BOOTS on at Red Cross

by Micaela Rosinski, intern contributor

During the summer months, I interned with the Red Cross communications team in Dallas. It was a great experience as I was able to tie my appreciation for nonprofits with my aspirations of becoming a public relations professional. Even better, I was able to connect my internship with another favorite nonprofit of mine, Boot Campaign.

Boot Campaign is a nonprofit organization created in Texas and serves as an outlet to show appreciation for our troops, and raise awareness and funds to help troops with challenges they face when returning home. All this is done by simply “getting your boots on.”

When I spoke to the communications team about Boot Campaign, they immediately suggested I get our regional CEO, T.D. Smyers, involved. Intrigued, I found his biography on the Red Cross website. Wow. T.D. was a four-year track letterman at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, earned multiple awards and began a career in naval aviation, eventually leading to his reception of the Legion of Merit for his leadership of Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base. In 2009, the Chisholm Trail Chapter of the Red Cross recognized Smyers as the Military Member of the Year.

In addition to his military success, he holds degrees from Annapolis and the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

T.D. talked to me each time he walked by my desk, offering a friendly smile and a hello. I took the opportunity to explain my desire to photograph him in a pair of Boot Campaign military boots and how he could help this organization. 

Taking the photos was great. He was intrigued to learn more about Boot Campaign’s mission and how wearing boots was helping. After the completion of the photos, he bought the boots! 
Bringing it full-circle, Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces also provides military members and their families with various outlets of support.  Red Cross links military families during emergencies, provides emergency financial assistance and resiliency training, supports wounded warriors and military hospitals, and more. 

Want to help both organizations? Here are some ideas to get started!

• Buy Boot Campaign boots! In addition to the money benefiting the organization, they are a great way to spark a conversation when people are confused as to why you are wearing military boots with civilian clothes.
• Volunteer for the Red Cross while wearing your boots. Take it a step further and become a Service to the Armed Forces volunteer!
• Donate blood to the Red Cross in boots. Considering donating this Veteran's Day, in honor of those who have served our country!

On this Veterans Day, thank both the troops that protect our freedoms and the organizations that help our armed forces. Organizations such as the Red Cross and Boot Campaign are vital necessities in seeing our active and veteran members of the military receive the services they deserve. 

For more information about Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, visit redcross.org. Join T.D. at the Veteran's Day Parade in Fort Worth on Monday starting at 10am. 

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Red Cross Volunteers Honor Memorial Day, One Small Flag at a Time

Flags For Fallen Vets 2013/Kim Purintun, a set on Flickr.

Story written by Kay Pinkerton, volunteer contributor

In honor of Memorial Day, American Red Cross volunteers assembled with more than 1,000 others to place almost 30,000 American flags on graves inside the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

The second annual flag-placing event was organized by Flags for Fallen Vets president and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Bob Fussner.

By early afternoon, gravesites carpeting the gently rolling landscape were accompanied by thousands upon thousands of small American flags, placed in precision in front of each headstone. The vision made a beautifully powerful statement for the day of remembrance.

The American Red Cross Flag-Planting Team
Armed with screwdrivers and cordless drills, Red Crossers teamed together to plant hundreds of flags in their assigned section of the cemetery. The team effort continued Red Cross’ long tradition of serving members of the U.S. military through programs such as Service to the Armed Forces (SAF).

Red Cross volunteer and Flags for Fallen Vets team leader Jimmy Talley was impressed by this year’s much-improved logistics.

“Last year was kind of chaotic,” he said with a grin. “It was the first event, though, so everyone understood.”

Texas’ blast-furnace temps didn’t help.

“It was hot and dry,” said Red Cross long-time volunteer Eva Griffith. “We brought hammers and screwdrivers to make holes for the flags. But the ground was so hard, it bent the screwdrivers!”

In spite of the challenges, Griffith and her husband, Will, enjoyed the experience.

“I would say the veteran’s name as I decorated a gravestone,” said Griffith. “A little boy who was helping his mother place flags on graves nearby, asked, ‘Why is she saying their names?’ His mother told him about the sacrifices of the veterans interred at the cemetery. It was so cool to see that little boy helping.”

As the couple completed the job and were leaving the cemetery, Griffith was moved by the sight.

“The flags were like a coordinated march,” she said. “Thousands of flags flying in the same direct ion. It was beautiful .”

Joining this year’s Red Cross team was Jane Cooley, her children, Cheyenne and Lakota Finklea, and a family friend. Jane’s husband, Larry Dee Finklea, was a U.S. Army soldier during the Vietnam War. He died at 55 of natural causes and is now buried in Section 13 of the cemetery. While Red Crossers planted flags on neighboring gravestones, Cooley and her children personally placed a flag on her husband’s grave.

Flags for Fallen Vets
Bob Fussner and his Cleburne, Texas neighbor, Navy veteran James Fox, co-founded Flags for Fallen Vets in 2012. Through the non-profit organization, Fussner envisions honoring veterans interred in every national cemetery that does not currently place American flags at gravesites.

Despite the first year’s logistical headaches, Flags for Fallen Vets received overwhelming support and, this year, expanded to the Houston National Cemetery. There, Foster and his team of volunteers planted American flags on more than 80,000 graves. Next year, he plans to take the organization to Florida National Cemetery, where more than 100,000 veterans are interred.

Count on the American Red Cross to be there.

To learn more about the American Red Cross Service to Armed Forces department, visit us online at redcross.org.

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Why I Believe in the American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog

Written by George McCain, volunteer contributor

The holidays are filled with symbols from decorated trees, to religious emblems and characters on lawns, to stockings hung waiting to be filled.  This is a great time of year to honor your loved ones and friends with symbolic gifts given through the American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog.

Let those who are special to you receive a gift that connects them to helping people.  Through your gift you, and the special people in your life, will know you contributed to assisting a family in crisis, saving a child’s life in a developing country, or supporting a military service member and their family.

Red Cross responders bring comfort to fire victims in the Dallas area around the clock, averaging between 3-5 fire repsonses a day.



Red Cross volunteers reach out and help families after a disaster.  Imagine a family after a house fire.  Volunteers are there to comfort, assist, and assess the life changing damage.  A Red Cross Disaster Action Team can provide resources and emotional support to victims of disasters.  A child in these circumstances needs comfort and a sense of security.  You and the special people in your life, through your gift, can provide a Red Cross blanket and a sense of comfort for that child.  You’ll both know that it is delivered with a smile from a trained Red Cross volunteer.

Laura from Dallas knew the Red Cross would bring her son home when she discovered she had terminal cancer. Her former coworkers still hold a Red Cross blood drive in her honor every year.

Imagine an injured military service member recovering in a hospital.  You and the special people in your life, through your gift, help provide a comfort kit filled with hygiene items, reminding that service member they are not forgotten.  Your gift also provides phone cards for those lonesome and homesick heroes wanting to call home and talk to family members. Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is knowing that on the other side of the world, someone is getting to share in those same loving conversations this holiday that we so enjoy.

Children are given life saving vaccinations through the Red Cross Measles Initiative.



Giving in honor of those special people in your life impacts beyond the holidays and the borders of the USA.  Your gift can help an impoverished family in a developing country reconnect with a missing loved one through the Red Cross International Services Program.  Imagine the relief and joy of such a reunion, and you helped provided it.  Think of the sad stories that will never occur because your gift, in honor of friend, provides vaccinations that saved children’s lives in a developing country.

Give this season through the American Red Cross 2012 Holiday Giving Catalog.  You will know you are helping people.  You can share that joy and good cheer by giving in honor of the special people in your life.

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Holiday Mail for Heroes: A Military Family’s Wish from you this Holiday Season

Written by Lauren Clarke, volunteer contributor

American Red Cross North Texas Region Chief Communications Officer, Anita Foster, shows just some of the thousands of cards made for Holiday Mail for Heroes in 2010.

Without a doubt, the toughest period of my husband’s nine-month deployment to Afghanistan was during the holiday season. We missed him, and he missed us. Even though we remained focused on his mission and were proud of his service, it was tough not having him at home. The holiday cards we sent to him in Afghanistan were strung around his small bunk and in his tent, and shared with his colleagues, adding some cheer and offering a little reminder of home.

That’s why to me, as a military spouse and Red Cross volunteer, I want to encourage you to take part in the 2012 Holiday Mail for Heroes program, sponsored by the Red Cross and Pitney Bowes. It’s a simple yet impactful way for your family and friends to share your gratitude with our service members, veterans, and their families during this holiday season. Take an hour with kids, friends, and co-workers to buy or make cards and really make a difference to those serving our country far from home. Trust me, it will be appreciated.

Simply make or buy cards and mail them to this address no later than December 7:

Holiday Mail for Heroes

P.O. Box 5456

Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

The Red Cross and Pitney Bowes will then screen the cards for hazardous materials, sort and package the cards, and deliver them to military bases and hospitals, veteran’s hospitals and other locations. 

Please be sure to follow these guidelines that ensure your cards go through the review process quickly:

·        Only cards are accepted. Do not send letters.
 All cards must be postmarked no later than December 7, 2012. Be sure to affix adequate postage.
All cards should be signed.
 Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” (Cards addressed to specific individuals cannot be delivered through this program.)
Do not include email or home addresses on the cards, since the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, because these items will be removed during the review process.
Do not send cards with glitter.  

To learn more about the life changing work that the Red Cross provides to service men and women, military families and veterans throughout the year, visit the Service to Armed Forces page at redcross.org.

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Red Cross Provides Services, Camaraderie at 2012 Dallas Homeless Veterans Stand Down

Written by Kay Pinkerton, volunteer contributor

Our Red Cross Service to Armed Forces volunteers worked alongside veterans to bring hope to those who served and have had troubles back home.

On October 26, the American Red Cross North Texas Region’s Service to Armed Forces team offered services, supplies and smiles at this year’s Dallas Homeless Stand Down event. Designed to assist local homeless and at-risk veterans, an estimated 750 former members of the U.S. Armed Forces attended the event. 

Leading the Red Cross team was Brian Moeschler, Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) Program Manager for the American Red Cross North Texas Region. “There are about 50 to 60 Red Cross volunteers at today’s event,” said Moeschler. “Some are handing out toiletry kits. Others are distributing clothing or providing medical services. We’re also giving out 500-minute calling cards so veterans can use them to stay in touch with their families.”

Red Cross "comfort kits" are loaded with toiletries for homeless veterans.

Homeless Stand Down is a community-based intervention program designed to provide a “hand up, not a handout” to Dallas homeless. This year’s event took place at the Veterans Resource Center in Dallas. The Red Cross was among hundreds of local volunteers and organizations that contributed to its success. The Red Cross partnered with other agencies to bring hope and help to homeless veterans, including the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System Homeless Veterans Outreach program and the Homeless Veterans Services of Dallas, Inc. (HVSD).

For more than a century, the Red Cross has partnered with the United States Armed Forces to ensure that service members, veterans and their families have access to humanitarian services. SAF services are delivered through the Red Cross chapter network both domestically and on military installations around the world.

According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), one out of every six people in a U.S. homeless shelter is a veteran. Those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces are 50 percent more likely to fall into homelessness than other Americans are. To combat this issue, the VA launched a 2009 campaign to eliminate homelessness among veterans by 2015.

The campaign appears to be showing some progress. In January 2011, the VA estimated that on a single night there were 67,495 homeless veterans nationwide. This is a 12 percent decline from January 2010, according to a 2011 annual homeless assessment report.

“The VA is putting a lot of resources into its campaign,” said HVSD President Ken Watterson. “We have a good partnership here and a good turnout. As a community partner, the Red Cross has played a key role. It’s doing a great job.”

To learn more about the Red Cross’ Service to Armed Forces, or to become a Red Cross volunteer, visit us online at redcross.org.

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Independence Day Reminds of Red Cross History: U.S. Senate Recognizes Red Cross Clubmobiles

Written by Catherine Carlton, volunteer contributor

Over the Fourth of July, we take time as Americans to celebrate our country and our patriotism. One of the core values of America is service to our country, which is something that the Red Cross has been doing in the Dallas area for over 101 years. One way that the American Red Cross serves our country is by providing support to our military. During World World II our troops deployed all over the globe to fight for freedom and peace. The American Red Cross was right behind them, serving out of newly built Red Cross Clubmobiles that could follow the troops on their missions overseas.

The first Red Cross Clubmobile arrived in France just days after the D-Day invasion began. That summer, 80 Red Cross Clubmobiles provided food, drink, friendly faces to the troops and a listening ear.

The American Red Cross women who volunteered and operated Clubmobiles during World War II were recognized recently by the United States Senate with Resolution 471. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) spoke on the U.S. Senate floor on the importance of honoring the Clubmobile women.

“A visit from a Clubmobile was one of the most significant events for a young G.I. in combat far from home,” she said.“These women were trailblazers. During the war, 52 Red Cross women lost their lives, some of them from the Clubmobiles. Their stories are those of a nation at war….their stories are every bit as vibrant and important to our victory as those of the men who valiantly fought to defend our freedom.”

Barbara Pathe began her Red Cross career in 1942 as a volunteer; in the photo above she serves as a Clubmobile captain and club director with the armed forces in Europe during WWII. She described a 19-year-old that frequented her station” 

“He stood there and talked to me the whole time we were serving,” she said. “Listening was the biggest thing we did. Nothing else, just listening.”

The resolution was sponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Joe Lieberman (I/D-CT), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), James Inhofe (R-OK), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

“Service to members of the military and their families is a proud and core part of the Red Cross history and of our mission today, and we appreciate this recognition of the tremendous work of these Red Cross volunteers during World War II,” said Sherri Brown, senior vice president, Services to the Armed Forces, American Red Cross.

For more information about the Red Cross’ long standing history of military support and to learn about how you can serve with us in this capacity today, visit the Service to the Armed Forces page.

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