Car Wash... At the Car Wash...

Our first attempt at a car wash was rained out in June... But, the day was sunny, no clouds, and rather hot on August 8 for our 2nd attempt! Lots of suds, lots of water, and a bullhorn meant that there was a decent number of cars to wash.



The chapter raised several hundred dollars. We'd like to thank Chick-Fil-A in Sterling for the use of their parking lot for our car wash... And to remind everybody that you should "honk if you love chick'n!"

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!

Social Networking & Games People Play

Let's just admit it: The Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross is doing some really cool stuff! Not just social networking (which is neat, all by itself!), but Comedy CPR, Singles Night CPR, and hitting neighborhoods affected by disaster with disaster kit supplies, first aid kits, and information. One of their new ventures is a podcast (an on-line radio show) about different Red Cross topics. And, the first show included an interview with Magi Shepley, from our chapter! Magi was asked to talk about different games people might play during a disaster. She shared that Uno has been popular, and she believes she has lost many decks of Uno cards at various disaster sites. Magi also talked about a class project where her students created a version of the popular Fluxx card game with a disaster/weather theme.

Unfortunately, a bit of a disaster cut the interview short when a thunderstorm took out Magi's phone. At least she knew what to do during the storm... Break out the card games, of course!
You can hear the podcast at this link: http://redcrosspdx.blogspot.com/2009/06/listen-up-listen-in.html

Social Media is EVERYWHERE!

The power of the Internet. Who ever imagined that one day you would be able to:


or

heyzap.com - embed games

without leaving the comfort of your own home?