All About Rebekah Cain
My name is Rebekah Cain and I’m the Manager, Marketing and Communications for the American Red Cross Southeast Louisiana Chapter. I have lived in New Orleans
The Southeast Louisiana Chapter of Red Cross
The mission of the American Red Cross (a volunteer-led organization) is to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Most people think of the Red Cross in the response function – but we actually do a lot of work in preparing for disasters and helping to create a culture of preparedness in our community.
Get Involved
One great way to get involved is by volunteering with our Community Outreach department and learning how to give Community Disaster Education presentations. These presentations can be given in faith-based organizations, community centers, schools – anywhere in a community. They contain information on how to ensure your family, friends and neighborhood is properly prepared – for anything! In addition to hurricane preparedness, we also want people to practice Fire Safety (the #1 disaster affecting people in Southeast Louisiana is home fires!), know what to do in case of flooding, and how to take care of yourself or someone else who has the flu.
We are always recruiting volunteers to help with every facet of our organization whether it is disaster response (the Disaster Action Team responds to a local disaster every 15 hours in our community), training for large-scale disaster response (feeding, shelter, disaster assessment), becoming a CPR instructor, helping out on the Public Affairs team, working in our office, or answering phones – pretty much anything you can think of – we need your help! Whether you have a few hours a month or a few hours a week – contact our Volunteer Services department to get involved! http://www.arcno.org/Volunteer.php
New Orleans Tips
There are some really easy things that EVERYONE should be doing, especially in an area that is prone to so many different kinds of disasters (fires, hurricanes, flooding and even tornados).
Build a disaster supply kit. Be sure it includes non-perishable food items, water for at least 5 days, prescription medications (along with the actual prescriptions, just in case), important papers (mortgage, social security, birth certificates, etc) in water-resistant bags (like freezer bags), flashlight, weather radio, etc.
Ensure that your household has a plan in case of a disaster – where will you meet? Who is your out of area contact that you can all check in with? Where will you go in case of an evacuation order?
Know how you’ll keep yourself informed – local news is often the best (either TV or radio), as they will have information specific to our area. Also – your online sources – twitter, Facebook – and which websites you know and trust. You can find our chapter @RedCrossSELA, www.facebook.com/RedCrossSELA, and www.arcno.org.
More info on building a kit, making a plan and being informed can be found here: http://www.arcno.org/Preparedness.php.
What can we expect next from Rebekah
I love to be challenged. I love problem solving and putting out fires. I also have been involved in dog rescue since 2002 and plan to continue to do that in my free time as a volunteer. I imagine any next steps from me will include more responsibility and more involvement in the animal welfare world!
New Orleans Love
What’s not to love? You have to fall in love with a city that has its own soundtrack. It’s hard to walk around this town and not hear music in the air. It’s this amazing quality. This town is full of energy, enthusiasm and entrepreneurs. It’s an amazing mix – almost intoxicating.
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Sula Foundation
Check out The Sula Foundation (www.sulafoundation.org), @SulaFoundation or facebook.com/SulaFoundation to see what I’m up to in my volunteer life. And I hope to run into you at the Red Cross!
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