Red Cross And HOPE Worldwide Partner To Curtail Home Fires

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 15 Jan 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be a day on, not a day off, for many volunteers from the American Red Cross and HOPE worldwide. On King Day, and during the weekend preceding the holiday, volunteers in ten cities across America will be walking door-to-door to provide residents with vital preparedness information that will help them prevent and respond to home fires.

"Preventing home fires does not require a lot of expensive equipment or training," said Darlene Sparks Washington, director for preparedness at the American Red Cross. "Home fires are America's most common disaster threat, affecting people from all backgrounds and geographic locations. And yet, most home fires are preventable. By working with HOPE worldwide we will be able to reach more people, including an emphasis on vulnerable populations, with vital preparedness information to help them keep their homes safer from fires."

Volunteers from the two organizations will distribute fire safety tips in Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The tips, in English and Spanish, include information for maintaining smoke alarms, using portable heaters safely and cooking safety. Instructions for developing a household fire escape plan and conducting fire escape drills will also be provided.

"HOPE worldwide volunteers are ready and mobilized to go door-to-door in communities across the country from New York to Seattle. We are excited to take the message of fire safety to our communities, neighbors and friends. We are honored and excited to serve on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service for all Americans," said Antonio Boyd, Vice President of U.S. Programs for HOPE worldwide.

Working under a Memorandum of Understanding, the American Red Cross and HOPE worldwide partner in the areas of blood drive participation, disaster preparedness and youth and youth adult programs and services. Earlier this month HOPE worldwide encouraged its more than 20,000 volunteers to become Red Cross blood donors, an effort being made during a time when blood supplies often fall to low levels.

The two organizations began exploring common goals in July 2007 when both the American Red Cross and HOPE worldwide received a Partner of the Year award at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Philadelphia convened by the Points of Light Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Services.

HOPE worldwide is an international charity that changes lives by harnessing the compassion and commitment of dedicated staff and volunteers to deliver sustainable, high-impact, community-based services to the poor and needy. This faith-based relief and development organization, founded in 1991 by the International Churches of Christ, is dedicated to serving the world's most poor, sick and suffering. In the U.S., HOPE worldwide is located in 40 cities and works in cooperation with over 135 churches that provide more than 20,000 volunteers. HOPE worldwide volunteers mobilize to help their communities with issues of disaster preparedness and relief, education, children, seniors, employment and community outreach.

The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.

American Red Cross