#american red cross

[mysharona1987]

Literally a cartoon predicted this.

[citizenscreen]

Myrna Loy in her Red Cross Uniform. As assistant to the director of the Military and Naval Welfare Service for the North Atlantic Area, Myrna’s Her duties involved serving liaison betw entertainers and military hospitals & setting up visits by Broadway and Hollywood performers to wounded or disabled members of the armed forces.

[kylaym]

Red Cross ladies ❤️

[etraytin]

Just a note to let all the moots and buddies know that my family and I are safe and well after several days completely incommunicado after Helene. I admit to a certain amount of personal arrogance before the storm; I spent all of Thursday working a Red Cross shelter in Swannanoa (Western North Carolina was flooding even before Helene made landfall) and went home to sleep, confident that I would be largely unaffected there and come back to help the actual damaged areas after the storm. I didn’t even fill our goddamned bathtubs, what the hell, past me?

In any case, the storm hit us like the fist of an angry god, and while I was incredibly lucky that my home was spared, the winds caused a huge amount of damage to the power grid, which in turn wiped out water (all wells in my area!) and communications. We were still better off than other more low-lying places, where they got the wind and the water both, to devastating effect. I picked my way carefully back to Swannanoa on Saturday because my entire Red Cross chain of command was a black hole of no comms and this was the last place I’d seen them, but the shelter had been closed and moved because the damage was too extensive. I had to drive around a huge car shed that had been set down in the middle of the highway and past a sinkhole bigger than my van just to get to the place, so it was understandable. The weird thing is, Swannanoa had cell signal so I sat in the parking lot of a closed and washed-out gas station for about an hour just to call our loved ones and try and figure out what had happened to us.

Living in a communications blackout is very interesting and strange. You’d think it would be like rocketing back into the past, but it is not. People had ways of communicating before the internet that have not survived the internet. Radio stations are so rarely local now, and how many of them are actually good at relaying emergency information anymore? The most infuriating of our local stations would offer bumpers promising news and wither, then directing people to their website which we of course could not access. Nobody has landlines anymore to talk on the phone. Even people with “landlines” have digital phones through their cable service, not real telephone lines. Ham radio operators are rarer than hen’s teeth. When I got back from Swannanoa, I walked up and down the very steep hill that is my street, visiting my neighbors and telling them that I had gone to visit the internet and come back with news!

My trip did provide us with an action plan and a route out of town, at least. Only one major road out of Buncombe County was open, and it was the one furthest from us, but we hoped we could do it. Both cars had a third of a tank of gas left, so we picked the one that got better mileage, packed up and crossed our fingers. The evening before we left, we invited all the neighbors over and grilled all the meat in our freezer, now thawed and on the edge of ruin. They brought stuff too and we had chicken, burgers, brats, hot dogs, salmon and shrimp. It was really nice and didn’t break up until dusk when we all had to go home by flashlight. In the morning, we left as soon as it was light, hoping to avoid traffic, and with no maps and a vague idea of where we were going, headed for Charlotte and the modern world. It took us about four hours to go what would have been ninety miles on the normal route, including time waiting in a very long line for gas, but we got to my sister’s house where we got showers and cold drinks and basically just fell into bed.

So that’s how it stands now. We are safe, we are out, we are going back soon even if the power doesn’t come back. The Red Cross still needs me and our house is going to get very yucky all closed up to mildew in the post-storm humidity. We are taking this time to rest up and stock up on supplies and batteries, then it’s back into the void. Please send good wishes our way, and maybe donate to the Red Cross or other orgs working out here because it’s a huge, huge job.

[morimorana]

guys you should think about donating blood if you can bc most places will give you a gift card and you get free food and drinks after and since they take 1/8 of your blood you can get really drunk really fast with a lot less alcohol (or do the same with sugar if you want) and also as gerard way once said “give them blood, blood, gallons of the stuff, give them all that they can drink and it will never be enough”

and the entire bleeders tour with black veil brides was focused on getting people to donate blood to the american Red Cross because of the lack of donors and the high need for blood transfusions in hospitals around the United States

with hurricane helene and milton, lots of people in the southeast United States were injured and many died. during both storms, hospitals and blood banks were urging people to donate blood if they were in unaffected areas. most people are hesitant to donate blood because they fear the pain, or they simply don’t want to go out of their way for it, or any other reasons. finger pricks that are typically done at the doctor to measure hemoglobin levels are also done before you can donate blood to make sure you have the proper levels for it, and the needle used to donate blood actually hurts less. i know this is a lot of rambling, but as someone who has a heart for helping people, it’s something i really care about. i still can’t donate because i have anemia, but i have a feeling that this community will be more willing to donate a lot of things, not just blood. i know a lot of people that are fans of my chemical romance, black veil brides, and other similar bands that are more than willing to donate to charities, they volunteer their time whenever they can, they make efforts to protect the environment, and they’re very generous people in whatever ways they can be. this probably isn’t the *best* place to post this, but I know this is where the most people will see it.

so, if you can, please think about donating blood at your local blood bank! (you also usually get a gift card of some sort and they give you plenty of sugar before they send you on your way)

[resplendentoutfit]

The Women of World War I — Part I

Before The Great War, working class women were not new to factory work. There was, however, a division between women's and men's jobs. After war was declared, women increasingly took on the men's jobs to fill the gap left when men were recruited as soldiers. With munitions factories producing for the war effort, there were even more jobs for women to fill – many of them dangerous and requiring significant physical strength.

While the fashion plates were still catering to the well-to-do, the war did influence women's fashion in consequential and lasting ways.

Clothing became more sensible. Gone were the restricting undergarments of past eras. Clothing was more tailored and most significantly, hemlines rose to several inches above the ankle.

In Britain women joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment and Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps. In the USA, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, and the special women’s battalions on the Russian Front.

In rural areas women were called to duty to perform an assortment of farm work and chores that had been previously done by the men who went to war. In the image on the right, a catalog page displays styles of overalls and briches particularly suited to outdoor work.

Above are two very different roles that women took during WW I. The Women's Motor Corps of the American Red Cross was largely made up of wealthy women who had the means of access to an automobile and learned to drive. The munitions factory girls on the other hand, worked at physically demanding, dangerous work and likely came from modest means. The latter were called "Canary Girls" because the exposure to TNT caused a yellowing of the skin. They faced not only safety but also health hazards, for very low wages.

Flora Lion (British/English, 1878-1958) • Women's Canteen at Phoenix Works, Bradford, England • 1918

Flora Lion, an established society portrait artist, was commissioned by the Ministry of Information to complete two large paintings showing factory scenes during the First World War.

Stay tuned for Part II...

Sources: French History Podcast, Imperial War Museum, Wikipedia, American Red Cross, BBC.com

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

A GOODBYE TO SPRING FASHIONS... HERE COMES THE SUMMER.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on the "VOGUE" magazine cover of March 15, 1945, featuring a blurred model behind a frosted glass panel emblazoned with a red cross, photographed by Erwin Blumenfeld and art-directed by Alexander Liberman. 📸: Erwin Blumenfeld, via Condé Nast.

Resolution at 1200x1607 & 740x936.

"It is “scary and sad to think that no mainstream fashion title would now publish a cover this bold,” our critic says."

-- THE NEW YORK TIMES, "The Vanished Glamour of Midcentury Print Media," by Jason Farago, published April 29, 2021

Sources: https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/392024342536165968 & The New York Times.

[blakelysco-pilot]

For those that are following my Eight to The Bar series, you know it’s centric to not only Val and Ev Blakely, but to the American Red Cross Clubmobile and the B-17 Flying Fortress’. The ARC Clubmobile was a service during wwii that has certainly piqued my interest over the last few months, and it’s been a pleasure getting to read abour the real Katherine ‘Tatty’ Spaatz and the rest of the Donut Dollies.

With that said, over the weekend I was scouring online for some facts and information, and came across a listing for a post card on Etsy- $10. A print of an ARC Clubmobile nose to nose with a B-17 somewhere in Great Britain. For the price of it, I assumed I was getting a post card printed today with the photo on it. A reprint. What I received is a wwii era post card, with the very photo on it. The back is a little marked up, and has what looks like maybe a slight coffee stain, but it’s in wonderful condition. No bent edges, the photo is as clear as you can expect from a camera in the 1940s, and it came in protective plastic.

I can’t see how someone would part with something so lovely for a a price of $10 or any dollars, but, whoever you are, thank you, because I promise I’ll keep it safe.

[africanamericanreports]

While new cell-based gene therapies provide groundbreaking treatment options for people battling sickle cell disease in the U.S., blood donations remain critical to helping ensure these medical procedures can be completed.

[blackleatherjacketz]

This photo was taken mere moments before I passed the fuck out and they had to shake me awake. Guess I’m not cut out to have a vampire boyfriend, after all.

[mysharona1987]

Wait, so he is literally on a hunger strike to prevent humanitarian aid, so…other innocent civilians, *including*the hostages, can go hungry themselves?

I have questions, frankly.

[lubegashafic253]

Trust God Because Nothing Is Impossible To Him | Blessed & Inspiring Morning Prayer To Start The Day

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Volunteer assistants of the American Red Cross, known by their uniforms as “the ladies in yellow,” are preparing cards of the thousands of potential supporters of the Red Cross, January 2, 1942. They are preparing to launch the appeal for the Red Cross War Fund of Greater New York, at its headquarters at 57 William Street. Standing are, left to right: Stuart M. Crocker, executive vice chairman of the fund appeal, for $7,330,000 of the national Red Cross War fund of $50,000,000; Mrs. Gardner D. Stout: Leon Fraser, chairman of the fund, appeal, and Polly Pope, vice chairman.

Photo: Associated Press via WHNT

[etraytin]

New Solutions, Old Disasters

More volunteering this last few days; it feels like the only thing to do that makes sense right now. There's a website that local people can check to find volunteer opportunities, so I signed up to help at the local food and water distro. They get lots of help on weekends, it looks like, but much less during the week, so I brought husband and Kiddo along as well. It was us and three other volunteers, a few city librarians who have been assigned to disaster duties while some of the libraries are still closed, and a handful of National Guardsmen working this center. The National Guard contingent has set up near our house at a summer camp tucked back in the hills, and I have never seen so many Chinooks in my whole life, much less had them rattling my windowpanes. Glad to have them though, they're doing a huge amount of work and supply transport!

Anyway, Kiddo and I directed traffic all afternoon. That meant meeting every car, figuring out what they needed and giving each driver a post-it note to say what and how much of each item to give them. Anyone who comes to the center was eligible to get one box full of 12 liters of water in 1-liter tetrapacks and one box of 12 MREs per person they were picking up for, plus as much potable and nonpotable water as they wanted in the containers they brought themselves. Some folks just got stuff for themselves, some picked up for others, a few loaded up for whole neighborhoods. I taught Kiddo how to do the post-it ticket and we took turns each time a car approached. He was nervous at first but quickly got the hang of it and was getting very fast and confident by the end of the day! I'm really proud of him because socializing can be a tough thing for him but he powered through and came out the other side. By the end of the day, he was saying that this was his favorite volunteer gig of all. (It did not hurt that the weather was exquisite all day and we got to enjoy a lot of it from our chairs in a nice shady place at the front gate.)

World Central Kitchen brought lunch for us, which was wonderful and delicious. It was some kind of chili-goulash with big chunks of vegetable in it, and there were three massive pans (sometimes we have many more volunteers than we had that day!) At the end of the day, the volunteer coordinator asked us if we wanted to take the leftovers home and we said sure, if nobody else was going to take them. Turns out there was an entire pan left and with everybody else being singles, nobody wanted that much, lol. We took it home and shared it with our neighbors and still had enough for two big meals. Our neighbors are a nurse in one of the hard-hit towns and a handyman plus two teenagers, so they were also happy to get an easy hot meal! We also took home one box of MREs because we ate through so many of our emergency supplies during the days when power was out, and it feels good to be prepared. I may give them away at some point, hard to say. We have given away a whole lot of my emergency stash at this point on the grounds that it feels bad to save up for an emergency that is happening right now to other people.

Yesterday I did actual Red Cross work for the first time in awhile. (I did an overnight shift at a Red Cross shelter the day after we got back to town, but the post I made for that got half-finished and left in drafts and I'm still picking at it.) They wanted someone from the local Disaster Action Team at the shelter to help with casework intakes because we use the same program as they do and are already familiar with it. I drove down to the shelter and found there'd been a miscommunication, they wanted me working intake, but not at the shelter near me, at shelters all over the disaster area by remote. So I went home and made a bunch of phone calls instead. It was a little frustrating, but above all things you must be flexible if you want to be a good disaster worker. There are always going to be screwups and miscommunications and hurry-up-and-waits. As long as nothing life-threatening is happening, you just shrug and roll with it and do what is needed. That's one reason I've taken so much Red Cross training; if I get to a place and they don't need me for what I thought I was going to be doing, there's usually something else I can do.

I did end up in a shelter anyway, when we realized that the shelter I was trying to contact was isolated enough that they still didn't have reliable cell coverage in the area. Rather than continue beating my head against the wall, I hopped in the car and drove out an hour to the shelter, which was up north in a very tucked-away corner. MIracle of miracles, the shelter did have enough WiFi that I did not have to resort to paper forms intake and I was able to get nearly everyone in the shelter taken care of. I also got to hold someone's kitten, which was pretty great. Unfortunately, about two hours into my visit it became clear that several residents had just (as in _just_) tested positive for COVID, and this was now going to be a COVID shelter. I, who had just interviewed all the folks in the shelter, had also gotten a good solid exposure. Great.

All of that to say that this weekend is not a big volunteer weekend for us anymore, as we are staying home for a few days to make sure I'm not ferrying germs between vulnerable congregate populations and the general public. I did dig out my masks today so I could drop off some bottled water and go collect the last of my belongings from the office of my canvassing job. That is officially over, with final paychecks this week and our field director reassigned to another office. At least I got my bag of hats back! Wearing a mask right now feels surreal; nobody has given me a hard time or anything but it makes this disaster feel like 2020 again and the feeling of cognitive dissonance gets kind of intense.

At least now I can tell myself it's a good thing to see people gathering in groups again because it means that the restaurants and businesses are starting to open again! The boil order has been rescinded for a large chunk of the county, and I counted five open restaurants on the main street this evening, all of them busy. No place was as busy as the town laundromat though, which has become a huge gathering place as one of the only 24-hour laundry places in a county full of waterless folks. That place is _busy!_

[tildeathiwillwrite]

About to go sacrifice some of my life-force for the needs of the many (give blood)

[suziwest-dresscollection]

Acquired: Light in The Attic Estates, Brevard, NC, February 2024 (gifted from coworker)