Red Cross Responding to Texas Tornadoes and Floods - Updated 07/20/15 9:45AM

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The American Red Cross continues to help residents across Texas affected by an ongoing severe weather outbreak, which included multiple tornadoes and widespread flooding. 

If you were impacted by the storms and need Red Cross assistance, please call this hotline number:
1-800-REDCROSS

The following shelters are open for anyone needing a safe place to stay:


Gulf Coast:

• Gulf Coast Shelter List Here

Central and South Texas Shelters:

• Central & South Texas Shelter List Here

 

If you are looking for a loved one in the area, please visit our Safe and Well registry at RedCross.org/SafeandWell or call 1-800-REDCROSS. 

If you want to help, visit RedCross.org/Donate
or call 1-800-REDCROSS 

Follow @RedCrossDFW on Twitter or Facebook for updates.

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Texas Tornado and Flood Response: Are You Ready to Go All In For Texas?

A Message from T.D. Smyers, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross North Texas Region

On June 2, our fellow Red Crossers around the nation will be asking Americans to give to our first-ever #allin1day fundraising effort to enable the American Red Cross to deliver help and hope to their friends and neighbors where the need is greatest.  Here in Texas, the greatest need is right here at home.

All across the state, severe weather, tornadoes and flooding have devastated neighborhoods and forced thousands of people from their homes since early May. The Red Cross has been there since the beginning to provide critical humanitarian relief the moment it’s needed. From EF-3 tornadoes in Cisco and Van, Texas to flooding in San Marcos and Houston that is still ongoing, we’ve provided a safe and dry place to stay, warm meals and comforting hugs for hundreds of our fellow Texans.

This is Emily Martinez, her husband and their 2-week-old son Nano. They are safe in a Red Cross shelter in San Marcos today after they woke up late last Sunday night to find a foot of water in their trailer home. They looked outside and saw the water rising.

“We were terrified. The water was so deep, and I was so scared,” said Mrs. Martinez. 

At the shelter, little Nano soon gained a surrogate aunt in Red Cross volunteer Jillana Holt-Reuter, “Gigi.” As Auntie Gigi held Nano, Mr. Martinez tells her how happy he is to have his family together.

“The Red Cross has been wonderful. I don’t know what we would do without their help. We have a safe place to sleep, food, friendly Red Cross friends and there are nurses here for us. We’re really very thankful.”

We’ve heard so many stories like the Martinez’s in our shelters all around Texas. We are privileged to be doing our part to help families on their road to recovery. 

Now we need your help as we continue responding to disasters big and small, like the tornadoes and floods in Texas. Visit RedCross.org/Donate or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS. We have a long way to go in this relief effort, part of more than 70,000 disasters the Red Cross responds to every year.

More than 2,000 Red Cross volunteers and staffers have worked on this massive relief operation, but all but 800 of them are actually from in-state. This is Texans helping Texans, answering the call when our neighbors need it the most.

Show your Support in the Social Space: 

Join us as we go All In For Texas. Use hashtag #allin4TX and change your social network icons to show your support! Below are some other ways to share.

For every Texan whose life you’ll touch with your support, THANK YOU.

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Tornado-Affected Residents Finding Help in Runaway Bay Shelter

by Carl Manning, guest contributor

Red Cross shelter manager Jen Edwards of Dallas talks with Brittiany Spain
while her three-year-old son Gabriel and husband Jarid wait.
The family came to the shelter after a tornado that went through
Runaway Bay, Texas, damaged their home. 

Three-year-old Gabriel Spain, along with his parents Jarid and Brittiany, showed up at the Red Cross shelter set up in Runaway Bay, Texas in search of a place to stay.

The youngster looked around the reception area clutching his toy truck and quietly explained: “Our house had a tornado. We hid in the closet.”

The family’s home was damaged by the tornado, tearing off large sections of the roof, exposing the interior to the rain and leaving the carpets a squishy mess.

The Spain family were among several who suffered through the tornado. Several condos a short distance away sustained major roof damage, forcing occupants to look elsewhere for a place to stay until repairs are completed.

The day after the tornado, the Red Cross began working on opening the shelter at the CrossWay Church. Red Cross emergency response vehicles drove through the community to provide food, water and cleanup supplies. 

Red Cross volunteer Steve Bales of Brownwood, Texas,
arrived with his Emergency Response Vehicle at Runaway Bay
 after a tornado went through a section of the community.
He talks resident to learn where the damage is in the community.

“We provide the people with what they need in the recovery process,” said Red Cross volunteer Steve Bales of Brownwood, Texas who drove one of the vehicles into the community.

He stopped at the Runaway Bay City Hall to talk to people gathered there to find out what where the tornado had done its damage so he would know where to go.  

At the shelter, Brittiany provided additional details to Red Cross volunteer Jen Edwards of Dallas, the shelter manager who made sure there were enough cots in the coverted sanctuary and food at the kitchen serving window.

Jen explained the shelter was opened to provide a safe place for people to stay if they didn’t have any place to go after the tornado. It’s among some 16 Red Cross shelters opened across Texas in the past two weeks because of severe weather. 

Brittiany explained it was her first tornado and when she first heard it, she wasn’t sure what was happening. But Jarid had grown up is southwest Kansas were tornadoes are about as common as cattle and wheat fields. 

“When the noise started, I knew exactly what it was,” he said, holding his son close to him. 

Brittiany added: “He said go to the closet now. Then the house started shaking and then there was the sound of breaking glass as the roof came off. It really was scary.”

The parents said they’re most thankful for escaping unharmed with their son.

“I have the two most important things in my life. Everything else can be replaced,” the burley oil field worker said. 

The Red Cross continues to provide critical humanitarian relief in Runaway Bay, Wichita Falls and nearly 100 other counties around Texas during this ongoing spring storm relief effort. You can help! Visit RedCross.org/Donate or call 1-800-REDCROSS to give.

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Disaster Mental Health Workers Helping Storm Survivors Cope

by Lauren McCinn Clarke, volunteer contributor
with contributions by Carl Manning, guest contributor

Tornado damage in an elementary school playground in Van, TX

For those who survived a disaster, it’s often more about a chance to talk about their feelings than being told how to deal with their emotions.

Red Cross disaster mental health counselors have been helping the victims of the severe weather that resulted in tornadoes and flooding around the state.  

“As you listen to people telling their story, it’s a way for them to process what’s been going on. It helps them to come to terms with it,” said Jerry Montgomery, a Red Cross volunteer who’s leading the team of about a dozen mental health counselors in the state. 

Jerry said what some might consider unusual behavior isn’t necessary that.

“It’s normal to be upset, maybe to cry. It’s just a normal reaction to an abnormal event,” she said. “We help them to understand their feelings are normal and they aren’t crazy.”

Children often are upset and show their feelings about a traumatic event. That’s when counselors like Richard and Carolyn Newkirk can use their specialized skills of counseling children. The husband and wife team were in Van, Texas after a tornado struck that community damaged the elementary school and damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes.  

They talked to the teachers and school administrators about what to look for with the children and what they could say to help the student. They also made themselves available to the students. 

“Children are very resilient and they get cues for handling stress from their parents,” Jerry said. 

Richard and Carolyn said they heard some interesting stories as they walked through the impacted areas of Van.

For instance, a family of eight was home when the tornado lifted the house off its foundation and spun it around, landing it about 20 feet in the opposite direction. Amazingly, nobody was hurt and the house stayed intact.

Another story they heard was a mother and father with a three-week-old baby in their car when the storm coming. Next they remember, the car was rolling around with them inside and finally landed upside down with the top crushed. Yet they were able to crawl out safely with minor injuries. 

The Newkirks said a wide variety of emotions come into play for survivors, the most common being glad to be alive. There’s also a lot of open generosity, giving and sharing. They said children are particularly resilient even if they lost everything. 

For Richard and Carolyn, their work can be a mixed blessing. There’s a sense of sorrow when they see people who have lost everything. But there’s also a deep sense of fulfillment when they can see how they helped some people. 

There is always a need for state-licensed mental health professionals who want to volunteer their time. If you have the right background and want to help, please visit RedCross.org/DFW & indicate your interest during the placement process.

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Memorial Day: Red Crossers, Still Serving

by Amy Yen, Regional Marketing Program Manager, American Red Cross North Texas Region

U.S. Air Force veteran Rickey Staves is still serving. 

This Memorial Day, he is on the job in the Disaster Operations Center at the Red Cross in Dallas, headquarters for an ongoing statewide storm relief operation. He is a Disaster Services Technology Manager, who supports the technology needs for the operation, which is helping residents affected by tornadoes and flooding from Wichita Falls to Corpus Christi.

It's a little different from his time on Air Force bases in California and Fort Worth, but it's also the same in one critical way.

"Whether it's the military or the Red Cross," said Rickey. "We're here to help--that's what we do."

Thank you to Rickey and all the other Red Crosser veterans spending their Memorial Day still serving. To learn more about how the Red Cross serves military members, veterans and their families, visit RedCross.org/Military.

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"This is Just a Setback" - Bridgeport Residents Begin to Rebuild

by Carl Manning, guest contributor

Red Cross workers help residents affected by a tornado in Bridgeport, TX.

Wesley Campbell was in bed when he heard the sounds outside his home and he knew the worst was happening. A tornado was heading straight for his home in a rural area near Bridgeport, Texas.

His wife, Mickey, yelled for him to get up and get out of the house, and they headed for the back door. But it was too late.

“We got there and that was as far as we got before it hit,” he recalled. “We got down behind the washer and dryer and waited. I could feel the house moving in all directions and we prayed hard.”

Bridgeport resident Wesley Campbell looks at damage to his
home after a tornado outbreak.

It didn’t take Wesley long to realize his worst fears had come true – the house he had called home for 15 years was in tatters and scattered. Sitting on the tailgate of his pickup, Wesley sipped from a bottle of water and looked at what’s left as friends and family gathered up what they could to put in his storage barn.

“This is our house, so sure, we’ll rebuild,” he said. “This is just a setback.”

As he looked around, Red Cross workers began arriving to offer assistance to Wesley and his neighbors. 

“It’s wonderful and unbelievable that so many came out to help. It makes me feel good. People I don’t even know are here,” he said of the Red Cross workers and others who were there to help.

A few hundred yards away, Scott Brandon talked to a Red Cross worker about losing his trailer home during a three-minute ordeal he said he’ll never forget.

“The trailer started moving and then it quit. Then it started moving again and then it stopped and it rained hard for an hour,” he recalled. 

Looking at the twisted wreckage that once was his home, Scott shook his head and said, “I’ve been walking around in a daze, feeling out of place and wanting to cry. But all my friends are okay and that’s what matters.” 

As he talked, a Red Cross emergency response vehicle arrived, bouncing along the rut-filled dirt road to set up operations to hand out snacks and water plus clean-up items like work gloves and tarps.

“They’re here to help us and if they can help us, that’ll be great,” Scott said.

One Red Cross worker grabbed an armload of work gloves from the vehicle and started passing them out to those working on a house with its metal roof twisted and torn and its windows broken.

Another standing by the Red Cross vehicle was busy handing out bottled water and snacks. One woman in line with her children and two dogs, when offered condolences, smiled and said, “Oh, it can all be replaced.”

The Red Cross continues to provide critical humanitarian relief in Bridgeport, Runaway Bay, Mineral Wells and more than 70 other counties around Texas during this ongoing spring storm relief effort. You can help! Visit RedCross.org/Donate or call 1-800-REDCROSS to give.

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Pet Stories From Van

by Suzanne Wiley, volunteer contributor

Scrolling through my news feed the morning after I visited Van, I came across a familiar face. One of my friends had shared the story of the Bouchillon family—survivors of Sunday night’s tornado. The Bouchillons' car was tossed by the tornado. Andy, his wife and their baby came out virtually unscathed, but the family’s dog, Tater, was nowhere to be found.

Andy was reunited with Tater the next morning. I was there when Andy was interviewed by the national news stations. I saw him holding on to Tater for dear life.

The Bouchillon family’s story is not one I personally heard first hand, but I did meet a couple of people who shared their pet survival stories with me.

Lost Cat
We met Shelly on our first trip down Bois D'Arc Street. Her house was still standing and although she was without power, she was worried about leaving her home. Shelly expressed to us that she needed help. She needed supplies and wondered if there was anything we could to help spread the word about the cat she had found after the tornado devastated more than half of her neighbor’s houses. She told us she believed the cat lived across the street, because she said the cat kept looking over, seemingly to say, “Where did my house go?” When we returned to Shelly’s to deliver a Target Comfort Care kit, we snapped a picture of her and the cat.

If you recognize the cat, please contact the American Red Cross. 

Blue: The Dog That Comes Out to Say Hi
While searching for people who needed a tarp, we had a very friendly dog greet us along the way. We patted him and found his owner raking debris from his lawn. Though windows had to be boarded and a tarp covered his roof, the house was still pretty much intact.

Telling the owner that a photographer had taken a picture of his dog the day before, I asked the man where he took shelter during the tornado. He told me that when the warning sirens went off and his pictures started “levitating off the walls,” he ran into the bathroom and hid under the sink. As soon as it was over, he immediately ran outside to find his dog, Blue. Instead he heard screaming coming from next door. His neighbor’s home no longer had a roof, or many of its walls. He rushed over to help the women trapped inside. With the other neighbors, Blue’s owner picked off two by fours, rescuing his neighbors.

The search for Blue helped save lives.

Pets Need Emergency Kits, Too
For those of us with four-legged children, the stories of Tater and Blue hit home. Those are two lucky dogs! But not all pet stories have happy endings. Without any form of identification, Shelly’s rescued cat may never make it back to its original owners. When preparing for a disaster, keep your pets needs in mind.
•    All pets should identification at all times. Put your cell phone number on their tag or have them microchipped.
•    Keep enough food and water for your pet for five days stored in your safe room. Don’t forget a can opener if your pet eats canned food.
•    Have a copy of their medical records in a waterproof bag close at hand.
•    Pets should have a leash and a crate.
•    Remember cat litter and garbage or plastic bags to clean up your pets’ waste.
•    For comfort and security, your safe room or pet’s emergency kit should contain a blanket or bed and a toy.
•    In case of evacuation, take your pet with you. Before a disaster strikes, map out the pet-friendly hotels along your evacuation route.
•    Store the phone number of an animal shelter or kennel in your cell phone. Have a plan in place where you will keep your pet if you have to shelter in an American Red Cross shelter.
You have to wonder where outdoor animals go during a tornado. Tater was found near the Bouchillon’s overturned vehicle-where I can only presume he stayed overnight. Animals, especially dogs, can be fiercely loyal to their people. We owe it to them to prepare for their safety as much as ours.

To help, visit RedCross.org/Donate or call 1-800-REDCROSS. 

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Red Cross Preparing For and Supporting Storm Relief Efforts Across Texas

Even as we continue to support efforts in Van & around the state, we're preparing for more possible severe weather & flooding around Texas this weekend. Today, we sent truckloads of supplies to Waco and other Red Cross locations to the south, so we'll be ready to respond if we're needed.

Be weather-aware this weekend & make sure you talk to your family about what to do in an emergency. Download our free mobile preparedness apps to receive weather alerts and safety information!

Follow us on Twitter @RedCrossDFW for updates!

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Tex Versus the Tornado

by Suzanne Wiley, volunteer contributor

Van resident Tex, who was injured during the Van tornado
is comforted by a Red Cross nurse. Photo Credit: CBS11

I stood outside the American Red Cross shelter with Van resident, Tex. As he was telling me his story, he looked up at the sky, pointed and said, “That’s what worries me.” I looked up to where he was pointing at the darkening, thick clouds looming over the Van water tower. “We don’t need any more of that.”  

What you can’t see from the shelter is the destruction from the 700-yards wide tornado that struck the small town just a few blocks away from where we were standing.

Tex and his wife were both injured by flying debris during the tornado, but despite the physical pain and shock of what had happened, he shared his story.

Around 8:15, Tex’s wife received a storm alert on her phone and very shortly after, Van’s tornado warning sirens started blaring. Tex and his wife left their trailer home for their daughter’s house. He remembers the wind and the hail. Tex looks me straight in the eyes and tells me that as soon as they arrived at their daughter’s house, “Whamo!” The tornado had hit.

Miraculously, after the tornado passed, Tex, his wife and six others were alive. They found themselves somehow landing on top of all the lumber that used to be the house. The tornado took the whole house.

By the time I had met Tex he already become a local celebrity. Anxious to meet him, he told me he had already signed one autograph already. All the local news outlets had interviewed him on camera. As we were talking about what happens next for him and his family, an old friend stopped by to joke with Tex about how he didn’t win the fight. Someone responded, “Oh yeah, you should see that two by four!”

The lightheartedness of the joke made everyone smile. The people of Van need smiles. But in all seriousness, the people of Van know firsthand that weather doesn’t joke around. Fortunately, for Tex and his family, he did win this particular fight.

To download the free tornado alert app from the Red Cross, visit http://www.redcross.org/mobile-apps/tornado-app/setup-alerts.

To donate to aid in relief efforts, visit RedCross.org/Donate.

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Saving Lives by #GivingWhatFireTakes

by Suzanne Wiley, volunteer contributor

A Red Cross volunteer installs a smoke detector in Arlington, TX
as part of the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign.

To those of you who have never been affected by a home fire, it is incredibly difficult to describe how devastating it is to assess the damage left behind. Sometimes all that is left behind is the clothes on your back and a smoldering charred pile of wood and shingles. I will never forget the first time I saw a home damaged by fire. In a matter of seconds, the entire living room was a complete loss. Black, and dark and damp. Puddles from the firefighters’ hoses stood like it had just rained. And it might as well could have—there was no roof left.

For many, there is little hope of ever replacing everything that was lost. I have witnessed that on top of the shock, adrenaline, stress and the frightening realization of “what’s next?”  there is a profound hope seen in the faces of families who just experienced a home fire—relief that everyone and the pet made it out safely.

Every eight minutes, the American Red Cross responds to a home fire. Michaela Curtis Tweeted, “When a fire takes a home, it’s a disaster” and that is why when a home burns, the Red Cross is there.

Unless you have been a victim of a house fire yourself, you may not be aware this service exists. All over the United States, at any given time, hundreds of Red Cross volunteers are on call to bring relief to families affected by fire. Because of generous donations from people just like you, the Red Cross provides lodging, comfort care kits and replacement clothing to those who have lost everything in a fire.

Volunteers headed to Arlington to educate North Texans about
fire safety as part of the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign.

On February 4, 2015, the Red Cross launched a new nationwide campaign to help prevent home fires. All over the country, volunteers and Red Cross team members are going door to door installing free smoke detectors to families that need them. On March 28, 2015, the Dallas Fort Worth area chapter stepped out along with members of the Arlington fire department and volunteers from FEMA Corp to canvass a neighborhood in Arlington particularly at risk for fatal home fires. The target? 1,000 homes in six hours.

This same campaign has already saved 11 lives. I am proud to say that I witnessed at least eight smoke detector installations that day—potentially saving at least an additional 15 more people.

With so many willing volunteers and community involvement, The Red Cross is well on its way to meeting its goal of reducing the number of deaths and injuries due to home fires by 25 percent in the next five years with this home fire safety campaign. Besides providing free smoke detectors, teams all across the country are also providing pamphlets and discussing fire safety and prevention while visiting with families.

Stressing the importance of a fire escape plan, everyone we met was receptive to the important fire safety information we were handing out. Arlington Battalion Chief, Mike Shoemaker, who joined my team, said, “Take this seriously.”

Though home fires is a somber topic, I am happy to say that judging by all the smiles on my team members’ faces, as well as the smiles on the faces of the folks we were helping, we were all glad we were in it together, making a difference—#GivingWhatFireTakes

To prepare your own family, develop a fire escape plan, make sure you have working smoke alarms and practice a family fire drill at least once a year.

For more on fire safety, click here.

How are you and your family prepared for a fire? Share your story with us in the comment section below.

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How Can You Be A Force Of Nature?

by Carmen Wright, volunteer contributor

As we have all experienced in the last few weeks, weather patterns in Texas can be unpredictable. Prepare yourself for all the severe weather we see here in North Texas—tornadoes, droughts, flooding, and even snowstorms—by joining the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) campaign to  “Be a Force of Nature” by taking the following steps:

STAY INFORMED:

•    Visit www.weather.gov
This site has it all: an interactive map of the U.S. that provides forecast for the entire country or just your little corner of Texas; active alerts so you know what is going on right now; maps showing air quality and rainfall; maps of weather history; radar of current weather systems and other data.

•    Check out STATE OF THE CLIMATE
I admit I did not know this site existed, but now that I know I’ve turned into a complete weather nerd. It provides helpful summaries, maps, and graphs of weather trends in the U.S. You can read the report for January 2015 and see how we started the year or go back and see national monthly percent area for drought since 1900!

•    Follow weather on Social Media
Let’s be honest; if you can have time to follow tweets for #foodiebandnames (one of my favorites is Nine Inch Kales), then you have time in your life for helpful tweets from the National Weather Service and NOAA.

•    Get the Red Cross Tornado App
Get real-time tornado alerts and warnings on your phone, take a quiz to see how prepared you are, get access to 63 years of tornado history, and learn what to do before, during and after a tornado.

PREPARE YOURSELF:

•    Make a disaster supply kit
At the very least this should include one gallon of water per person per day for three days, flashlight, three-day supply of non-perishable food, whistle, first aid kit, battery powered or hand-cranked radio, a NOAA radio, extra batteries, wrench or pliers, local map, moist toilettes, manual can opener, and cell phone with charger.

Have a Family Emergency Plan
 Being prepared is great, but make sure you have communicated plans to family members on where to go for safety, how you will contact each other, how you will find each other, and what you will do in different situations.  Also consider your bigger family: your community. If your work, school, or place of worship does not have an emergency plan, volunteer to help create one. Finally, don’t forget to include your pets in your plans!

LIVE LONG and BE PREPARED! 

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Repost: After the Military, a Call of Duty to His Community

This story was originally published in the Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2015.

After the Military, a Call of Duty to His Community

A former Navy base commander now serves the Red Cross in Texas

T.D. Smyers says ‘there is a lot of crossover’ between the Navy and the Red Cross.PHOTO: CINDY REDEMANN

By 

KRISTI ESSICK

March 15, 2015 11:04 p.m. ET

Who says you can’t go home again? After traveling the world with the Navy, T.D. Smyers has found a new life within several miles of the Texas town where he grew up. He works full time with the American Red Cross serving a community he loves.

“I saw a chance to retire from a long career in the military and do something…to give back to my hometown,” Mr. Smyers says.

That chance came in 2011. Mr. Smyers had spent the previous three years commanding a Navy base in Fort Worth, Texas. He was offered a new job in San Diego, with the lure of a future promotion to admiral. He chose instead to retire from the Navy and stay in Fort Worth.

“What I loved about my job on the base was serving my community,” Mr. Smyers recalls. He wasn’t sure exactly what his next step would be, but he knew he had found his calling.

Mr. Smyers’s wife, Barbara, was a board member for the local Red Cross chapter. He admired the organization, and when he heard about a new executive role the group was seeking to fill, he threw his hat into the ring. “All the lights went on for me, because this was exactly the type of job I wanted,” Mr. Smyers says.

Since January 2012, Mr. Smyers has served as chief executive of the American Red Cross North Texas Region. That encompasses 11 Red Cross chapters spanning 111 counties from the Texas Panhandle to Texarkana.

“I think a few people were unsure about a naval officer joining [the agency], fearing I’d be out of touch,” Mr. Smyers says. “But there is a lot of crossover. The Red Cross and the Navy are both about service and carrying out a mission; they are both global forces for good.”

The Red Cross has five primary missions: disaster relief, services for military personnel, blood supplies for emergencies, health and preparedness training, and international relief.

Mr. Smyers says he faces two big challenges: finding enough volunteers, donors and partners to bring services to the region’s nine million people—and fundraising. “Seeking donations is a new skill set, but I’m getting pretty good at asking for money,” he says.

Though he puts in long hours, Mr. Smyers says he loves his new job, especially when he’s working with volunteers. “I meet all kinds of people who are giving back to their communities, and it’s so inspiring,” Mr. Smyers says. “In my 30 years with the Navy, I looked in the mirror every day and felt privileged to do my job. My new career makes me feel the same way.”

T.D. SMYERS

Age: 52

Home: Fort Worth, Texas

First/primary career: Naval officer

Current path: Executive with the American Red Cross

Why this path: “After 30 years in the Navy, I still had a lot of energy to give back.”

Second Acts looks at the varied paths people are taking in their 50s and beyond. The profiles are by Kristi Essick, a writer in California. You can reach her, and let us know how you’re starting over in later life, at encore@wsj.com.

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A Life of Service—The Jane Delano Story

by Suzanne Wiley, volunteer contributor
 
Before the successes of Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, there were hundreds of women who broke the glass ceiling before the concept existed. Though these women were changing the world, at the time, their accomplishments and stories were not as diligently reported as many of America’s greatest men. With the help of Women’s History Month, now in its 35th year, we bring these courageous, smart and determined women’s tales back to life, rewriting history when the text books have left so many of these women’s names out. We weave these women’s stories because they are the fabric foundation of women’s stories today.

One of these notable women is Jane Delano—one of the most famous nurses in history. Jane accomplished a lot throughout her professional career as a nurse, taking on multiple roles at once, however, her most significant achievement started out with a little white lie.
Jane Delano signed up for the Army Nurse Corps, but because she was older than the 45 year old age limit to join, she left her age off the application. And good thing, too, as Jane is credited with saving the failing Army Nurse Corps program. Through her idea of marrying the Army Nurse Corps with the American Red Cross Nursing Service and the American Nurses Association, Jane recruited 8,000 nurses ready to deploy and serve before the United States entered World War I. Her joint program enlisted and trained over 20,000 nurses who served during the war. Because of Jane’s dedication to service, she paved the way for the over 370,000 nurses who have volunteered for the American Red Cross.

Born in 1862 in Montour Falls, New York, Jane started her professional life teaching school before she felt the calling to become a nurse. At 24, she finished nurse training at America’s oldest, continuously operating hospital’s nurse training school, Bellevue in New York City. Bellevue Training School was the first in the United States to adopt and teach Florence Nightingale’s principal teachings. At the time, nursing was still young in establishing standards and being recognized as a profession.

After graduating from Bellevue, she took the position of superintendent of nurses at Sandhills Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida during a yellow fever epidemic. It is at Sandhills where Jane’s legacy begins. At the time, it was only a theory that some scientists believed that yellow fever was spread through mosquitoes. While at Sandhills, Jane hung screens and mosquito nets around the patients’ areas and nurses’ sleeping quarters.

Jane joined the Red Cross in 1898 during the Spanish-American War working as secretary for the enrollment of nurses. Before deciding to join the Red Cross full time in 1912, Jane was
•    Superintendent of nurses at University Hospital in Philadelphia
•    Superintendent at the House of Refuge
•    Superintendent of the Training School at Bellevue Hospital
•    President of the Associated Alumnae
•    President of the Board of Directors of the American Journal of Nursing
•    Chairmanship of the American Red Cross Nursing Service
•    Superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps
•    Worked for the Surgeon General

About her decision, Jane said, “I would rather live on a crust and serve the Red Cross than do anything else in the world.”

After the war, Jane traveled to France to visit her enlisted nurses. She was sick from chronic mastoiditis—an infection of the mastoid bone in the skull originating from a middle ear infection. Jane Delano passed away on April 15, 1919 and was buried in the military cemetery in Savenay, France. Nearly a year later, her body was exhumed and returned to the United States to be buried in the nurses’ plot in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. She was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. 500 people attended her funeral. It is said that Jane’s last words were, “I must get back to work.”

The Red Cross is synonymous with nursing and much of the humanitarian organization’s history is founded on nursing services. Jane’s memory is honored through the Jane Delano Student Nurse Scholarship.

If you are a nurse and wish to volunteer with the Red Cross, please visit the volunteer nurses’ page.

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Repost: Top Ten Red Cross Cold Weather Safety Tips

This post was originally posted on the Red Cross National Blog on January 6, 2015. Stay safe & warm out there today!

Top Ten Red Cross Cold Weather Safety Tips
Posted on January 6, 2015 by Sarah Layton

As temperatures drop this winter, the American Red Cross offers ten steps people can take to stay safe during the cold weather.

1. Layer up! Wear layers of lightweight clothing to stay warm. Gloves and a hat will help prevent losing your body heat.
2. Don’t forget your furry friends. Bring pets indoors. If they can’t come inside, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.
3. Remember the three feet rule. If you are using a space heater, place it on a level, hard surface and keep anything flammable at least three feet away – things such as paper, clothing, bedding, curtains or rugs.
4. Requires supervision – Turn off space heaters and make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.
5. Don’t catch fire! If you are using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks and rolling logs.
6. Protect your pipes. Run water, even at a trickle, to help prevent your pipes from freezing. Open the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals out of the reach of children. Keep the garage doors closed if there are water lines in the garage.
7. Better safe than sorry. Keep the thermostat at the same temperature day and night. Your heating bill may be a little higher, but you could avoid a more costly repair job if your pipes freeze and burst.
8. The kitchen is for cooking. Never use a stove or oven to heat your home.
9. Use generators outside. Never operate a generator inside the home, including in the basement or garage.
10. Knowledge is power. Don’t hook a generator up to the home’s wiring. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.

For more information on how to stay safe during the cold weather, review winter storm safety tips on RedCross.org.

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