American Red Cross of Georgia

Be a Force for Good this Summer. You can be the difference between someone's storm and their sunshine. The Red Cross has teamed up with Regal Entertainment Group for the theatrical release of TWISTERS to help raise funds for Disaster Relief. Swarms of tornadoes and extreme flooding in recent months have tragically taken lives and destroyed entire communities. Most recently, millions of people have endured one of the longest lasting and strongest heat waves in years, and many communities are still picking up the pieces and recovering from the second most active tornado season on record. The Red Cross is grateful to have partners like Regal Entertainment Group who is lending support to encourage donations during this critical time of year. Dare to be a force of nature this summer. Make a financial donation to support Red Cross Disaster Relief at RedCross.org/Twisters.

🔷Find out why water safety is so important!🔷Thank you to 11 Alive for having Spencer Stelljes of the Red Cross on a panel to talk about closing the gap on access to swimming lessons and water safety training. Drowning is a leading cause of death among children in the U.S. 64% of African-American, 45% of Hispanic/Latino, and 40% of Caucasian children have few to no swimming skills. Download our free Red Cross Swim app to learn more and watch the full interview here ➡️ https://rdcrss.org/3S8S68o

A special shoutout🙌to first-time blood donors🩸and repeat donors at Kennesaw State University. Thank you for rolling up a sleeve💪🏽and helping save lives. Download our free blood donor app to learn more about becoming a Red Cross blood donor, what to expect and how to schedule an appointment.

Tremendous gratitude🙏🏼for going above and beyond. In the past 24 hours, at least 32 Red Crossers helped 138 people impacted in five home and apartment fires. They worked overnight to provide comfort and recovery to folks who lost nearly everything. Your compassion and care is what makes the Red Cross – we are so grateful to all of our volunteers.

At a Red Cross shelter in Houston, Texas, 4-year-old Serenity brings light, warmth and much-needed smiles to volunteers and shelter residents. She spends her day dancing and playing with other children and greeting everyone she meets with a hug and a friendly "Hi, I’m Serenity!" She and her mother Dannicia, a military veteran, arrived at one of our shelters after Hurricane Beryl left them without power. They are one of several hundred people seeking refuge from the dangerous heat that continues to plague southeast Texas. As people battle with the devastation, flooding and extreme heat, Red Cross disaster teams and partners are working around the clock to ensure people have safe shelter, food, water, relief supplies and other critical support. Anyone who needs help or a place to stay cool is encouraged to visit a shelter. You can locate one by visiting redcross.org/shelter or calling 1-800-RED CROSS.

The Red Cross has supported military members and families since our founding. We continue to serve the military community - from the moment a service member takes their oath to the time they're navigating life as a veteran. Tiera Patterson is the Red Cross of Georgia, Regional Program Director, Service to the Armed Forces and International Services.

A huge thank you 🙏🏼to the team at @11Alive for hosting a Red Cross Blood Drive. We currently have a critical need for blood🩸 donors. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to the employees who generously donated blood to those in need. Giving blood is fast, easy and saves lives! Visit https://lnkd.in/djVuV_X

THANK YOU 👏 to Georgia Red Cross staff and volunteers who are in Texas helping after Hurricane Beryl's landfall as many people remain without power or A/C in dangerous heat. Brooks Spangler, Community Disaster Program Manager, is making new partnerships and friendships on behalf of the Red Cross. Six National Spiritual Council Coalition churches joined the efforts in Houston to provide safe cooling centers for those in need. "Long days but many hands make light work. Our team mobilized and jumped to help to see this mission through," said Brooks. ❤️

Red Cross volunteers are ready to respond to emergencies 24/7/365 across 159 counties in Georgia. Just last week, volunteers responded to 46 disasters, nearly all home fires. They helped 226 people displaced by those disasters. Donate today to support the urgent needs of families impacted by disasters: redcross.org/georgia.

By Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Operations and Logistics for the American Red Cross Imagine you wake up in your small house or trailer and it feels like 106 degrees. It’s so humid that your body feels heavy and uncomfortably damp. You don’t yet have power back and no air conditioning. Your neighbors are in the same boat, so you can’t go next door for relief. The street you live on has standing floodwater; your neighborhood smells old, rotten and stale, making it even harder to breathe. Maybe you have a heart problem, diabetes, asthma or you don’t get around well. These oppressive conditions are extra hard on you. You turn to your loyal old dog for comfort, but she’s suffering like you are - just lying there listless on the floor - and that’s breaking your heart because there’s nothing you can do for her. You and your dog are both hungry and thirsty, but you can’t get out, and even if you could, all the stores are closed because they don’t have power either. Even worse, you’re losing hope because it’s been like this for three days, and no one can tell you when or if it’s going to get better.