Archive for the ‘British Red Cross’ Category

UK band Coldplay added some much needed weight behind the British Red Cross‘ Chile Earthquake Appeal on the 2nd March 2010. In these days of fast technology, it’s become easier and easier to reach huge audiences with nothing more than a few words, and this is what they did when they sent a tweet out to their fans.

Coldplay currently have 2.5million people following them on Twitter, and within minutes of dropping their tweet, literally thousands of their fans flocked to British Red Cross website wanting to donate to the Chile Earthquake Appeal.

Coldplay tweeted -

Two million people have been affected by the earthquake in Chile – donate towards the Red Cross’s relief work at http://bit.ly/chilerc

This small nugget of information flew round the world so quickly that it led to a huge spike in traffic for the Earthquake Appeal, leading to a 400% increase in hits in just 15 minutes!

Coldplay, who are currently touring in South America and were recently performing in Sao Paulo, Brazil, said -

the band have been extremely saddened by reports of the terrible earthquake which hit the country on 27 February 2010.

As you can see, the power of twittering is a worldwide phenomenon that is an excellent way to reach millions of people at the touch of a button. Many of the charities we feature on D4C have Twitter feeds, (as do we) so if you’d like to find out more click on the links below to view our extensive charity Twitter list and also to follow our charity blog and keep up to date with all the latest news, reviews and views.

> > Click here to follow the D4C blog tweets

> > Click here for the D4C Twitter Directory

The British Red Cross has immediately transferred £50,000 from their Disaster Fund to their counterparts in Chile following the initial earthquake. This was no mere tremor, measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale with over 120 aftershocks. Aerial assessments of the overall damage are taking place, with public service announcements being provided on how to react to aftershocks and appealing to the public to donate blood.

If you would like to make a donation to the British Red Cross Chile Earthquake Appeal, please click on the link below.

> > Click here to make a donation to the Chile Earthquake Appeal

The British Red Cross charity is organising another Disaster Response Challenge, where people from across the country will take part in a hypothetical disaster that unfolds in real time to test calmness under pressure. The 2 day event will offer the unique opportunity to experience first hand the issues and decisions faced by the British Red Cross international emergency response unit (ERU).

The ERU’s role is to respond to any humanitarian disaster, anywhere in the world, at really short short notice. This challenge will show the competitors what it’s like to be in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster scene. The experience is organised by delegates with years of experience on the front line, something only a handful of people will get to see in a lifetime.

This event will take part on the weekend of 26-28th March 2010 with a registration fee of £50.If you would like to find out more about this event or are interested in working in this field, simply click on the link below for further information.

> > Click here for more information on the Disaster Response Challenge

> > Click here to make a donation to the British Red Cross

The British Red Cross is still holding it down on the frontline in Haiti as the dreaded rainy season begins to kick in across the country. A full month after the tragedy unfolded, more than 20 British Red Cross representatives are now in Haiti to helping deliver aid and provide much needed shelter, sanitation and other vital services during this difficult time. With more than 500 workers from 22 countries deployed by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the Haiti relief effort is in full swing but there is still so much to do.

Speaking from Haiti, British Red Cross representative, Sharon Reader, said -

One month on from the quake, the needs are still overwhelmingly real and urgent. We’re now in a race against time to prevent further damage from another potentially catastrophic problem: Haiti’s looming wet season. The rains normally hit the island in mid-February and last for three months. With hundreds of thousands still living in camps, the onset of rain may destroy the sanitation systems we’ve worked so hard to set up and would accelerate the spread of disease. This is a country still very much in crisis and we are going to have to continue to meet basic life-saving needs such as access to clean water and basic shelter for many, many more months to come.

The British Red Cross has equipped a mini digger and flat-pack latrines to help is provide sanitation to 20,000 people currently housed in two camps. As this work continues, the Red Cross is also working in the neighbouring Dominican Republic to help ensure a smooth flow of aid into the quake stricken country. By donating to the British Red Cross, the money raised will help those on the frontline to deal with the crisis as quickly and efficiently as possible.

> > Click here to donate to the British Red Cross Haiti appeal

The British Red Cross has teamed up with Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan to hold a fundraising event to raise money for those effected by the Haiti earthquake. The appeal will be held at the Millbank Tower in London on Tuesday 16th February 2010 in London, and will feature a special private screening of the BRIT Awards followed by an exclusive after show party including entertainment and a charity auction.

Guests who join Lindsay at Millbank Tower that evening will have a chance to win first class tickets to Los Angeles, a week at the Peninsula Hotel and a night out with Lindsay Lohan herself! All proceeds from the tickets for both the BRIT award screening and the aftershow party will be going to the British Red Cross, who’s tireless work on the frontline in Haiti is giving hope to the many people who’s lives have been destroyed.

Tickets for the BRIT award screening range from £50-70, whilst after show tickets cost between £75-100. If you would like to attend one of these worthwhile events, please click on the link below and help the British Red Cross raise much needed funds for the people of Haiti.

> > Click here to book tickets online

> > Click here to Donate to the British Red Cross Haiti appeal

British Red Cross campaign manager, Anna Payne, volunteered as a member of their emergency response unit in December 2008. Below is an intimate log of her personal experiences whilst working on the frontline for the British Red Cross response team in Zimbabwe during that Christmas.

As the Christmas party season stepped up a gear, I found myself cancelling my plans and packing my bags for Zimbabwe with a very different Christmas and New Year ahead of me. As I was on call that month for the emergency response unit (ERU) I’d been keeping a close eye on the escalating cholera crisis in Zimbabwe so I was both excited and nervous when we got the go ahead for the unit to deploy.

I was there for a month with three colleagues from the British Red Cross mass sanitation unit supporting our colleagues at the Zimbabwe Red Cross with their cholera response programme. The unit’s remit is essentially to prevent the spread of disease through practical techniques, such as latrine building, and promoting hygiene messages – with the capacity to help up to 20,000 people.

Over 30,000 cases had been reported prior to our arrival in Harare and deaths were on the increase. Due to the economic conditions in the country, sewage systems were falling to bits and the health service was struggling to cope. In fact the main thing I remember from my stay was people’s daily struggle to survive and provide for their families in a country where supermarket shelves were empty, water and electricity were in short supply. Soon after we arrived the printing of a $10 trillion Zim dollar note was announced. By the time we left this wouldn’t have bought a loaf of bread.

Units from Norway, Japan, France, Austria, Finland and Spain all arrived with us to support our Zimbabwe colleagues so once we got the Ministry of Health go-ahead the units divided up to make sure the Red Cross was covering all the affected areas in the country. My team headed south to the Midlands Province with the Norwegian team and set up a base in Gweru, a small city four hours from Harare. From there we made contact with our local Red Cross and Ministry of Health and began visiting the areas where outbreaks were most severe.

We travelled long distances to find remote hospitals or communities where the basic infrastructure had broken down and they could no longer treat cholera patients adequately. In these places we found just a few dedicated staff or community leaders working tirelessly – with no running water, limited medicines, frequently no electricity and often going without food themselves. We set about replacing the basic cholera treatment facilities they had – often little more than blankets laid out in a field with drips strung up to trees – with tents, beds and medicines. We also organised hygiene education – making sure people knew about hand washing and food preparation – and built latrines and washing points to support community health.

Since the fundraising target for the appeal remains far short of what is needed to help this desperate situation, it was more important than ever that we helped people in simple and effective ways. Christmas and New Year passed in a whirl of activity as we made sure we reached as many people as possible. By the time the next team came to relieve us in mid-January we had given out hundreds of tools, soap, disinfectant and other equipment and trained hundreds of people in good hygiene to avoid spreading disease.

Thanks to the amazing people we met I felt very sad to leave this beautiful, troubled country but hopeful that we were helping our Zimbabwe Red Cross colleagues towards better times.

> > Click here to make a donation to the British Red Cross Zimbabwe Appeal

If you fancy doing something a bit different this Easter, why not spend the £5 you would normally spend on chocolate and send a charity gift food parcel used for treating malnourished people instead?

British Red Cross Pass the Parcel lets customers send a virtual gift of humanitarian items to friends or family. There is something to suit every budget, from water purification tablets to a blanket or a sewing kit. All these items are real things the Red Cross uses to give practical help in some of the poorest places across the world to help people who need it most.

So if you fancy not giving and receiving chocolate at Easter, why not give a charity gift with some real value, a gift that keeps on giving. You could really make a big difference to many peoples lives across the globe.

> > Click here to Pass the Parcel with the British Red Cross

View other top charity gifts

The British Red Cross has launched their new virtual website to help promote their ‘Pass the Parcel’ campaign. The new site allows people to create their own virtual Red Cross parcel, and then ‘pass’ the charity gift on to friends and family via email to add to the parcel, further increasing the size of the donation.

There is an amazing choice of virtual items to choose from to cater for all budgets, from water purification tablets costing £1.32 to a safe water system for £1,072. All money raised will help support the British Red Cross help vulnerable people in crisis across the globe in some of the places where aid is needed most.

The British Red Cross has delivered more than 20 million aid parcels since the first batch of basic food items was dispatched during the Second World War to captive soldiers. The Red Cross emblem still continues to this day with your help to cross frontlines and borders to help reach those in need, even in the most remote places.

> > click here to ‘Pass the Parcel’ with the British Red Cross

View our top charity gifts