The American Red Cross exists to meet the needs of the community by improving the quality of human life, enhancing self-reliance and concern for others, and helping people mitigate, prepare for and recover from emergencies. This VISTA project is working to create new infrastructures within targeted low-income communities through the development of youth-driven Red Cross Clubs that focus on increasing public awareness and empowering communities to be prepared for and able to respond to local disasters.

VISTAs focus on increasing emergency preparedness in low-income communities through:

• Creation of partnerships with local colleges, universities and school districts to form Emergency Preparedness/Red Cross Clubs to increase public awareness and community preparedness events;
• Assistance to schools in implementing fund-raising events that will allow low-income community members to participate in Red Cross training events;
• Recruitment of community volunteers to be liaisons and club leaders to ensure the sustainability of all programs.

 Program Highlights this grant cycle (as of 1/31/11):

• 13 VISTA members
• 4,262 volunteers recruited
• $1,542 in cash resources developed by VISTAmembers
• $7,630 in non-cash resources developed by VISTAmembers

 Stories of Service:

Holiday Mail for Heroes: Through the combined efforts of the members of our VISTA team and chapter volunteers, ourNew YorkStatechapters collected more than 20,000 holiday cards as part of the national campaign. Members from several regions had the intangible experience of managing the campaign at the chapter, collecting more than 3,000 cards each and sorting and distributing the cards to local VA hospitals.