Steve Abels joins Blood Services

After 28 years working as a vocational career instructor and counselor both in the public and private sectors, Steve Abels was selected as the new Donor Resource Supervisor for the American Red Cross Blood Services in Southwest Washington. In his new position, he will be responsible for the logistics involved in meeting the demand for blood products.

Steve views job challenges as balancing limited blood collection resources with the increasing demand for blood products while adding to the pool of volunteer donors. Since the Red Cross is primarily a volunteer-staffed organization, Steve also believes it is highly important to take good care of the many people who give of their time to help.

Steve first became involved with the Red Cross as a youth through swimming classes. As an adult, he became an instructor for first aid/CPR classes. He spent more than seven years training others to teach first aid/CPR with the Red Cross in Eugene, Oregon. He is a regular platelet donor as well because he said he “has a passion to help others.”

Steve and his wife, Josie, live in Gresham, Oregon. Their son, Zachary, lives in Twin Falls, Idaho. Steve will be working out of the Clark County Donor Center located near the Vancouver Mall.

Jim Boline
SW Washington Red Cross

Give Thanks by Giving Blood

Give of yourself this holiday and start a great Thanksgiving tradition for you and your family by helping to save a life.

Join us on Thursday, November 24 at one of our Annual Thanksgiving Blood Drives at the Vancouver, Portland or Salem Red Cross Donor Centers.

All presenting donors will receive a free holiday T-shirt, free pumpkin pie donated by Thriftway, and a $10 off coupon for any performance of A Christmas Story at Portland Center Stage.

To make an appointment for a Thanksgiving Day Blood Drive donation, schedule your appointment for the nearest drive listed below or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Thanksgiving Day Blood Drive Locations/Hours

Clark County Donor Center
5109 NE 82nd Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98862
7:30am – 12:30pm

Portland Donor Center
3131 N Vancouver Ave.
Portland, OR  97227
7am – Noon

Salem Donor Center
475 Cottage Street NE, Suite 110
Salem, OR  97301
7:30am – 12:30pm

Holiday Mail for Heros

This marks the fifth year of the Holiday Mail for Heroes program sponsored by the American Red Cross in partnership with Pitney Bowes. The program provides all Americans with the opportunity to send a touch of the holidays to US service members, veterans and military families – many who will be far away from home during this celebratory season.

Why not plan a special card-making event at your office, school or neighborhood? It’s a great way to share the spirit of the holidays with family and friends, while remembering those who serve in our military.

The process is simple and takes very little time; all you really need is a pen and piece of paper to show your appreciation.

Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country.

Observing the following guidelines will help to ensure the cards are delivered quickly:

• Cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9, 2011.
• Make sure that all cards are signed.
• Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
• Only cards are being accepted; please do not send letters.
• Do not include emails or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen-pal relationships.
• Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
• We encourage participants to mail as many cards as they are comfortable sending. If you are mailing a large quantity of cards, please bundle them together and place them in large mailing envelopes or use a flat-rate box from the post office. Each card does not need its own envelope, as cards will be removed from all envelopes before distribution.
• Please refrain from sending holiday cards with glitter. Many of these cards will be delivered to military and veterans medical facilities and the glitter could interfere with a patient’s recovery.

The 2011 Holiday Mail for Heroes mail box is open and ready to receive for your cards: 

Holiday Mail For Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

If you don’t have time to make your own card but still want to participate, click here  to  go to a Pitney Bowes site where you can select a card design, add your personal greeting, and have the card mailed for $1 per card. 

Please help us brighten the holidays for those who served - and many who are still serving - in the US military.   

Sue Anderson
SW Washington Red Cross

A time for remembering

Today is Veteran’s Day. Here in the United States, it’s a solemn holiday when we remember US citizens who fought – and many who died – so we may continue to live free.

When I think of Veteran’s Day, I always remember my Dad.

He was an infantryman in the Rainbow Division who served in the European Theater during World War II. He saw action in France, Germany and Austria. He was wounded during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, and was honorably discharged in 1945.

For his service, he received the Purple Heart and, much later in his life, he was awarded the Bronze Star.

In 2001, Dad’s regiment (Company M 222^nd Infantry Regiment, 42^nd Infantry Rainbow Division) was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation “for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an armed enemy.”

He never told us about the Presidential Unit Citation. We didn’t learn he’d even received notification about the commendation until after he’d died in 2003. He didn’t boast or brag about the medals or the honors. He just quietly accepted them - like so many others who have fought to protect the freedoms we, too often, take for granted.

And Dad, along with thousands of others who fought in European and Pacific Theaters during WWII, was a hero to so many people. Just as he’s still a hero to me.

Dad didn’t talk often about his time in the service. I think there were a lot of painful memories that he’d rather not have had.

He was, after all, a farm boy. His parents didn’t have much besides their land, each other and their children; life was simple. I suspect Dad never thought he’d venture outside ND, let alone outside the United States. But when his country called, he answered; like so many other men and women before and after him.

So today as we salute and honor our nation’s military personnel – past, present and future – I’m remembering my Dad.

Who is in your thoughts?

Sue Anderson
SW Washington Red Cross

Ready, Set…Mail those holiday packages!

If you’re planning to send a holiday package to a loved one or friend who serves overseas in the military, time is running out!

You’ve got until November 12 (yup, that’s this Saturday) to get it mailed if you’re using parcel post which is the least expensive USPS shipping method. After that date, there’s no guarantee that parcel post packages will arrive in time for the holidays. 

Can’t make it to the USPS in person to mail your military packages? Call and request carrier pickup at your home or place of business.

If you don’t make the Saturday deadline, don’t panic. There are other (more expensive) mailing options available. Check out the USPS website for prices and related shipping dates to ensure your package arrives in time.

Military Care Kits Available

To receive a free “military care kit” from the USPS, call 800-610-8734. The kit contains two large America Supports You priority mail flat-rate boxes, four medium-sized boxes, six priority mail labels, a roll of tape and six customs forms. The largest flat-rate boxes can be mailed worldwide to military personnel at a discounted, flat-rate price of $12.95.

Mail for military personnel returning from Iraq

With US forces scheduled to return from Iraq by the end of the year, military post offices in Iraq will stop processing all mail on November 17. Mail arriving after that date (or if the person has left the country prior to that date), will be redirected to the mailing address provided by the service personnel to whom it is directed. If a forwarding address was not left, the mail will be returned to the sender.

The holidays are coming…ready or not!

Sue Anderson
SW Washington Red Cross

Who is your Real Hero?

During this week while we celebrate our military heros, we’d like you to think about and nominate others whom you think should be recognized for single acts of heroism that resulted in saving the lives of others during 2011.

A panel will review the nominations and the finalists will be honored during the Annual Heros Breakfast, scheduled for March 2012.

Nominees must live or work in Clark, Cowlitz, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Skamania or Klickitat Counties, or the heroic event must have taken place in one of those counties during the 2011 calendar year.

The first Heros Breakfast was held 15 years ago. It grew out of the desire to develop an event that closely aligned to the Red Cross mission of saving lives through prevention, preparedness, and response.

The program honors ordinary people who have performed extraordinary heroic actions within the counties served  by SW Washington Red Cross. Each year, we honor local people for their heroic deeds in one of the following categories:

• Medical Rescue Hero: rescue where a person’s quick response to provide medical help saved a life (first aid, CPR, abdominal thrust, use of an AED, etc.)
• Animal Rescue Hero: rescue of an animal by a person, or of a person by an animal
• Youth Good Samaritan Hero: rescue by a person, 18 yrs or younger, who took action to save a life
• Adult Good Samaritan Hero: rescue by an adult, 19 or older, who took action to save a life
• Workplace Hero: rescue that takes place at the workplace
• Educational Hero: rescue that has a connection to an educational setting (school, playground, etc.)
• Professional Rescue Hero: rescue performed by a professional in the area of police enforcement, fire services, 9-1-1 dispatch, or search & rescue.

And if you think someone deserves recognition, but their heroic deed doesn’t fit one of the following categories, send in their information anyway – they may be the first in a new category!

Complete and mail the Real Heros Nomination Form to:

Hero Nomination
American Red Cross of Southwest Washington
3114 E. Fourth Plain Blvd
Vancouver, WA 98661

or email the completed form to:

David Fenton (dfenton@swwashinton.redcross.org)
or
Suzanne Arnits (sarnits@swwashington.redcross.org)

Nominations are due November 30. If selected, your Hero will be honored at the Annual Heros Breakfast scheduled for March 2012.

If you have any questions, contact the Chief Development Director at Southwest Washington Red Cross at 360.693.5821, the Community Partners Director at 360.423.7880, or either one toll free at 888.434.1966.

Sue Anderson
SW Washington Red Cross

Saluting our Veterans

Looking for a fun way to spend part of tomorrow with your family, and show support for our veterans at the same time?

Join us for the 25th Annual Lough Legacy Veteran’s Parade through Ft. Vancouver. The parade starts at 11am and features the 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry as its grand marshal. The  reviewing officer will be Col. Daniel Kern, an Afghanistan veteran and Camas resident.

We invite you to join us in this salute to those who have served, and those who are still serving in our military. They put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe; join us as we take this opportunity to show them our appreciation.

Click the following link (courtesy of The Columbian) to open a map showing the parade route:

http://www.columbian.com/photos/2011/nov/03/36400/

See you tomorrow at 11am!

(And remember, it’s November in the Pacific Northwest – bring rain gear!)

Sue Anderson
SW Washington Red Cross

Congrats to Youth Instructors!

Our local Red Cross Youth Council is an amazing group of high school kids. They’re always willing to pitch in and they are great representatives of the Red Cross within their schools.

Recently, six of them participated in and completed Red Cross Youth Instructor coursework. Our congratulations to the team!

The Red Cross Youth Instructor Team

The team includes (left to right): Art (Youth Council Instructor), Natalie, Jon, Lisa, Adam, Connie and Kenny. You’re all wonderful and we thank you for your participation!

Sue Anderson
SW Washington Red Cross