First Aid, CPR & WalMart

The Loudoun County chapter was the beneficiary of a grant from WalMart earlier this Spring. What does that mean? We have money to help people... BE PREPARED! The money has allowed the chapter to purchase technology for training (a laptop and an LCD projector), and also allowed us to train 12 new & renewing members of our Disaster Action Team in CPR/AED and First Aid on Saturday.
Volunteers attending the class said it was one of the best they had ever participated in, so kudos to our instructor who volunteered her time. Make sure to check out the pictures...

What We Learned at Kings Dominion

1. Fudge is best when shared.
2. Funnel cake should not be eaten while operating a Red Cross vehicle. If you must please finish your cell phone call and/or text message first.
3. Moose are cool but don’t make good pets.
   
4. Loudoun is spelled with a U!
   
5. The top speed of the ERV is 12O MPH, Shelter Response Truck is 105 MPH*.
6. Tofu is not served at Hardee’s or Taco Bell.
7. Do not leave the adult volunteers in the chicken-free parking lot of restaurants.
8. Don't forget the ice!
9. If the sign says, "You will get wet on this ride.", you will probably get wet on the ride.
   
10. Perfect weather cannot be ordered in advance. You just get lucky as we did.

*But, of course, we would never break the speed limit.

Youth Happenings at the Chapter

This week has been extremely busy for youth volunteers with the Loudoun County Red Cross! We had our regular youth volunteers who are from Park View High School's Extra Mile Club come in on Wednesday to wash the Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV), and on Thursday, youth volunteers from St. Matthew's Mission Possible group washed the Shelter Truck. All of this cleaning was in preparation for our upcoming trip to Kings Dominion Amusement Park's 6th Annual Emergency Services & First Responder Day.

The students from the Extra Mile have also been hard at work this summer scanning the chapter's archives (which date to the chapter founding in 1917!), and trying to help organize some of the disaster services paperwork. And the students from Mission Possible not only washed the Shelter Truck for us, but performed more than 800 hours of community service in Loudoun County last week! The members of Mission Possible received a tour of the chapter, and learned about what the Red Cross does to help. Staff at the chapter also appreciated the mini brownies, the flowers, and the card the group brought.

Thanks to ALL of our volunteers for your support!

Shelter Response

On July 10, the chapter worked with Loudoun County Family Services and the Office of Emergency Management to stage, and set-up a shelter. The request was in response to the hostage situation in Leesburg that had started earlier that day.
When asked about the response, David P. Chesler, Director of Emergency Services, said that, "Disasters aren't planned. They just happen. I'm very proud of all of our volunteers that changed their plans to help us help the community." You can read an interview David participated in with the Loudoun Times here.
In order to staff the shelter, volunteers were called into the chapter starting around 6:30 p.m. At that time, volunteers worked to load the chapter's Emergency Response Vehicle with Heater Meals, and bottled water. Volunteers also used knowledge learned during drills to hook up the chapter's shelter truck & trailer. Each shelter trailer can serve 100 people once opened and contains cots, blankets, necessary paperwork, and other materials. The video shows the volunteers working to hook the trailer to the truck:



The chapter had volunteers on stand-by should the shelter go into the overnight hours. The chapter would like to thank the Safeway on King Street in Leesburg for their donation of a gift card which was used to purchase ice for the shelter workers, clients & emergency personnel, as well as the King Street Roy Rogers for their readiness to donate 50 breakfast sandwiches & orange juice should those items be needed! Additional thanks go to the National Capital Area Chapter who stood ready to support us with shelter teams and nurses, along with the Regional Disaster Coordination Center, and all of the volunteers who made themselves available!

Townhouse Fire

On July 1, 2009, the chapter responded to a townhouse fire. We were able to assist a large family with lodging, contacting their insurance company, minor health services and information on how to replace important paperwork. The chapter also had Kira, one of our newest DAT volunteers, respond to her first fire on this call.
Additionally, this was the second use of our new Emergency Notification call-out system. The ENS system records a message, which is then sent out to all of the disaster volunteers, and minimizes the amount of time it takes for the chapter to respond.
Additional information on the fire was published in the Washington Post, and in Leesburg Today.