American Red Cross Western Nevada County Chapter 144 Hughes Rd. Ste. G Grass Valley, CA 95945

ANNUAL REPORT   FISCAL YEAR 2003-2008

 

INTRODUCTION

 

As Nevada and Sierra County's leading humanitarian aid organization, we have an unparalleled record of helping meet the need of our community - from relief services to victims of disaster; to health and safety training to compassionate service to military families.

We can all take pride in the tradition of compassion and commitment, which has enabled the American Red Cross to continue saving lives and easing suffering since its inception over 100 years ago. For over 87 years, the Western Nevada County Chapter has been living out that role here in our own area. We have been present to educate our friends and neighbors on life saving techniques and to respond to the immediate disaster needs of our community's families. Under our present banner of "Together We Prepare" we play an integral role in our community's disaster response plans; building the response capabilities of our disaster volunteers, identifying those at risk and in need of assistance at time of disaster through our S.A.F.E. program, increasing the capabilities and self-reliance of our neighborhoods through our administration of the C.E.R.T. training program, and continuing to teach the lifesaving skills in First Aid, CPR/AED, and Aquatics so critically needed to maintain a safe community.

Though every year brings continued change to our Chapter, the truth for all Americans is that we are living in an ever-changing environment. From the global war on terror and continued threat of domestic terrorism to the increased need for local services and the effects of a tough economy, the work of the American Red Cross has never been more challenging or more necessary. Your financial support and your volunteer hours are needed to help us continue supporting our local community in the long tradition of the American Red Cross.

No one can predict when or where the next disasters will strike, but we know that they will. The mission of the American Red Cross - Western Nevada County Chapter remains the same: to help our community prevent prepare for and respond to emergencies.

 

 

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

 

Our recent fiscal year has not let us down by continuing to provide opportunities and challenges to better ourselves as a Chapter. We remain in our economic dilemma - plenty of work to do and expectations to meet vs. shortfalls in operational funding for the chapter. In spite of this struggle we have firmly stayed true to our mission and continue to provide the services so needed within the community.

The public expectations of the chapter have continued to grow as we have strived to maintain a higher profile in both community and agency activities. We have taken a leadership role in moving Nevada and Sierra County towards a more safe and prepared community. Last year's fledgling programs are now fully established. Our S.A.F.E. (Special Assistance for Emergencies) program in Nevada County and the C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) program in Nevada and Sierra County are operational and leading the way in inter-agency teamwork and community self-reliance.

Due to the financial constraints we are dealing with, the Chapter Board of Director's primary focus has had to be fundraising. Our premier Golf Tournament was christened this year as "The Rich Gernes Memorial Golf Tournament" in honor of our friend and tournament founder. In it's 6 th year it continues to be our primary fundraiser. We have now established two additional on-going fundraisers: "Another Extraordinary Spaghetti Dinner" in the fall and "Blowout Community Yard Sale" in the spring/summer timeframe. Both have been successful and are anticipated events within the community. Our direct mail programs, both in-house and outsourced, continue to be a strong revenue stream for us, however continue to fall short in meeting the financial needs of the Chapter. We are continuing to seek alternative funding and to find a new and better way of funding the Chapter for the short and long run.

We have continued to maintain and develop even more disaster response capabilities in order to continually maintain our ability to respond to both local and national disasters. Our volunteers have proudly been able to assist families from our own community who have been suddenly displaced from their homes with food, lodging and clothing. Throughout this past year we were able to send Volunteers to five disaster relief operations across the country. More recently we were able to send a total of seven volunteers to assist those displaced by hurricanes Charley, Francis, Ivan, and Jeanne in Florida with their recovery efforts.

Thanks to a renewed grant from the Allstate Foundation, we are able to extend our volunteer coordinator position for another half year. Ned Russell is currently leading this effort and is focusing increasing our volunteer availability, building our Volunteer Youth Program and securing youth involvement in Disaster and Chapter activities.

Health & Safety Services continues to test its ways of meeting the community's needs. We are now offering a weekday CPR/AED and a weekday First Aid class once a month to test its viability. This past year we were able to conduct two Lifeguard classes and hope to be able to offer a winter class this year. We continue to seek ways to promote our resale and expand our classes as resources permit.

This has been a year filled with constant uncertainty. My heartfelt recognition and thanks go out to my fellow members of the Board, our chapter staff and all our very talented and supportive volunteers. A very special thank you to John Zwerver, who has recently left us as executive director. Although we expect to see him in our volunteer ranks, it was time for him to pursue his own life goals. The impact and influence he has had on our Chapter and our community will not be forgotten.

Jeff Dunning

Chairman, Board of Directors

 

 

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CHAPTER STAFF Thanks to Those Who Have Served us so Faithfully This Past Year And all the dedicated volunteers who staff our office and special functions throughout the year.

 

Jeff Dunning Chairman

Jim O'Brien Vice Chairman

Chris Drainville Secretary

Karen Colwell CPA Treasurer

Elaine Carlson Past Chairman

Sylvia Becker

Dr. Garrett Eckerling

Alan Eggers

Bill Lavelle

Jim March

Mike Nudelman

Sgt. David Remillard

John Zwerver Executive Director

Susan King Director, Health and Safety Services and Office Manager

Susan Hayes Project Coordinator

Kara Johnson Volunteer Coordinator

Ned Russell Volunteer & Youth Program Coordinator

Frank VanHecke Health & Safety Coordinator & Instructor

Helen Francis Front Office Staff

 

 

A WORD FROM THE CHAPTER

 

Here at the Chapter, this recent fiscal year was filled with a myriad of successes and disappointments, wins and losses and ups and downs. Through it all we have been able to stay the course and are proud of the services we have provided. And yet, we always wish we could have done more. You will find all of the places we've been and the things we've done displayed later in this annual report.

As a Chapter we are evolving our internal thinking and structure to match the directional thrusts of the National organization - Prevent, Prepare and Respond . Our basic services, as defined in the past, fall easily into these categories. Yet, as we broaden the definitions of those words, we see how much more pro-active we will become as we assist our community in gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent disasters whenever possible and prepare to respond in a disaster situation

Leading the " Respond" activities, Disaster Response continues to be our most urgent cause. Our Disaster Action Team members continue to make themselves available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist those in our community who need immediate help. One of the high points at the Chapter is to see our Disaster Volunteers coming in to meet with clients, knowing that they have just had a few hours sleep after being called out in the middle of the night. They have already spent hours meeting with a family burned out of their home, securing them lodging and providing comfort to all involved. They will now meet to determine how else we may be of service. The willingness and dedication of our volunteers can never be explained - only admired. The same can be said of our two Armed Forces Emergency Services volunteers, also responding 24/7. To receive a callback from one of their clients, thanking us for having such caring people involved in our organization leaves the Chapter support team with a real sense of pride in being able to support those very volunteers.

The "Prepare" programs set in motion last year are becoming established projects that the community will be able to rely upon. Susan Hayes has led the "Special Assistance for Emergencies" (S.A.F.E.) program through milestones of accomplishments. Not only are our partnering support agencies on board with the program, but at their own expense, they have assisted in the distribution of over 4,000 questionnaires used to register those individuals "at risk. John Zwerver joined Susan in facilitating meetings designed to identify and assign the roles, responsibilities and task accountabilities needed to bring this program to life between the various County administrative departments and the police, fire and sheriff departments.

Our second big "Prepare" undertaking was the implementation of the "Community Emergency Response Team" (C.E.R.T) training. Chris McMaster has led this effort, completing sessions at Lake Wildwood, North San Juan Ridge, You Bet Rd. Assn. and Sierra County. We are looking forward to establishing more neighborhood teams and individuals ready to respond in an emergency "until help can arrive".

Supporting the "Prevent" and "Prepare" direction, our Health and Safety Services continues to train people in the skills needed to save someone's life and avoid injury. Our Babysitter's Training and soon to be available Caregiver's courses train in caring for others in safe and responsible ways.

We have also stayed focused on securing a more visible presence in the community supporting both our need to assist families in preparing for emergencies and in support of our financial development strategies. Our "recycle" programs (both cartridges and used car donations) continue to bring in revenue assisting the day to day operational costs of the chapter. The on-going operations of these programs as well as our attendance at the wide variety of functions throughout the county could not have been accomplished without the continued commitment of our volunteer forces.

I'd like to thank the Board of Directors for their continuing support, our entire volunteer team for the selfless giving of their time and energies, our previous and our current Chapter team: Susan, Kara, Ned, Frank, Helen and the entire office volunteer team, for their support during our recent transitions. A special thanks to John Zwerver. John has laid a course for the future-and we are ready for the journey.

Susan King,

Acting Chapter Manager

 

 

OUR FINANCIAL POSITION Red Cross relief depends solely on the donation of the American people. Your local chapter depends solely on the donations of the local community

 

Statement of Financial Position as of June 30, 2008

 

ASSETS

 

Current Assets

Cash and cash equivalents 124,719*

Investments (short-term) 4,282

Receivables 2,604

Inventories 4,795

Prepaid and Other assets 1,570

T otal Current Assets 137,970

Equipment less accumulated depreciated 8,232

Total Non-Current Assets 8,232

 

TOTAL ASSETS 146,202

 

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Current Liabilities

Accounts payable 5,854

Accrued Liabilities 6,693

Inter-Red Cross payables 55,912

Total Current Liabilities 68,459

NET ASSETS

Unrestricted 46,701

Temporarily Restricted 6,599

 

Total Net Assets 77,743

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS 146,202

 

**************

Contributions, Revenue and Gains

 

Monetary Contributions 82,535

Special Events (net) 15,447

Legacies and Bequests 55,221

Grants 16,188

Investment Income 723

Products and Services 53,510

Other Revenues and Gains 1,003

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS, REVENUE AND GAINS 224,627

 

Expenses and Losses

Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES) 9,930

Disaster Services 75,030

Health Services 77,027

Community Services 5,259

International Services 3,143

Total Program Services 170,389

Membership and Fundraising 27,515

Management and General 15,721

Total Supporting Services 43,236

TOTAL EXPENSES AND LOSSES 213,625

Excess of Revenue Over Expenses 11,002

 

 

IN SUPPORT OF OUR COMMUNITY Together We Prepare

 

PREPAREDNESS

HEALTH AND SAFETY SERVICES

Trained in CPR/AED and First Aid 1471 Community Members

Trained in Lifeguard and Junior Lifeguard 86 Teens and Adults

Learned to Swim 258 Children

Learned to be Babysitters 65 Youth

Received Child Care Training 93 Day Care Providers

Authorized Instructors 91 Adults

S.A.F.E. IN NEVADA COUNTY

Questionnaires Distributed Via Agency Partners 4000 Community Members

COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS (CERT)

Distinct Community Teams 4 Teams

Certified CERT Members 75 Adults

COMMUNITY DISASTER EDUCATION

Education Material Distributed 10,000 Pieces of Info

People Attending Demos & Presentations 2175 Adults, Children, Youth

Parade Handouts 2000 to Adults and Youth

COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICE

First Aid Stations 4 Community Events

First Aid Provided 3 Adults + a myriad of bandages

RESPONSE

LOCAL DISASTER RELIEF

Disaster Action Team (DAT) Members 16 Volunteers

Assistance Provided - Single Family Fires 15 Families

Assistance Provided - Other 2 Families

DISASTER SERVICES HUMAN RESOURCES:

Registered to Travel 12 Volunteers

Assignments in FY 5 Relief Operations

ARMED FORCES EMERGENCY SERVICES (AFES)

Local Family Û Serviceperson Communications 57 Families Supported

 

 

OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITY Making our presence known

 

 

American Red Cross Rich Gernes Memorial Golf Tournament

Bear River High School Health Fair

Blowout Community Yard Sale

The Brewfest

Constitution Day Parade

Extraordinary Spaghetti Dinner

First Baptist Church Disaster Response Convention

Fourth Of July Parade

Home and Garden Show

Home Associations - Neighborhood Gatherings

Inter-Agency Council

Nevada County Airfest

Nevada County Chamber of Commerce Meetings

Nevada County Fair

Nevada County Search and Rescue Support

Peardale/Chicago Park Fire Department Burn Practice

Peddlers Market

Penn Valley Chamber of Commerce Meetings

Press Releases & Radio Interviews

Senior Health Fair

Service Organization Meetings

Sierra County Fire Department Burn Practice

Sierra Foothills High School Health Fair

South County Chamber of Commerce Meetings

Together We Prepare Showcase

Twin Cities Church Health Fair

Veteran's Stand Down

 

One of our strategic goals for FY 2003-2008 was to increase our visibility throughout the community as educators for preparedness, participants in community events, providing services for our community's activities and as fund raisers for the chapter