Portland, OR. As war erupts in Ukraine, the Red Cross is vowing continued support for the at-risk families in the region. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been on the ground for years, delivering urgent assistance — food, fuel for heating, medical supplies, and support for housing — to those living close to the line of contact in eastern Ukraine. The Red Cross also supports U.S. Military families in the area.
The International Red Cross is boots on the ground helping those who are injured in Ukraine.
The combination of cold temperatures, COVID-19 and chronic uncertainty made basic needs a challenge in recent years. Red Cross teams now in Ukraine will continue their work to repair vital infrastructure, support health facilities with medicines and equipment, and support families with food and hygiene items.
Women and children walk in eastern Slovakia after fleeing the conflict in neighboring Ukraine. Peter Lazar / AFP
“We already see the immediate consequences for civilians, with the latest intensification triggering new displacement,” International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer said, noting that residents have already endured eight years of conflict. “Now I fear increased suffering, with the potential of massive casualty numbers and extensive destruction of civilian objects like water and electricity plants, as well as mass displacement, trauma, family separation, and missing persons,” Maurer said.
The Role of the American Red Cross
In line with its work supporting military families, the American Red Cross is sending 30 trained staff to Europe to support the emergency communication needs of US military members. The Red Cross Hero Care Network is a Congressionally-chartered program that connects service members and their families in times of need.
Red Crossers are also distributing comfort kits, containing hygiene items and other necessities to service members and U.S. State Department staff.
Blood Services
At this time, the American Red Cross is not shipping blood products to Ukraine. The American Red Cross does not ship blood products outside the U.S. without a specific request from the U.S. Department of State, from the United Nations, or unless we have a request from affected Red Cross or Red Crescent societies abroad. (Donations of
International Humanitarian Law
ICRC called on authorities to adhere to international humanitarian law and to protect civilians and infrastructure delivering essential services, including power and water facilities, schools and hospitals. Maurer requested protection for humanitarian action so that aid actors like the Ukrainian Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the wider Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement can maintain access to civilians.
Assistance Contacting Family
Those unable to get in touch with US citizens missing in Ukraine or Russia should contact the US Department of State Overseas Citizen Services Office online or at 1-888-407-4747.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds, and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members, and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
Another nonprofit is also planning outreach and asking for donations.
From Mercy Corps:
Mercy Corps is deeply concerned about the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and the surrounding area that is now unfolding, and threatening many lives and livelihoods. We see risks of food shortages and huge numbers of women, men, and children forced to flee from their homes. The destruction of infrastructures like hospitals and health services could lead to a rapid spread of diseases, including COVID-19.
Mercy Corps is mobilizing a team to the region to assess where help is most needed. We anticipate providing emergency cash assistance as well as supporting local organizations that know their community needs best. Mercy Corps provided humanitarian assistance in Ukraine following the 2014 conflict, helping over 200,000 people with emergency cash, food, water, and sanitation supplies.
All over the world, Mercy Corps works alongside communities to help families affected by disasters, conflict, and climate change. Your gift today to our Humanitarian Response Fund can help us meet the immediate needs of those facing crises like the current catastrophe in Ukraine, and in 40+ countries across the globe, working to build a future where everyone can prosper.
Over the last five years, we have spent 86% of our resources on programs that help people in need. Charity watchdog groups give us their highest ratings for accountability, transparency and efficiency.
Seattle, OR. Boeing announced $700,000 in grants from the Boeing Charitable Trust to help local communities with the ongoing humanitarian and environmental crisis caused by wildfires burning along the West Coast. Boeing is providing $500,000 to the American Red Cross to support its fire relief efforts in Washington, Oregon and California. Above, American Red Cross volunteer Kalen Pippins, helps to get meals ready to deliver to evacuees from the Oregon wildfires who are staying in hotel shelters in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross)
“On behalf of Boeing employees across the globe, we extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those impacted by the West Coast wildfires,” said Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun. “As these wildfires have ravaged the Western United States, the American Red Cross has stepped up to answer the call at this critical moment of need, and we are happy to support them in their critical work. Through our partnership with the Red Cross, we will help bring recovery and relief efforts to those who have been displaced – and whose lives have been impacted – by these destructive fires.”
American Red Cross volunteers deliver meals to evacuees at a hotel that is being used by the American Red Cross as a shelter in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross)
Sifters are loaded into a truck that will deliver them to families affected by the wildfires in Silverton, Oregon. Sifters will be used to salvage items remaining at burned homes. (Photo by Scott Dalton/American Red Cross)
Additionally, Boeing is donating $200,000 to provide food assistance in these states where significant numbers of the company’s employees live and work. $100,000 is being given to Northwest Harvest in Washington, and $50,000 apiece to the Oregon Food Bank and Redwood Empire Food Bank in California.
“Thousands of our families, friends and neighbors have been displaced around the west,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and the company’s senior executive in the region. “We are committed to helping them through this exceptionally challenging time.”
Boeing’s grant to the Red Cross will provide shelter, food and essentials for those who have been displaced from their homes due to the wildfires. These funds will also assist in the ongoing evacuation and aid delivery response in impacted communities.
“The Red Cross is working around the clock to help hundreds of thousands of people forced to evacuate from their homes due to the California, Oregon and Washington wildfires. We have taken extra safety precautions due to the pandemic to ensure people feel safe as we support the communities impacted by the wildfires,” said Don Herring, chief development officer at the American Red Cross. “We are extremely grateful for Boeing’s support, which allows us to provide shelter, food and comfort to help people in need.”
Consistent with Boeing employee gift match programs, the company will also match qualifying employee contributions made to eligible nonprofits for wildfire relief efforts.
Game-changing innovation will always be at the heart of Boeing. And just as our business has evolved to meet the challenges of a global marketplace, so has our approach to community engagement.
Through purposeful investments, employee engagement and thoughtful advocacy efforts, Boeing and its employees support innovative partnerships and programs that align with our strategic objectives, create value and help build better communities worldwide. This includes improving access to globally competitive learning as well as workforce and skills development and supporting our military and veteran communities.
See how Boeing and its employees give their time, talent and resources in communities around the world.
Portland, OR. Fires continue burning in Oregon and whole communities have been displaced. An estimated 40,000 people have been evacuated and remain displaced from their homes. As the state of Oregon faces wildfires and smoke threats many are asking what they can do to stay informed and help out. There are many options, but first, the Oregon FBI is cautioning generous individuals about charity fraud amid Oregon’s major wildfires. Here are some tips for safe giving:
Donate to charities you know and trust.
Designate the donation to go to a specific disaster relief effort as opposed to a general fund.
Never click on links or open attachments in unsolicited e-mails, texts, or social media posts.
Verify the legitimacy of any solicitation by contacting the organization directly through a trusted contact number.
Beware of organizations with copycat names similar to, but not exactly the same as, those of reputable charities.
Avoid charities that ask for you to pay by cash, gift card, virtual currency, or wire transfer.
Pay by credit card or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
Know that most legitimate charity websites end in .org rather than .com.
Make contributions directly, rather than relying on others to make a contribution on your behalf.
Those affected by the fires can use your help – and there are plenty of legitimate charities out there to do that work. You just need to do your research before giving.
The Nonprofit Association of Oregon also compiled a list of resources we’d like to share with you.
The Ford Family Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, and the Oregon Community Foundation have jointly created the 2020 Community Rebuilding Fund with a goal of gathering resources and to plan for what comes next after the extraordinary devastation brought by wildfires across a state already reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and consequences of racial injustice.
The United Ways across the state have set up Wildfire Relief Funds and are working to coordinate with partner organizations in their regions. Here are the United Ways that are responding: United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, Mid-Valley (Salem).
The MRG Foundation continues to fund organizations and efforts that are focused on BIPOC, Immigrant, Tribal communities, and social/racial justice organizations.
CAUSA of Oregon has set up a wildfire relief fund to purchase emergency supplies for immigrant Oregonians who have been evacuated or lost their homes due to the wildfires.
Beachie Creek Fire where firefighters are working hard to create a ‘Fireline’. It’s the hand or bulldozer line that firefighters put in down to bare mineral soil to hold the fire and keep it from growing.
GOVERNMENT RESOURCES:
The State of Oregon Wildfire Resources page is the official state site for all resources related to the wildfires in Oregon. It contains updates on firefighting efforts, evacuation maps, and alerts.
Keep track of wildfires near you. Sign up for emergency notifications. Most counties in Oregon have a network that you can sign up to receive alerts in case you need to evacuate. The Oregon Federal Executive Board has a complete listing of notification sign-ups by county.
Smoke covers the Portland area on September 9th. The smoke remains for the better part of a week. (Photo credit, Josh Williams)
211 Info can connect community members with needed resources.
Project Wildfire has great tips on preparing for evacuation and other resources.
You can also track Oregon Smoke Information updates via an interactive map with the locations of current fires and the latest information about air quality advisories.
White Bird in Eugene is maintaining a great resource list for individual community members impacted by the Holiday Farm fire.
Various county and regional COADs and community builders have set up resource pages, many of them using the Supporting Resilient Communities Inc. system. These pages are designed to coordinate response efforts, avoid duplications, and share information.
CAUSA of Oregon has set up a wildfire relief fund to purchase emergency supplies for immigrant Oregonians who have been evacuated or lost their homes due to the wildfires.
Portland, January 3rd, 2013. The Red Cross, Oregon Trail Chapter is sending out a call for volunteers to help at an emergency warming shelter on Portland’s southeast side. Wednesday, Red Cross volunteers helped accommodate 63 people. As the only local shelter that allows pets, volunteers were also able to give six pets a warm place to sleep.
On Wednesday, volunteers work to get ready for pets at the emergency shelter.
Pets are kept in kennels and officials say if they didn’t allow the animals into the shelter, many homeless people would not take advantage of the service.
With overnight temperatures expected to be below 30-degrees it’s expected that the Red Cross Emergency shelters will be open for at least the next several days. To learn how to volunteer, visit www.redcross.org/or/portland/volunteer.
The video below has more information about volunteering.
Every winter, doors are opened to all.
The city of Portland funds the Red Cross efforts to save lives in the cold weather.
Guests come in from the cold with their pets.
The American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter serves as the regional hub for the Red Cross in the state of Oregon. The chapter is part of a nationwide network of nearly 600 chapters and blood collection sites across the nation. With 1,200 volunteers and 55 staff members statewide, the Oregon Region of the Red Cross is a leader in providing relief to victims of single-family and community emergencies; national and international disasters; and helping people to prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters.
The Oregon Trail Chapter covers a 16-county area in northern Oregon, from the Pacific Ocean to the Idaho border. We serve the residents of Baker, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Gilliam, Hood River, Morrow, Multnomah, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wasco, Wallowa, Washington and Yamhill Counties.
If you live outside of the Oregon Trail Chapter area, you can find local Red Cross services at one of the other four chapters in the state.
Oregon Mountain River Chapter serves Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Jefferson and Wheeler Counties, and Warm Springs Reservation
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