fire. That’s why Sharonda reached out to the Red Cross through the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH).

“The younger kids, I didn’t think they would know what to do if there was a fire.” Sharonda said.

With the help of a sign language interpreter from KCDHH, the Red Cross installed four alarms in the Mansfield home, including three bedside smoke alarms. Since her children were at school during the installation, the Red Cross made a special return visit a few weeks later to teach the children about fire and disaster safety, and helped the family come up with their fire escape plan. Together, Sharonda and her children talked about the possible escape routes they could take in case of a fire, and designated a tree in their front yard as their meeting place.

“Where would you go?” Sharonda asked the girls later, as they sat in their living room while Clair went over other fire and local disaster safety tips with the family. “Where do you run?”

“Outside!” Estfeanie replied, giggling with her sister.

José, another member of the Mansfield family, testing the bed-shaker portion of the bedside alarm

The Kentucky Red Cross is able to install these alarms part of our Home Fire Campaign in part because of a grant from the WHAS Crusade for Children that provides lifetone smoke alarms for children, as well as our partnership with KCDHH. KCDHH partnered with the Red Cross in 2018 and has also provided communication kits to use at shelters and during disasters. They also provide interpreter services, and help spread the word to the community about fire safety.

To learn more about our campaign to end home fires by installing smoke alarms and providing fire safety education across the country, click here.

Kentucky Red Cross and Kentucky Power Kick Off National Preparedness Month with AEP Foundation Grant

Each September, National Preparedness Month encourages Americans to be prepared for disasters in their homes, businesses and communities. Every 8 minutes, the Red Cross responds to a disaster, and the vast majority of these are home fires. One of the best ways to prepare for a home fire is to have working smoke alarms, which can reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by nearly 50 percent. On Wednesday, Kentucky Power awarded a $40,000 American Electric Power Foundation grant to the Kentucky Red Cross to support Home Fire Preparedness efforts and provide free smoke alarms in Eastern Kentucky.

“We’re making this important grant award today in recognition of National Prepa
redness Month,” said Kentucky Power President Brett Mattison. “The Red Cross responds to more than 300 home fires in Eastern Kentucky every year. This grant will allow them to help families prepare should disaster strike.”

The AEP Foundation grant will allow the Red Cross, volunteer fire departments, Kentucky Power volunteers and others to canvass low income areas and provide smoke alarms to those in need. Smoke alarm installations funded with the grant are planned for October in Greenup County and in Letcher County in spring 2020.

“With this generous donation from the American Electric Power Foundation homes will be made safer and lives will be saved,” said Debbie Ranier, executive director of the Eastern Kentucky Chapter of the American Red Cross. “Partners like Kentucky Power mean so much to this organization. We appreciate their time and generosity put into helping the American Red Cross carry out its mission daily. They are truly a part of our Red Cross Family.”

This week, a Red Cross emergency response vehicle funded with a previous $150,000 AEP Foundation grant left Ashland with the husband-wife volunteer team of Mike and Charlene Qualls for its first national disaster response. The vehicle, Eastern Kentucky’s first, was dispatched to North Carolina in response to Hurricane Dorian.

Thank you, Kentucky Power, for your generosity and your commitment to making our community safer!

Learn more about our Home Fire Campaign here.

Steve Cunanan to Become Region CEO for the American Red Cross Kentucky Region

The American Red Cross is proud to announce the appointment of Steve Cunanan as the new Chief Executive Officer of the organization's Kentucky Region. In his new position, Cunanan will also serve as the CEO for the Louisville Area Chapter, one of five chapters in the region.

Cunanan succeeds Jennifer Adrio, who now serves as the CEO of the
American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region.

The Kentucky Region — comprised of the Louisville Area, Bluegrass Area, Eastern Kentucky, South Central, and Western Kentucky Chapters — provides an array of essential services to more than 4.2 million residents in a 117-county area that stretches from most of Kentucky to three counties in Southern Indiana.

Cunanan, who will begin working in his new job on September 16, will oversee an operation which includes nearly 2,500 volunteers and 193 employees. This combined workforce responds to more than 2,000 local disasters each year throughout the Kentucky Region; similarly educates residents on emergency preparedness; deploys to disasters outside the region; supports the collection of blood products; teaches health and safety course to individuals and companies; delivers aid to international Red Cross partners; and provides support to military members, veterans, and their families.

Cunanan comes to the position with Red Cross knowledge and experience, having been a board member for the Louisville Area Chapter and Kentucky Region for five years, assisting and leading on several key fundraising committees. From 2013 – 2018, Steve served as Chief Administrative and Chief People Officer for Kindred Healthcare, with overall responsibility for the company’s human capital initiatives.

The Kentucky Region’s Home Fire Campaign, a smoke-alarm installation, and education program the American Red Cross launched nationally five years ago to reduce injuries and deaths from home fires, is second only to New York City in terms of impact, with over 39,000 homes made safer, nearly 55,000 smoke alarms installed and over 57 lives saved by the program. The Kentucky Region is also considered a leader in Service to Armed Forces programs, having the highest client satisfaction rating in the country. The region, for example, houses one of only three emergency call centers for active military members and their families (the Hero Care Center) in the world, in its Louisville Area Chapter building.

“I am thrilled to have someone of Steve’s caliber and experience to step up and lead the American Red Cross Kentucky Region,” said Marica Brey, Chair of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross Louisville Area Chapter and Kentucky Region. “Steve brings a wealth of business knowledge and deep leadership capabilities from his previous roles as VP of HR, and most recently, Chief People Officer at Kindred. In addition, Steve has been an active member on the Red Cross board for the past 5 years successfully leading and growing several committees, and he has a heart-felt passion for the Red Cross’s mission.”

“I am humbled and honored to serve as the new Regional Chief Executive Officer for the American Red Cross Kentucky Region. The Red Cross has been a passion of mine for many years, serving as a volunteer and board member.  Now, it is my deep privilege to serve the organization as its leader across the region.  I look forward to working alongside our dedicated volunteers and staff to live our mission and serve those in need,” said Cunanan.  

Kentucky Red Cross Honors the Life of Dr. Virginia Keeney

Dr. Keeney, left, with Marcia Brey and Madeline Abramson
at the 2018 Annual Board of Directors Meeting

This week, the Kentucky Red Cross honors the life of one of our lifetime board members, Dr. Virginia Tripp Keeney. Dr. Keeney passed on Wednesday, May 29.

Dr. Keeney completed her first year of medical school at the University of Louisville, where she was one of four women in her class of 100. She put her degree on hold in 1946 when the Army sent her husband, who had just received his M.D., to Korea as a member of the U.S. occupying forces. Dr. Keeney went along and worked at the Army hospital in Pusan alongside her husband. When her husband’s tour of duty was over, they returned to the United States and she completed her medical degree at the University of Louisville.

2017 Blood Mobile ribbon cutting ceremony

Dr. Keeney gave back to her patients and her community her entire life. She became a pioneer in the field of medical ethics, and received the Citizen Laureate of Louisville award for her service in 1962 as the Kentucky co-coordinator of the first-ever national polio vaccination drive, Sabin Oral Sunday. She was also the first woman appointed to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

In addition to her work in the medical field, Dr. Keeney also served on many boards and commissions over the course of her life. She was a lifetime board member of the American Red Cross, and served as Chairman of the American Red Cross Board of Directors from 1995-1997. She was received the American Red Cross Clara Barton Honor Award twice. The Clara Barton Honor Award is the highest award the American Red Cross bestows on volunteers. It recognizes meritorious service in volunteer leadership, of which Dr. Keeney was well deserving.

Dr. Keeney and Bob Adelberg, 2011 Wrapped in Red Gala

Her life truly epitomized what being a humanitarian is and she represented all that the American Red Cross stands for. We at the American Red Cross are grateful to have had her passionate support and leadership for almost four decades.

Red Cross Provides Shelter and Comfort After Apartment Fire in Louisville

Red Crossers have been working around the clock since after a multi-unit apartment fire broke out in Louisville over the weekend. Eleven residents of the apartment building have been staying in a Red Cross shelter while their apartments are being assessed for damage.

While their week has been stressful, the atmosphere in the shelter is upbeat. Unlike most people who end up sharing space in a shelter, these shelter residents were neighbors in the apartment building and have known each other for years. They gathered in the main lounge of the building, laughing and gently teasing each other while they waited for Red Cross volunteers Larry, Mary and Dennis to call them for lunch.

They have all been amazed with the support they’ve received over the past few days.

“Everyone wants to be here,” said Donna about the volunteers. “They’ve made it so much easier to deal with a bad situation.”

Bobbie, who has lived in her Yorktown apartment for 11 years, said the Red Cross was on the scene almost immediately after the fire. Bobbie's mother and sister had given blood through the Red Cross in the past, but she’d never realized that the Red Cross also responded to disasters like fires.

“These people came in with their hearts wide open,” she said. “One lady needed her medicine, clothes […] and whatever we’ve needed, they’ve been right here.” 

To show their gratitude, the neighbors want to hold an apartment-wide fundraiser for the Red Cross when they are able to return home. 

Each year, the Red Cross responds to an average of more than 62,000 disasters, the vast majority of which are home fires. Learn how you can volunteer at redcross.org/volunteer.

Smoke Alarms and Fire Safety Education Help Save Family of Nine

The Jackson-Perry Family

Every day, seven people die in home fires. The Red Cross wants to prevent these needless tragedies – that’s why we launched our Home Fire Campaign in 2014. As part of this campaign, volunteers work alongside fire departments and other local groups, canvassing at-risk neighborhoods to install free smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms, educate families about fire prevention and safety, and fundraise to help sponsor this life-saving mission.

One Louisville family of nine is a testament to the importance of our campaign. Two years ago, on a warm afternoon in late April, the Perry family was enjoying the spring weather outside on their front porch while their grandson napped in their basement. Their family time was interrupted by the harsh sound of their new smoke alarms sounding from inside the house.

Alerted by the alarms, the Perrys noticed smoke coming from the basement, and were able to quickly get their grandson out of the house. Once they were away from the house and gathered at their designated meeting spot, they called 911. Later, they would learn that an electrical fire had started in their basement.

Just weeks before, on April 8, Red Cross and General Electric volunteers in Louisville had visited the Perrys as a part of the Mayor’s Give a Day week of service. Bonnie Perry recalls seeing Red Cross volunteers canvassing her neighborhood that day and inviting them in to install alarms in her home.

“[The volunteer] said, ‘Oh, we’re installing smoke detectors. Do you need some?’ and I said ‘I sure do!’” Mrs. Perry said. “They put one in each bedroom and in the hallway, and thank God they were installed.”

The volunteers also spoke to the Perrys about home fire safety, and helped the family come up with an escape plan. Mrs. Perry stated that the fire escape plan was the reason her family got out safely. She also credited the early warning of the smoke alarms for giving them enough time to get her grandson out of the house and call the fire department before the fire spread to the rest of their home.

”Without the Red Cross, two, three, maybe five of us wouldn’t have been here.” Mrs. Perry said. “We were so blessed that everyone got out safely. The Lord must have sent the American Red Cross to install these alarms.”

Over 550 lives have been saved in the United States since the start of our Home Fire Campaign, including 57 lives in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

Learn how you can get involved by visiting soundthealarm.org

Lives Saved in Fayette County Thanks to Home Fire Campaign

It’s a fact: Early warning from a working smoke alarm can cut the risk of death by home fire in half.

For one Fayette county family, that statistic hits close to home. Late one night in early December, Cassie Bell and her family woke to the shrill sound of their smoke alarms warning them of danger.
Alerted by the alarm, Bell went downstairs to find her kitchen filled with smoke and a fire burning from the toaster. The family’s cats had jumped on the toaster, triggering it to heat up and catch fire to mail that had fallen on top of it.

The Bell Family

“I was able to put out the fire with a throw blanket,” said Bell. “I can only imagine if we had not had those smoke detectors installed and the fire given the opportunity to grow.”

Just a year earlier, Red Cross volunteers and local firefighters had visited the Bell home to install free smoke alarms as part of our Home Fire Campaign. The Home Fire Campaign was launched in 2014 in an effort to reduce the number of lives lost to home fires by installing free smoke alarms and providing fire safety education in at-risk neighborhoods.

Volunteers helped the Bell family create an escape plan and review a home fire safety checklist. Before their visit, the family did not have working smoke alarms. Bell had been told of the free smoke alarm program by a former fire department paramedic after a local fire fatality. Determined to make her home safe for herself and her daughters, Bell scheduled an appointment with the Lexington Fire Department, a partner of the Red Cross, to have them installed.

“I 100 percent know those alarms waking us up saved my house and my family,” Bell said. “We live on a very limited budget, and I know if we had to have made those expenses, I might have made the wrong decision in [not] getting them installed. Thankfully, the American Red Cross, the fire department and kind individuals who donated took that worry off our plate.”

Over 500 lives have been saved in the United States since the start of our Home Fire Campaign, including 57 lives in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

Join us in making our community safer across Kentucky and Southern Indiana at soundthealarm.org, or visit redcross.org/givingday to help us help the families who have been impacted by a home fire or other disaster.