The Cannonball Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross is working on a new program to implement lessons learned after a tornado devastated Greensburg and impacted two neighboring counties nearly three years ago.
“People will show up out of the goodness of their heart to help,” Executive Director Donna Meier Pfeifer said.
Training and orienting them on the spot takes time.
Communication may be limited — cell phones didn’t work in Greensburg — and it is critical to get resources where they need to be and to avoid duplicating efforts.
Regular volunteers may be involved in the disaster and therefore unavailable.
Fund-raising may need to begin immediately to provide necessary supplies and assistance.
The chapter has received a grant to expand the pool of trained volunteers for the six-county region served by Cannonball Trail. A Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) program will be explained to first responders, medical personnel, fire departments, law enforcement, ministerial alliances and other agencies at a meeting March 19. The intention will be to brainstorm ideas for working together throughout the area — becoming buddies with each other, Meier Pfeifer said — and involving volunteer organizations as well. After the initial session, led by Darla Hesse, vice chair for the South Central Kansas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters, the next step will be to develop bylaws and protocol.
“This is pioneering for this chapter,” Meier Pfeifer said, but the concept has worked well in other areas. For example, the Salina chapter has recruited the Rotary Club in Russell to respond to single-family fires and storms that leave people stranded and needing transportation to a shelter. A Lions Club performs another function. Volunteers are trained and everyone knows who is doing what task.
“Having 100 trained organization volunteers would be heaven, and I think we can do that,” Meier Pfeifer said.
She sees the COAD program as an important community development tool. It will also serve an important role in increasing Red Cross visibility in the service area outside of Pratt.
A new disaster service van, also funded by a grant, will soon be available for a variety of purposes, and with Red Cross emblems, will be visible at a disaster site. The van is currently being modified at Doug Reh Chevrolet, to pop up the top, drop down a window for feeding, provide storage inside, along with space to meet with clients and for a computer and printer and space and equipment for an amateur (ham) radio operator.
The Greensburg tornado was not only a learning experience for the local chapter, but for the American Red Cross as well, Meier Pfeifer said. In rural America, vehicles like the one being prepared and the disaster trailer purchased after the storm, are needed to be able to respond efficiently.
Grants are helping with expenses, but donations have been down since the Greensburg tornado, and for the first time, the chapter did not make budget last year. During National Red Cross Month, Meier Pfeifer is contacting commissioners in Barber, Comanche, Edwards, Kiowa, Pratt and Stafford counties as well as municipalities to ask for help and provide an update of services. The Cannonball Trail chapter is one of the largest beneficiaries of the Pratt County United Fund, and since 2003, 100 percent of board members are donors. The Red Cross is 100 percent donor funded.
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The Cannonball Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross is working on a new program to implement lessons learned after a tornado devastated Greensburg and impacted two neighboring counties nearly three years ago.
“People will show up out of the goodness of their heart to help,” Executive Director Donna Meier Pfeifer said.
Training and orienting them on the spot takes time.
Communication may be limited — cell phones didn’t work in Greensburg — and it is critical to get resources where they need to be and to avoid duplicating efforts.
Regular volunteers may be involved in the disaster and therefore unavailable.
Fund-raising may need to begin immediately to provide necessary supplies and assistance.
The chapter has received a grant to expand the pool of trained volunteers for the six-county region served by Cannonball Trail. A Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) program will be explained to first responders, medical personnel, fire departments, law enforcement, ministerial alliances and other agencies at a meeting March 19. The intention will be to brainstorm ideas for working together throughout the area — becoming buddies with each other, Meier Pfeifer said — and involving volunteer organizations as well. After the initial session, led by Darla Hesse, vice chair for the South Central Kansas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters, the next step will be to develop bylaws and protocol.
“This is pioneering for this chapter,” Meier Pfeifer said, but the concept has worked well in other areas. For example, the Salina chapter has recruited the Rotary Club in Russell to respond to single-family fires and storms that leave people stranded and needing transportation to a shelter. A Lions Club performs another function. Volunteers are trained and everyone knows who is doing what task.
“Having 100 trained organization volunteers would be heaven, and I think we can do that,” Meier Pfeifer said.
She sees the COAD program as an important community development tool. It will also serve an important role in increasing Red Cross visibility in the service area outside of Pratt.
A new disaster service van, also funded by a grant, will soon be available for a variety of purposes, and with Red Cross emblems, will be visible at a disaster site. The van is currently being modified at Doug Reh Chevrolet, to pop up the top, drop down a window for feeding, provide storage inside, along with space to meet with clients and for a computer and printer and space and equipment for an amateur (ham) radio operator.
The Greensburg tornado was not only a learning experience for the local chapter, but for the American Red Cross as well, Meier Pfeifer said. In rural America, vehicles like the one being prepared and the disaster trailer purchased after the storm, are needed to be able to respond efficiently.
Grants are helping with expenses, but donations have been down since the Greensburg tornado, and for the first time, the chapter did not make budget last year. During National Red Cross Month, Meier Pfeifer is contacting commissioners in Barber, Comanche, Edwards, Kiowa, Pratt and Stafford counties as well as municipalities to ask for help and provide an update of services. The Cannonball Trail chapter is one of the largest beneficiaries of the Pratt County United Fund, and since 2003, 100 percent of board members are donors. The Red Cross is 100 percent donor funded.
