JONESBORO -- The Northeast Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross is looking for volunteers interested in having fun while raising funds to ensure services are provided to those in our region.
This grassroots fundraising effort, the "Every Red Cent Counts" Hero Campaign, is a statewide event that will further enable the Red Cross to fulfill basic immediate needs to those in Arkansas who have suffered disaster. Food, clothing, shelter, medications, counseling and funeral expenses are some of these needs met by the Red Cross.
"The American Red Cross is in the community every day providing services to those in need after a disaster, including single family fires, providing emergency communications to those serving in the military and training thousands in lifesaving skills such as CPR," Northeast Arkansas Chapter director Pamela Knapp-Carver said. "This grassroots fundraising event is a lot of fun. We are thrilled to see it go statewide this year and have hopes that many of those in our community will want to participate in some way."
Captains and Heroes are needed in each of the 12 counties served by the Northeast Arkansas Chapter: Clay, Craighead, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph and Sharp.
Captains will recruit Heroes, who will actually raise money for the American Red Cross any way they want, "as long as it's legal" Knapp-Carver said.
Anyone interested in being a Captain or Hero, should attend the Hero Campaign informational meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Bernards Stroud Hall in Jonesboro. Information will be made available on why the funding is needed and different ideas of how the money can be raised. Call 870-932-3212 if you plan to attend.
The campaign ends June 1, "Hero Day." The Chapter will partner with KAIT8, Jonesboro Radio Group and other local stations to support a telethon and the "Bucket Brigades" collecting money across the region. All Captains and Heroes will be recognized at a banquet after the campaign has been completed. The county that raises the most money per capita will be awarded the Hero Campaign traveling trophy.
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. 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. The Red Cross in Arkansas responds to an average of four residential fires per day and trains more than 20,000 residents in lifesaving skills from babysitter training to first aid and CPR annually.
For more information, visit www.redcross.org, www.arkansasredcross.org.