Take action now and sign the online petition Teach the Geneva Conventions in Our Nation's Schools!

The American Red Cross is gathering signatures for a new petition, Teach the Geneva Conventions in Our Nation's Schools!. We are trying to gather 100,000 signatures by August 12, 2009. The petition will be delivered to School District Superintendents to urge immediate action on this issue. You can help and it only takes 2 minutes.

Just follow the link below to sign the petition and your voice, combined with many others, will make a difference on this issue. We need you to stand up and make your voice heard – this issue is too important not to!

Click here: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/193

Thank you for your time and action!

Your Vote = Your Gift: Vote for the American Red Cross with Target’s Bullseye Gives Campaign

Target is hosting Bullseye Gives, a Facebook campaign running from now until May 25th, which allows people to vote online and decide which charities should receive a portion of its $3 million in charitable giving. Vote for the American Red Cross as your charity of choice and they will make a donation. The more votes a charity receives, the more money they get and it doesn’t cost you a cent! Vote today and everyday from now until May 25th. So get online and vote today!

To vote, simply do the following:

1. Login or Sign Up on Facebook.
   


2. Visit http://www.facebook.com/target
   


3. Click "Submit Vote" button next to Red Cross.
   


4. If this is your first time voting, a box will appear that asks you to "Accept" this application. Please accept it. In subsequent voting, this step will be skipped and you’ll be navigated directly to step 6.
   


5. A box will appear that allows you to type a message to your Facebook friends telling them why you chose to vote for the Red Cross and encouraging them to do the same. What you type in this box will appear in your friends’ news streams.
   


6. That’s it! Congratulations! Repeat these steps every 24 hours through May 25.
   At the end of the contest, the percentage of votes each organization tallies will represent their portion of the $3 million. Final results will be announced May 26. Vote for the Red Cross and spread the word to your friends and family!

Eat at Local Restaurants and Support the Red Cross!

Want to support the Red Cross? We’re partnering with two local restaurants to help support our services to our community!

Culver’s Restaurants Day of Giving

On Tuesday, May 12th, our local Culver’s Restaurants will be donating 10% of their store sales to the Louisville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. The Day of Giving is a national Culver’s program, and this is the third year our Kentuckiana Culver’s franchisees have selected the Red Cross to be their beneficiary. Please consider having a meal or snack (they have great frozen custard!) at Culver’s on May 12th and support your local Red Cross. The locations are:

240 Federal Drive
Corydon, IN 47112
812-738-6464

11801 Interchange Drive
Louisville, KY 40229
502-618-0838

4630 Hurstbourne Parkway
Louisville, KY 40299
502-671-2001

Cattleman’s Red Cross Benefit

On Monday, May 18th Cattleman’s Steakhouse in Shelbyville will be donating 10% of their lunch and dinner to our Shelby/Henry County Service Center. Come enjoy steak and silent auction packages! Customers are encouraged to present a coupon identifying themselves as supporters of the Red Cross. We've attached a version here- feel free to print it out. Cattleman’s is located at:

221 Breighton Circle
Shelbyville, KY 40065
502-647-5959

My Story

Hello. My name is Jammie Carlisle and I am a proud Volunteer for the Louisville Area Chapter in Kentucky.

In 1991, as a young wife and Mother of two small children, we sustained a total loss house fire. Before the local fire department arrived on the scene, a Red Cross volunteer was in our driveway ready to provide assistance.Hours had gone by and the fire hoses had been wound tight. The firemen were finished with their investigation and the police cars had left the scene. Suddenly, we were alone to deal with our grief. But this stranger who had shown up out of no where was still standing with us. How did this person come to be when we didn’t call them, our neighbors didn’t call them and the fire department said they hadn’t called either? But yet, here he was. A simple man with the compassion of a priest and the patience of a Saint, he waited with us as the fire department tried to save our home, our belongings and our family pet.

In the end, nothing was salvageable. We were devastated, to say the least.As the volunteer asked us the many questions that fill up a 901 form (if you don’t know, just ask the next Red Cross Volunteer you encounter), we sat in disbelief. The hour was late and our insurance company was closed. Back then, you couldn’t make a report 24 hours a day. You were left to your own devices until such time that you could reach your agent. But wait…..there was still this man who seemed to just drop from the sky. When he had finished the paperwork, we had a place to lay our heads that night and we had resources to purchase food and clothing to sustain us until we could meet with our insurance adjuster.

Had it not been for that “Lone Ranger” on that day, I’m not sure what we would have done.As the days passed and the ashes settled, it was easy to reflect on what had transpired on that fateful day. It was like a movie playing over and over in my head. But the question still remained, where did the Red Cross man come from and how did he know that we were in need?

As I answered my own questions, it became clear to me at that time in my life that I HAD to pay it back. Over the years, the donation checks were easy to write but it never seemed like “enough”.I made up my mind that once my children were grown and I had the opportunity, time and resources, my donations would come in the form of time. I wanted to repay the compassion that had been shown to my family during our traumatic experience.

So I made the call……how do I become a volunteer? Of course, I never dreamed that my timing would fall on the heels of the worst disaster in US history. With my crash courses completed, standby was mode of each day and the nerves were crawling. Then came the call. I was going to Louisiana.

I flew into Baton Rouge on the day, AND specific moment, that Hurricane Rita hit. The pilot comes across the public address system and clearly says, “We either won’t land here ladies and gentleman or it will be hard and fast.” My heart was pounding so hard and there it was……..hard and fast!!!! The rain was blinding and the wind took your breath. I had flown into an area to assist Hurricane Katrina victims and was now in the middle of a hurricane. The storm lasted 2 full days, with many new volunteers on their first disaster relief operation, including me.

The excitement of being there to help those in need was offset by the fear of being in the middle of another massive storm.Once the storm cleared, the assistance process began. The days were long, sometimes upwards of 16 hours. The work was mentally and physically exhausting. But it is what came during those hours that really mattered. You had touched people’s lives by leaving your home and families, giving them hope that someone DID care; by eating, sleeping and breathing what the next challenge you would face. It was exhausting but yet intoxicating.I came home, the first time, from Louisiana completely spent. But when the call came again 9 days later, I did not hesitate to go out as a Supervisor in a Financial Assistance center in the middle of the 9th Ward of New Orleans.

I’ve seen the wild fires in California, the floods in the mid-west, the tornados in Georgia and at home – I currently serve as a DAT Captain.Since joining the Red Cross, I have trained numerous individuals to provide financial assistance to families in need. It is a true blessing to serve my community and to be able to “Pay It Forward”. Whenever a client asks what they can do in appreciation of the assistance we are providing, my response is and always will be, “call the Chapter office and ask how you can volunteer”.

Red Cross Month Contest Winners!

Hello all- Thanks to all those who participated in our Facebook Cause Recruiting Challenge for Red Cross month! We had 75 people recruit 418 friends during the month of March, and our cause has almost tripled in size. Keep it up! We’ll have other contests throughout the year, and as our cause keeps growing it sends a message about how much the Louisville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross means to you.

Since it was a competition, we did have winners! They are:

1st (with 25)- Christy Weaver

2nd (with 22)- Katie Schweizer

3rd (with 21 each)- Jackie Schank and Angela Disch

Christy will receive an emergency radio, Katie will receive a family first aid kit, and Jackie and Angela will both receive a Red Cross travel tote with keychain first aid kit. Congratulations!

Also, a big thank you to our top all-time Hall of Fame Recruiters: Ashley Warren and Angela Disch. Their support for the Red Cross (and seesaw battle for the top spot) has been amazing!

We’ll be sending out messages on Facebook from time to time about Red Cross news, volunteer opportunities, and training classes. And, watch here for additional stories and voices of our volunteers!