The American Red Cross: Your partner in preparedness

The American Red Cross responds to an emergency every eight minutes. From small house fires to multi-state natural disasters, the Red Cross goes wherever they’re needed so people can have clean water, safe shelter and hot meals when they need them most.

Locally, the American Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial Counties responds to nearly 400 disasters a year including wildfires, floods, home fires and more – all the while helping our communities to be better prepared for emergencies.

How the Red Cross can help

• Disaster relief: Red Cross volunteers give hope to those impacted by disasters by providing shelter, food, relief supplies, financial support, and other assistance. If you need help after a home fire or other emergency, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcross.org/GetHelp.
• Community preparedness programs: The Red Cross offers a variety of free community preparedness presentations, including Be Red Cross Ready, Ready Rating (for businesses), Prepare with Pedro (preparedness program for grades K-2), hands-only CPR training, smoke alarm installations, wildfire safety home visits and more. To learn more or request Red Cross services, visit redcross.org/SoCal/Prepare.

Ways to take action

• Be prepared: Being prepared may not prevent a disaster, but it will give you confidence to meet the challenge. Make a plan to stay safe and know how you’ll stay connected during a disaster. Visit redcross.org/Prepare to learn more or download the free Red Cross Emergency app today. Search “American Red Cross” in your app store or text “GETEMERGENCY” to 90999 and also register for local first responder alerts from emergency response agencies in your city and county.
• Get trained: Be the help until help arrives. Visit redcross.org/TakeAClass to learn more about First Aid, CPR and AED training and more.
• Become a volunteer: 95 percent of Red Cross disaster relief workers are volunteers. From delivering preparedness presentations to helping in shelters to responding to home fires and so much more, you can make a tremendous impact as a Red Cross volunteer. To learn more about helping your community prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters, visit redcross.org/VolunteerToday.
• Team up to help during disasters: Organizations can work with the Red Cross to utilize their facilities in the event of a disaster. To offer your support ahead of a disaster, contact the local Red Cross at 858-309-1200.

Emergencies can happen at any time. By preparing today, volunteering your time, or partnering with the Red Cross, you can help build a safer, more resilient community. Visit redcross.org/SoCal to get started.

The news and editorial staff of The San Diego Union-Tribune had no role in this post’s preparation.