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Don’t Let the Flu Ruin Your Holiday
With H1N1 flu causing illness all across the country, the American Red Cross has some steps to take that will lessen the chances of getting sick over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
“Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy being with family, not to be in bed with the flu,” said Sharon Stanley, chief nurse of the American Red Cross. “You can follow easy tips to try and avoid becoming ill over the upcoming holiday.”
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel periods in the United States. If traveling for the holiday or hosting a family celebration, washing one’s hands as often as possible is important to help ward off illness. The Red Cross offers the following ideas to help halt the spread of the flu virus during the Thanksgiving holiday:
Tips for Travelers
Before traveling…
- • If sick, stay home. It’s disappointing to not be able to join in the family celebration, but act responsibly and stay home to avoid spreading the flu.
• It’s possible to spread the flu virus one day before actually showing symptoms. Those who have been in close contact with a sick individual should be extra careful about using good hand hygiene and cough etiquette and very aware of what might be flu symptoms.
- • Wash hands with soap and water as often as possible. If soap and water aren’t available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.
• Use sanitizing wipes to disinfect hard surfaces such as airplane tray tables, luggage handles, cell phones, door handles and seat armrests.
• Remember to wash hands or use a hand sanitizer before eating any meals or snacks. It’s important to remember that you are touching a lot of surfaces that others are touching as well. Make sure your hands are clean before you put anything into your mouth.
• Bring personal blankets, pillows and earphones to avoid using something which may have been in contact with the flu virus.
• After washing hands in a public restroom, turn off the faucet with a paper towel. Then use another paper towel to dry hands and open the door when exiting the restroom.
Have a safe celebration
Thanksgiving is all about food, family and friends. Here are some steps that will help keep the celebration happy and healthy:
- • Avoid the usual kisses and handshakes when greeting friends and family.
• If hosting the holiday dinner and someone in the household becomes ill, make sure that they can be isolated into a separate area for care, or ask another family member to host dinner to avoid spreading the flu.
• Wash hands frequently, before preparing food, while cooking, and especially before eating.
• Keep plenty of hand soap in the bathroom, preferably in a pump container. Skip the pretty hand towels this year and instead use disposable hand towels or a roll of paper towels.
• Consider putting the glasses away this year and using plastic cups, or provide a way for guests to identify their drinks. Don’t drink out of anyone else’s glass.
• Put serving utensils in every dish, including snacks like nuts, pretzels, etc. This allows people to spoon out their portion instead of reaching in with their hands.
Remember—always cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue and clean hands afterwards. If no tissue is available, cough or sneeze into the inside of the elbow or upper arm. Avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth to prevent spreading germs.
Red Cross program plans for 7-percent budget cut
Like many programs facing challenging times, the Red Cross’ Good Neighbor Nutrition Program (GNNP) is expecting a 7-percent reduction in funding. GNNP provides a warm and nutritious meal for seniors 60 and older.
“Because we work with these people every day, we know how important the Good Neighbor Nutrition Program is to our clients,” said Bev Morlan, executive director for the American Red Cross. “I’m confident the plan we’ve developed with our partners the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging is the best solution to the budget cut.”
To make up for the $100,000 loss, the Red Cross has redistributed GNNP’s remaining financial resources to the seniors who need them. As a result, only 3 percent of clients will be affected by the 7-percent budget cut.
In order to minimize the effect on clients, GNNP and the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging approved a plan that will either consolidate meal sites or provide resources and referrals to other dining services. Seniors who are currently eating at a meal site set to be consolidated will be referred to a meal site within two miles of their current location to receive their meal. As a result of consolidations and closures, the Red Cross will lay off eight part-time staff. The meal sites to be consolidated are:
• Country Acres, 343 Country Acres, will be consolidating into Maple Gardens Dining Center, 10200 W. Maple
• Shady Way, 1421 N. Spruce, will be consolidating with Northeast Dining Center, 2121 E. 21st St.
• Sheridan Village, 1051 S. Bluffview, will be consolidating with Linwood Senior Center, 1901 S. Kansas
• West Park, 3618 W. 13th St., will be consolidating into Orchard Park Senior Center
Because of funding cut caused by the economic downturn, the Red Cross is also closing two congregate meal sites. Volunteers will be needed to help seniors who depend on GNNP in these areas. Congregate sites set to close are:
• Andover Dining Center, 410 Lioba, Andover, Kan.
• Valley Center Dining Center, 316 E. Clay, Valley Center, Kan.
How people can help
As always, volunteers are needed to ensure seniors receive the level of quality and service they expect. Volunteers allow costs to stay down so more dollars can be spent on meals. GNNP volunteers would be asked to deliver meals in Andover and Valley Center or transport seniors to the nearest meal site. For information on becoming a Red Cross GNNP volunteer, please call 219-4090.
About the Good Neighbor Nutrition Program
The GNNP serves more than 1,000 meals a day to seniors 60 and older, but it’s more than just a meal. It provides an opportunity for more than 2,300 seniors in the Wichita area to remain independent by providing a location where they can socialize and converse over a hot, healthy meal. GNNP also delivers meals to homebound seniors who are immobile because of physical or other issues. In the past year, more than 200,000 meals were served to seniors. GNNP has an operating budget of $1.4 million and is funded through a grant supplied by the state of Kansas and distributed by the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging.
About the American Red Cross Midway-Kansas Chapter:
The American Red Cross Midway-Kansas Chapter shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; teaches lifesaving skills; supports military members and their families; provides free meals, education and medical transportation to seniors; and keeps families in their homes with social services. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please call 219-4000.
Holiday Mail for Heroes to Deliver Greetings to U.S. Military Members and Veterans
The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes Inc. are teaming up to deliver holiday cards to service members, their families and veterans, many of whom will be far from home this holiday season. Now in its third year, the Holiday Mail for Heroes program provides Americans with the opportunity to extend holiday greetings and thanks to service members and veterans.
Between November 2 and December 7, the public is invited to send a “touch of home” through holiday cards that contain messages of cheer and appreciation. The Red Cross and Pitney Bowes will then screen cards for hazardous materials, sort and package the cards, and deliver them to military bases and hospitals, veteran’s hospitals and other locations during the holidays. Pitney Bowes is providing all screening, packaging and shipping at no charge. The Red Cross will utilize hundreds of volunteers to sort and box cards for delivery to service men and women, veterans and family members in November and December.
“It’s an honor for our community to help make the holidays special for American heroes,” said Bev Morlan, executive director for the American Red Cross Midway-Kansas Chapter “The Red Cross serves and supports members of the military, veterans, and their families by providing emergency communications, comfort and assistance each day. The Holiday Mail for Heroes program continues the Red Cross tradition of service to the armed forces.”
Last year, with the help of Pitney Bowes, hundreds of volunteers screened, sorted and packaged cards that were delivered to military bases, veteran and military hospitals across the U.S. and around the world.
Locally the Midway-Kansas Chapter helped 754 military families in the Wichita area with emergency communication last year. Another 24 families received outreach services for newly enlisted services members.
“The men and women who serve our country in uniform deserve our thanks every single day, and sending just one card is all it takes to make a difference in the life of one of our nation’s heroes,” said Jon Love, President of Pitney Bowes Government Solutions. “We are honored to participate in this important initiative again with the American Red Cross and look forward to helping the public say happy holidays and thank you.”
Holiday cards should be addressed and sent to:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
Please be sure to affix adequate postage. Cards must be received no later than December 7. Cards received after this date will be returned to senders. For reasons of processing and safety, participants are asked to refrain from sending “care packages,” monetary gifts, using glitter or including any inserts with the cards.
Visit http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail for a full list of recommended guidelines and best practices on the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.
Additional ways to become involved with the campaign include connecting with fellow card senders through Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichitaredcross and Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitaredcross using the hashtag #HMFH.
About Pitney Bowes:
Pitney Bowes is a $6.3 billion global technology leader whose products, services and solutions deliver value within the mailstream and beyond. Founded in 1920, our company’s 35,000 employees deliver technology, service and innovation to more than two million customers worldwide. For more information about Pitney Bowes, its products, services and solutions, visit www.pb.com.
Halloween Safety Tips for the Little Ghouls and Goblins.
Ghouls and goblins will take over the night. But even scary creatures need to be safe and celebrate Halloween right. Halloween’s greatest hazards aren’t vampires and villains, but falls, costume mishaps and automobile collisions. The Red Cross wants your family to have a safe Halloween so we’re providing this Halloween safety sheet for download.
Red Cross Helping American Samoa Tsunami Victims
The American Red Cross is on the ground in American Samoa where a tsunami swept across the island after a powerful earthquake hit the South Pacific.
After Tuesday’s 8.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami, a significant portion of American Samoa is without power or water. Damage is widespread. Red Cross has dozens of volunteers already providing food and supplies to those on the island. A team of 50 volunteers is being sent in to supplement the efforts of the local Red Cross team. The Red Cross has a warehouse on American Samoa supplied with cots, flashlights, and cooking and clean-up supplies, and will be sending in additional supplies as quickly as possible.
“We will get there as quickly as we can with what we can,” said Joe Becker, senior vice president for Red Cross Disaster Services. “Our first priority is to provide food, water and needed supplies.”
Getting information out of the island is very slow at this time. The Red Cross urges those who have been able to contact loved ones on American Samoa register them with Safe and Well. This is the best way to share information about their status. People can register information about loved ones on the Red Cross Safe and Well Website at www.redcross.org. If they do not have internet access, they can call 1-800-REDCROSS to register their loved ones. The information will let other loved ones know about the well-being of those on the island. Please note - Safe and Well works only on American Samoa. The service will not work on Samoa.
The Red Cross pre-positions supplies and disaster equipment to be able to rush relief services into affected areas when disaster strikes. Since 1997, members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) have pledged donations in advance of major disasters to ensure the Red Cross has the ability to respond immediately when needed. This year, members have provided more than $20 million in funding for the Disaster Relief Fund.
ADGP members include Altria Group, Inc., American Express, AXA Foundation, ConAgra Foods, FedEx Corporation, GE Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, John Deere Foundation, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Merck & Co., Inc., Morgan Stanley, Nationwide Insurance Foundation, Raytheon, Ryder Charitable Foundation, State Farm, State Street Foundation, Target, The TJX Companies, Inc., UnitedHealthcare, and UPS.
“Thanks to the generosity of our Annual Disaster Giving Program members, we are able to mobilize human and material resources at a moments notice to provide lifesaving services,” said Jeffrey Towers, chief development officer at the American Red Cross. “These funds, coupled with the support of the American public, are critical during disasters and enable the Red Cross to rush immediate relief to disaster victims before the first donation has been given.”
American Samoa, a group of seven islands about 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii, is a United States Territory. American Samoa and the independent country of Samoa make up the Samoan group of islands in the center of Polynesia. According to news reports, four tsunami waves about 15 to 20 feet high came ashore on American Samoa after the earthquake in the South Pacific.