Canadian Red Cross

Hear from Conrad Sauvé, President and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross, on the ground in Edmonton ⬇️ At the request of the City of Edmonton, the Canadian Red Cross is providing assistance to Jasper residents who evacuated to Edmonton. Red Cross personnel are on site to assess the needs of people and assist them with accommodation and food support. Learn more about our response: https://brnw.ch/21wLCTO

Thanks to the generosity of people in Alberta and across the country, the Canadian Red Cross is proud to announce that #AlbertaDayOfCaring for Jasper event raised more than $674,000 for the Canadian Red Cross 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal ❤️👏 Donations to the 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal will be used for assisting those impacted in Jasper and other affected areas in Alberta with immediate and ongoing relief.

Conrad Sauvé, President and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross, and Thu Parmar, Vice President of Alberta and Northwest Territories, visited Hinton on July 30 to meet with Mayor Nicholas Nissen as well as other authorities to discuss the evolving needs of people impacted by the wildfires. On July 31, 2024, they met with Red Cross personnel at the evacuee reception centre in Edmonton. At the request of the City of Edmonton, the Canadian Red Cross is providing assistance to Jasper residents who evacuated to Edmonton. Red Cross personnel are on site to assess the needs of people who are under evacuation order and assist them with accommodation and food support.

THANK YOU to our amazing volunteers and staff for supporting individuals and families impacted by the 2024 Labrador Wildfires❤️👏 Hear our volunteers react to heartwarming cards from people they helped⬇️

In Ukraine, many older adults have a lack of mobility which has prevented some from fleeing the ongoing conflict with their loved ones. As a result, a large group of the older adult population, especially those living in remote areas, are at risk of feeling isolated and alone which puts a strain on their mental health. To help address this issue, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society’s home-based care program, supported by the Canadian Red Cross, is helping to provide accessible mental health and psychosocial support to older adults. The social workers at the heart of this program provide much needed emotional support by building genuine relationships with those they support, while also providing compassionate care to support with personal hygiene, cooking, cleaning, medication, and changing dressings. Thanks to the generosity of the Government of Canada and people living in Canada, we are able to continue supporting programs to help meet the needs of those impacted.

The Canadian Red Cross will begin distributing funds to eligible households evacuated from their primary residence in Jasper, Alberta. To access this one-time assistance of $750 per household, people must be registered with the Red Cross. If you have not yet registered with the Red Cross, you can do so online at https://lnkd.in/eF4nvkV2 or by calling 1-800-863-6582 between 8 am and 8 pm MT. This financial assistance is made possible thanks to the generosity of people who have contributed to the Canadian Red Cross 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal.

The Canadian Red Cross is committed to supporting people and communities to prepare for, increase their resilience to, and respond to future disasters. Register for our August webinars below, and learn about how you can increase your own preparedness to face the next emergency: August 6: Be Ready - Wildfires August 6: Introduction to Psychological First Aid August 7: Ready Rating August 8: Wildfire Smoke and Your Health August 15: Be Ready – Extreme Heat August 20: Caring for Self and Others August 20: Supporting Families in Emergencies August 21: Ready Rating August 22: Extreme Heat: Trends, Impacts, and Solutions for Protecting Individuals and Communities August 27: Stories of Resilience - Voices from Across British Columbia’s Interior August 27: Introduction to Grief and Loss Registration and more information can be found here: https://brnw.ch/21wLyxG

Meet Paula Muise, pictured here with Red Cross volunteer Nate Stepner. Paula was among those evacuated from Labrador City due to the wildfire. She came to Happy Valley-Goose Bay alone where she stayed at the College of the North Atlantic, one of the shelter sites run by the Canadian Red Cross. At 76 years old, Paula is not as mobile as she used to be, and uses a cane or walker to slowly get around. She’s quick to admit despite this, she tries to be as independent as possible and doesn’t like to accept help. The Canadian Red Cross has safety and wellbeing volunteers who check up on people like Paula and offer any assistance they can. Paula says volunteers kept stopping by to offer help, and while at first she kept refusing, she realized that she did actually need help. It wasn’t long before various volunteers were coming by daily, not just to help with her needs, but to just sit and chat with her. “There’s no words, totally awesome,” she said on her last day, about her connection with Red Cross volunteers. “I’ve been able to open up and get out of my comfort zone. It’s so amazing that people are willing to help.” Paula returned home on Monday, and this time she didn’t travel alone. She was gifted a Red Cross teddy bear, something she said wouldn’t be leaving her side on her journey home. “We’re a team now,” she said about her teddy she named Nate, after the volunteer who gave it to her. And Paula left with more than just her teddy bear. She was encouraged to register for the Friendly Calls Program, which matches people with trained Red Cross personnel who connect with them regularly to check in, provide emotional support, encourage healthy coping strategies, and suggest well-being resources that can help. So even in Labrador, thousands of kilometres away from those volunteers she connected with, she may still be able to stay connected.

At the request of the City of Edmonton, the Canadian Red Cross is providing assistance to Jasper residents who evacuated to Edmonton. Our staff and volunteers in Edmonton are assessing the needs of people and assisting them with accommodations and personal services. Learn more about our response: https://lnkd.in/eQWViRy5

The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta will match donations by Canadians to the 2024 Alberta Wildfires Appeal. This means every $1 donated will become $3 to support those impacted by the wildfires. You can donate online at https://lnkd.in/d7y3Uv5A