>>Valley Patriot>>
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The
Merrimack Valley Red Cross
Kathleen
Corey Rahme
Having one of the world’s
most recognizable logos, second only to the United
Nations, the Red Cross invokes an unquestionable level of
comfort. I had the  opportunity
to meet with Jay Foley, Director of Community Development
at the Bradford headquarters and he was able to share
some very interesting things with me about the Merrimack
Valley Red Cross.
There is an expectation that the Red Cross is always
dealing with tsunamis or hurricanes like Katrina but in
actuality, the Red Cross is also very busy with local
needs. The local chapter serves the 25 cities of the
Merrimack Valley including Lawrence, Methuen, Lowell,
Haverhill, and Salem, New Hampshire.
Some 650,000 residents are in this service area. While
the 2006 Mother’s Day flood received national
attention and the local chapter of the Red Cross was very
busy, Foley noted that in the past year, 2007, a large
number of fires, especially in Greater Lowell and Greater
Lawrence areas made a greater impact on the service
level. Surprisingly, 500 residents were served in 2006
(including those affected by the floods) and more than
1000 have been served this year.
Less publicized is the work that the American Red Cross
performs on a regular basis. Foley remarked, “When a
family in your town was on the street in front of their
fire ravaged home, it was the American Red Cross of the
Merrimack Valley who showed up to provide the food,
shelter, clothing, health, mental health and referral
services that they desperately needed.”
The key to this operation is volunteers. There is a board
of directors who are all volunteers. There are local
disaster action teams and they are all volunteers. The
local chapter has only five employees. The local chapter
recruits and trains all volunteers and they respond
24-7-365 as needed. Every volunteer is screened and
background checks are conducted. Their individual
training is varied after receiving basic training. Some
are oriented toward office staffing needs while others
are trained in disaster assessment. In rare
situations, they can also use one day volunteers. This
need would be for a large scale disaster.
Local chapters also deploy volunteers across the country
and sometimes the world as needed. They respond to
disasters like tornadoes and wild fires. The Red Cross
pays the expenses of these volunteers while they are on
the road and they often live in shelters with other
volunteers during their deployment. Foley had the
opportunity to volunteer during Katrina which was a life
changing experience for him.
The Red Cross model is very impressive. Each local
chapter must be capable of sustaining itself during a
very large disaster for up to five days. It must be able
to deliver services independently for this amount of time
with all the necessary resources including staff and
materials while other chapters deploy assistance. The
average local chapter could not be capable of managing a
very large disaster without this system. This is how the
network of Red Cross chapters works.
Local donations are the key to the existence and survival
of each chapter. They depend on the local support to be
able to get the job done. They also work with each city
in their jurisdiction for disaster preparedness. Shelter
agreements are in place. Local high schools are often
used during disasters because they provide the perfect
accommodations of space, toilets, showers, and kitchen
needs. Methuen High School was used during the 2006
floods.
The guiding principles make the Red Cross a very
attractive agency. These include universality,
neutrality, humanity and independence. These are amazing
attributes. They are not a government agency yet they are
chartered by the United States government to do the job.
They are a not- for- profit and are a four- star rated
charity for the sixth year in a row by the Charity
Navigator (www.charitynavigator.com)
a watchdog of the nation’s nonprofit sector, because
$.91 out of every dollar goes directly to services.
All Red Cross disaster services are provided free. Beyond
the fires, tsunamis and tornadoes, you know the work of
the Red Cross. They are about more than blood drives.
They train certified nurse’s assistants in their
Bradford location, they teach children to swim, they
train hundreds in CPR, and they have a long and proud
history of involvement in our armed services.
Perusing the antique poster collection in Foley’s
office reminded me of their numerous and varied
contributions. Donations are accepted all year. They can
be made in memory of someone or in honor of someone. Mr.
Foley indicated the need is great because the chapter is
fiscally challenged. There have been so many more
disasters this year. For more information about how you
can be part of the solution and for a greater
understanding of this valuable resource in our community,
visit their web site at www.ARCMV.org.
Please consider helping them to continue to help you.
Donations can be mailed directly to the headquarters
located at 177 Ward Hill Avenue, Ward Hill, MA 01835.
As Jay Foley stated, “We need your help now so we
can help you and your neighbors tomorrow. You count on us
all year long. We’re counting on you today.”
Kathleen Corey Rahme is the former Central District
Councilor in Methuen and was elected as a city councilor
“at large” in 2005. She is currently the
vice-chair of the city council and is the founder of the
Methuen Youth Corps. She hosts a TV show honoring our
veterans named: “Call to Serve.” You can e-mail
her at kcoreyrahme@comcast.net
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The December 2007
Edition of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
We publish 16,000 newspapers and distribute in Andover,
North Andover,
Methuen, Haverhill, Chelmsford, Georgetown, Groveland,
Boxford, Amesbury, Newburyport
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Westford, Acton, and Lowell.
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