President Obama: Honorary Chairman

by Catherine Carlton, volunteer contributor

It started with a tweet.

And has expanded to honorary chair of the American Red Cross.

President Barack Obama sent his first-ever tweet at the American Red Cross and now serves as the organizations honorary chair.

In this capacity, President Obama’s duties include appointing the chairman of the Board of Governors and designating members of his Administration to serve on the Red Cross Cabinet Council. As honorary chair, the President’s signature is on the American Red Cross Certificate of Merit National Lifesaving Award, the organization’s highest award for people who have used the skills they learned in Red Cross courses to help save or sustain a life.

President Obama’s involvement was enhanced during the earthquake in Haiti. He hit “send” on a Red Cross tweet about his visit to the Disaster Operations Center in Washington, D.C. It was his first activity in Twittersphere.

The relationship between the American Red Cross and the federal government is unique. The Red Cross is an independent entity that is organized and exists as a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable institution pursuant to a charter granted to us by the United States Congress. Unlike other congressionally chartered organizations, the Red Cross maintains a special relationship with the federal government.

We have the legal status of “a federal instrumentality,” due to our charter requirements to carry out responsibilities delegated to us by the federal government. Among these responsibilities are:

• to fulfill the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, to which the United States is a signatory, assigned
• to national societies for the protection of victims of conflict,
• to provide family communications and other forms of support to the U.S. military, and
• to maintain a system of domestic and international disaster relief, including mandated responsibilities under the National Response Framework coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

This President's Day, we thank President Obama for his support on Twitter, during disasters and ensuring our organization has the right people leading it.

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Show Her You Care: Prepare!

Being able to contact our loved ones is something we may take for granted—and it’s only in an emergency that we realize how tenuous those connections can be. So when you call your mom this Mother’s Day, take a few minutes to make an emergency communication plan.

Make a Plan

Print out the Emergency Contact Card to help guide you. Write down your local emergency numbers and the contact information for an out-of-area emergency contact person. As often happens during disasters, it may be easier to text or call long distance since local phone lines may be overloaded or out of service.

Putting a plan in place can help families stay connected with loved ones nearby and overseas, should an emergency strike. Every year, people are separated from their relatives in an emergency, such as an earthquake, typhoon or armed conflict. Telephone, Internet and postal services are often disrupted, leaving loved ones miles or oceans apart with no way to communicate.

Tips to keep in mind in case you can’t reach a loved one during an emergency:

• Call during off-peak hours or send text messages, which can often work even if telephone lines are down.
• Check social networking profiles, such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Contact employers, schools or religious centers where loved ones might go.
• Use a free Internet-based tool, such as Safe and Well at www.redcross.org, to send or search for messages from loved ones within the U.S.
• Reach out to the U.S. State Department (1-888-407-4747) to inquire about loved ones with U.S. citizenship who are traveling or residing in another country.

Restoring Family Links

The Red Cross also offers a free service to help re-establish communication between immediate relatives separated internationally by a war or disaster, and this past year helped reconnect more than 4,200 families.

Local caseworkers work with families to find loved ones and send messages until normal communications can be restored. In places like refugee camps, such a message is often the only method of communication available, but the words “I am alive” may be all that is needed to ease the minds of distraught relatives half a world away.

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An Easy Way To Bring Your Loved Ones Peace Of Mind

After a disaster, letting your family and friends know that you are safe and well can bring your loved ones great peace of mind. The Red Cross Safe and Well secure website is an easy way to let your loved ones know you are safe. To register, visit www.redcross.org and click on the “List Yourself or Search Registrants” link under “How to Get Help”.

• People in the affected areas can list themselves as “safe and well” on the site. Friends and family outside the disaster area can then search for messages from their loved ones by using a pre-disaster phone number or complete address.
  
  
• Disaster victims can also update their Facebook and Twitter status through the Safe and Well website.
  
  
• From a smart phone, visit www.redcross.org/safeandwell and click on the “List Yourself as Safe and Well” or “Search for friends and family” link.From any phone call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and one of our operators can help you register.

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Nine ways to support the American Red Cross through social media - Tip 6

6. Sign an American Red Cross Petition

Want to make a difference through legislation? It is a powerful way to make a difference and disseminate important, possibly American Red Cross-altering news. Wikipedia says, “a petition is a request to change something, most commonly made to a government official or public entity.” Petitions spread virally and serve to change policy, behavior or law.

Once again, retweet using the hashtag #SupportRedCross. Read tomorrow for the next awesome tip!

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Nine ways to support the American Red Cross through social media - Tip 5

5. Start the Conversation

Another way to spread awareness about the American Red Cross is to start a conversation with your social network. Attach articles, links, or even retweet to the message (like this message using the hashtag #SupportRedCross). Your friends and followers are likely to be interested in similar things you are. So, it’s easy to start the conversation.

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Nine ways to support the American Red Cross through social media - Tip 1

Social media provides tools to connect people and initiate a conversation. It has been a great avenue for charities to spread awareness and information. But, the conversation is not one-way. You too, can get involved and make a difference through social media.

We have created a list of nine ways for you to get involved through social media – a way to make a difference. Please feel free to add comments or other ways to get involved using our favorite social tools. To kick off the tips, take this conversation to the streets (and by streets, I mean twitter) using the hashtag #SupportRedCross

So, in an effort to keep you reading (and lessen the length of this blog) we will spread out the tips over the next nine days. Are you ready?

1. Follow the American Red Cross on Social Networks

You’ll find the latest and greatest information on what’s going on at the American Red Cross. You can share links about interesting articles, blog posts, videos, photos, classes, fundraisers, emergencies or RSS feeds.

Below are the Dallas area chapter and national links:

Red Alert: Keeping Up With The Dallas Area Chapter

Red Cross Chat: American Red Cross National Office

NNational Disaster Online Newsroom

Follow the Dallas Area Chapter

Follow the American Red Cross National Office

Page

Group

Cause

Dallas Area Chapter Channel
American Red Cross National Office

Dallas Area Chapter Photostream

American Red Cross National Office Photostream

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