9/11: A Day of Remembrance

by Anita Foster, Chief Communications Officer, American Red Cross North Texas Region

Ground Zero Badge

Last night, I got out my 9/11 memory box. It doesn't have much in it because honestly, most of what we experienced while on assignment would be best left behind. But I did keep my Ground Zero badge and today, like every year since September 11, I'll wear it on my lanyard as a reminder of every family, emergency worker, New Yorker and fellow Red Crosser who crossed my path during my time in New York City. 

My box also has some magazines from the time, a few patriotic buttons, a handful of printed photos from our first fundraising drive at the Ballpark in Arlington the day after the attacks and a heartfelt letter that Hugo Esparza from the Fort Worth Fire Department sent me when I returned. 

Even though there's not much in my memory box, I still keep it because it reminds me that while it's so important for all of us to keep moving ahead, it's also okay to take the time to reflect back and remember. 

Red Cross response vehicle near Ground Zero that morning

Today, the Leo Potishman Foundation in Fort Worth will be donating a brand new Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) for the Red Cross in North Texas. We'll dedicate the ERV in remembrance of 9/11 and our relief workers who endured the response. We have no doubt that this vehicle will be used to help families in the near future.

Thirteen years ago, a vehicle that looks exactly like the one we're receiving today was crushed underneath the debris at Ground Zero. That's because the Red Cross was at the scene within minutes of the first plane hitting the first tower. For the following weeks, months and years, the Red Cross continued to help. Here's a brief re-cap of our services following 9/11:

• Helped 3,300 families who lost a loved one or had someone seriously injured. 
• Provided assistance for 54,700 families who lost a home near Ground Zero, or lost a job and income
• Distributed 14 million meals and snacks to families and emergency workers
• Supported 237,000 Americans with mental health services
• Helped 113,000 people affected with health services

The response from the American people is what allowed the American Red Cross to provide so much help and on this day of remembrance, that's what I'm thinking about. And I encourage you to think back to the many ways you helped. Maybe you gave blood, donated funds or tied ribbons on car antenna's. We all did our part. Let's keep those memories close to our hearts today as we reflect back on an unspeakable day, and pledge to be of continued service to our communities as we press forward.

Tweet

Volunteer Charles Wilson Has Been Everywhere and Seen Everything

by Kassidy Ketron, Intern

Charles Wilson is 78 years old and, through his volunteer work at the American Red Cross, has traveled all across the country.

Since he began volunteering in 2005, he has done just about everything and been everywhere.

“I’ve been all over the United States,” Wilson said. “I’ve been to Florida, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, up there in Indiana, Chicago. Let’s see, New Jersey, Oregon, California. I’ve just about been all over.”

Volunteering with the Red Cross can take you
all over. Just ask Charles Wilson.

In 2004, he retired as a locksmith supervisor at Texas Christian University and began volunteering with Meals on Wheels, but that only took about 45 minutes per week.

“I had retired and I didn’t have anything else to do,” Wilson said, “so I started doing Meals on Wheels, but that didn’t take but 45 minutes a week. And then after [Hurricane] Katrina, I decided to check with the Red Cross. I went down there and volunteered and I had something to do.”

He has done everything from client casework, to being a member of the disaster action team and to driving emergency response vehicles, which is his favorite.

Wilson said he enjoys traveling and helping people, which is a perfect combination with the American Red Cross.

One of his disaster responses that took him on the road to Arkansas left him with a funny memory.

“They had a tornado come through there and they’ve got a lot of chicken farms down there. That tornado had came and then it had sucked the feathers off a lot of these chickens,” Wilson said laughing. “That was the funniest thing I had ever seen, you know? A chicken with no feathers.”

Although, he has a few light-hearted memories during disaster responses, some of them have affected him more than others.

One time in particular, he said, was during a flood in Haltom City at a trailer park.

“This lady was trying to hold on to the kids, but the water was so strong that it pulled the kids out of her,” Wilson said. “And I don’t know if she ever caught them, but she had scratch marks on her arms where the baby was trying to hold on to her.”

Regardless of the disaster, he said volunteering for the Red Cross and helping people that are glad to see you makes it all worth it.

“[It’s rewarding] helping people in need,” Wilson said. “People that have lost everything that you can go in and help, just a little bit. That’s rewarding to me.

This National Volunteer Week, we salute volunteers like Charles, who make up more than 90 percent of the Red Cross and are the reason we can work toward our mission every day. To learn about volunteer opportunities, visit redcross.org to start your Red Cross story today.  

Tweet

Hurricane Irene Expected to Unleash Her Fury along the Eastern Seaboard

With Hurricane Irene’s eye glaring at some of America’s most populated urban areas along the eastern seaboard, the American Red Cross is mobilizing people and resources in force. Today, two Red Cross teams and two Emergency Response Vehicles left from North Texas to support local chapters in various states who have been working around the clock sheltering evacuees and prepping for landfall.

Any hurricane is serious business, but Irene has the potential to wreak havoc. With some 65 million people in her path, the American Red Cross is asking people who are not in her path, or who haven’t been affected by other recent storms, to support the relief effort by making a financial contribution to the American Red Cross. Already, the organization has expended tremendous resources just to get into position, but the hardest work still lies ahead.

Financial contributions help the Red Cross purchase needed items in bulk, such as pallets of bottled water, thousands of meals and snacks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shovels, rakes, and other relief supplies. Those funds also help to put gas in response vehicles and make it possible for a volunteer to make it from Texas to New York to help out after the storm.

To make a donation to the American Red Cross, click on www.redcrossdallas.org, text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. No gift is too small or too large.

Tweet