Having a busy time getting ready for the holidays? While everyone is shopping, baking, gift wrapping, decorating and going to parties, the American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Regional Chapter has holiday tips to help make the season a safe one.

1. Prepare vehicle for traveling to grandmother’s house. Build an emergency kit and include items such as blankets or sleeping bags, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, compass and road maps, shovel, tire repair kit and pump, extra clothing, flares, and a tow rope.

2. Drive the sleigh and reindeer safely. Avoid driving in a storm. If travel is a must, let someone know the destination, the route being taken to get there, and how long it should take to arrive. If the car gets stuck along the way, help can be sent along the predetermined route.

3. Help prevent the spread of the flu. Stay home if sick. Wash hands with soap and water as often as possible, or use an alcohol-based hand rub. Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, and throw the tissue away after use. If a tissue isn’t available, someone should cough or sneeze into their elbow, not their hands.

4. Follow Santa’s fashion lead – dress in layers. When it’s cold outside, layered lightweight clothing will keep a person warmer than a single heavy coat. Gloves and a hat will prevent loss of body heat.

5. Use a Red Cross-trained babysitter when attending holiday festivities. Red Cross-certified babysitters learn to administer basic first aid; properly hold and feed a child; take emergency action when needed and monitor safe play. Some may be certified in Infant and Child CPR.

6. Avoid danger while roasting chestnuts on an open fire. Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. If leaving the kitchen even for a short period of time, turn off the stove. This is important because unattended cooking causes nearly 90 percent of all kitchen fires.

7. Be a lifesaver during the holidays. The Red Cross recommends at least one person in every household should take first aid and CPR/AED training. Visit www.redcross.org/training for details and to register.

8. Designate a driver or skip the holiday cheer. Buckle up, slow down, don’t drive impaired. If someone plans on drinking, designate a driver who won’t drink.

9. When the weather outside is frightful, heat the home safely. Never use a stove or oven to heat the home. Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Install smoke alarms.

10. Cut down on heating bills without being a Grinch. Get the furnace cleaned and change the filters. Make sure furniture isn’t blocking the heat vents. Close off any rooms not in use and turn off the heat in those rooms. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

11. Home for the holidays? Travel safely. Check the tire air pressure and make sure the windshield fluid is full. Be well rested and alert. Give full attention to the road – avoid distractions such as cell phones. If someone has car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible.

12. Resolve to Be Red Cross Ready in the New Year. Get ready now in case someone in the household faces an emergency in 2012.

The 2011 American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog, now available online at www.redcross.org/gifts, contains over 25 meaningful “symbolic” gifts that can be given in honor of friends, family members and business associates. Gift-givers can provide a full day of emergency shelter for victims of disaster, purchase hospital comfort kits for wounded service members, or pay for critical vaccinations that will save children’s lives. With each gift purchased, the gift-giver receives a greeting card that can be presented to friends and family explaining the gift given in their honor.

“Selecting a gift from our Holiday Giving Catalog is a wonderful way to live-out the spirit of the season,” said Kim Baker, chief development officer in the Southeastern Michigan Region. “Holiday donations help save the day when fire destroys a neighbor’s house, when a patient needs blood, or when a member of the military has a family emergency back home.”

This year in Southeastern Michigan, 681 local Red Cross volunteers responded to 1,163 emergencies, helped 9,611 individuals in time of crisis, and served 8,314 active military, veterans, and family members. Nationally, the Red Cross responded to more than 68,000 disasters, including wildfires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres, tornadoes that destroyed entire towns, and flooding that left communities under water from the Dakotas to the East Coast.

Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces workers provided assistance to more than 386,000 members of the military and their families, veterans and civilians. And Red Cross Blood Services distributed more than nine million blood products for patients in nearly 3,000 hospitals across the United States.

“History has proven that Americans respond generously when people are in need,” said, Baker. “Giving through the American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog is an opportunity to help us be ready to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whenever the need arises.”

About the American Red Cross:
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. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

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Majority of Americans Plan to Give to Charity this Holiday Season Despite Continued Slow Economy
American Red Cross Poll Finds Americans Want to Give Meaningful Gifts

DETROIT, MICHIGAN-FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2011 — Even as the nation weathers an economic downturn for a third straight holiday season, the majority of Americans are more committed than ever to charitable giving, according to a new American Red Cross poll.

A telephone survey of 1,020 adults conducted earlier this fall found that even though 67 percent of Americans didn’t think the economic downturn would last this long, they still want to give to charities, with more than seven out of 10 saying they expect to donate more or about the same this holiday season as they did last year.

“No matter their personal financial hardships, Americans still want to give,” said Jim Laverty, Regional Executive Officer. “Rather than giving a gift someone won’t use, people want to give meaningfully and know their gift is making a difference.”

Other key findings include (Click here for detailed findings)
• Four in five (80 percent) of respondents felt their finances are either the same or worse than they were last year.
• Sixty-eight percent of Americans believe that because of the economy, it’s important to give something to charity. That’s a 10 percentage point increase over the 58 percent who felt that way last year.
• More than half (55 percent) of Americans say they feel bad about spending money on gifts people might not use.
• Four in five (79 percent) agreed that they would rather have a charitable donation in their honor than get a gift they wouldn’t use.
• About one in five (19 percent) of respondents plan on giving blood this holiday season.

Despite the tough economy, the survey shows that Americans still feel very charitable during the holidays. Nearly six in 10 (57 percent) plan to give to charity between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition, four in five Americans agreeing that helping someone less fortunate is an important part of their holiday tradition.

However, of those who would not be donating to charity, most say they either can’t afford do it or they have already given their charitable gifts for the year. More than a third (36 percent) of people say they are not planning to make a financial donation this holiday season, and nearly half of them (49 percent) say it’s because they can’t spare the money right now.

This is the third year the Red Cross has conducted a holiday giving national survey, and this new survey shows that people continue to cut back on their holiday spending in a number of areas. The 2011 survey found that 45 percent were planning to cut back on spending for travel and for holiday decorations, 40 percent were reducing spending on parties, and more than a third (35 percent) were cutting back on gifts. The area seeing the smallest reduction was charitable donations, as about a quarter (26 percent) said they were planning to cut back in this area.

However, this cost cutting comes with some guilt: 43 percent of Americans reported feeling badly about spending less on gifts for friends and family.

Men and Women Take Different View on Charity and Gift Giving
The survey found men and women varied significantly on their views regarding charity and gift giving during the holidays. Women tended to be more concerned about giving meaningful and practical gifts, with 61 percent of women feeling bad about spending money on gifts people might not use – 13 points higher than the 48 percent of men who responded that way.

While more women than men (70 percent to 61 percent, respectively) say charity helps them get into the holiday spirit, men are more likely to spend more on donations. About a third of men (32 percent) plan to donate more than $100, compared to a fifth (20 percent) of women who plan to donate that much.

Men and women also differ on the effects of the economic downturn. Nearly two thirds of women (66 percent) say the economy has helped them focus on what’s important during the holidays, 17 points higher than the 49 percent of men. In addition, more than seven in 10 women (71 percent) say they feel badly they can’t give more to charity this year, compared to 51 percent of men.

American Red Cross Holiday Catalog Offers Meaningful Gifts
As Americans look for more meaningful ways to give this holiday season, the Red Cross is offering its 2011 Holiday Giving Catalog, which includes a variety of symbolic gifts, donations that support Red Cross programs.

Donors can help vaccinate an entire village, provide food and shelter to a disaster victim, help purchase items like phone cards and supplies for members of the armed forces or help supply basic necessities to families in desperate need in countries across the world. Catalog purchases also come with greeting cards to show others your support during the holidays. The purchase of each gift item is a tax-deductible contribution and provides support to the mission of the Red Cross.

“The Red Cross giving catalog is a way for Americans to give something that means something," Laverty said. “Rather than giving a gift that could be easily forgotten, we hope Americans think of the Red Cross for gifts that could make a lifetime of difference.”

Survey details: Telephone survey of 1,020 U.S. Adults 18 years and older on September 29 - October 2, 2011 conducted in ORC International’s CARAVAN® survey using a landline-cell dual-frame sampling design. Margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

About the American Red Cross:
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. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

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OCTOBER 4, 2011, DETROIT, MI—Every 82 seconds a home fire breaks out, according to the National Fire Protection Agency. Fires can cause irreparable damage to homes and businesses displacing families and employees. Last year, the American Red Cross responded to 68,337 home fires across the country and provided comfort and basic necessities to those affected. This October 9-15 the Red Cross is helping families and businesses learn how to protect themselves and others from fires in observance of National Fire Prevention Week.

“Taking simple steps like installing smoke detectors and developing and practicing a fire escape plan can make a critical difference in saving lives, homes and workplaces,” said Glen Hendricks, Director of Emergency Services, Southeastern Michigan Region, who recommends that every family and business develop and practice a fire safety plan. “Everyone at home, school and work should know what to do when they hear the sound of a smoke alarm.”

Additional recommendations include:
• Install smoke alarms on every level of the house and inside bedrooms.
• Replace batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year. Test each alarm monthly by pushing the test button.
• Ensure that household members know two ways to escape from every room and designate a place to meet outside of your house in case of a fire. Practice your plan at least twice a year.

Follow your escape plan in case of fire. Get out, stay out, and call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number. Visit www.redcross.org/homefires for additional fire safety tips.

Businesses, too, should be prepared. Fire is the most common of all business disasters. Companies, schools and other organizations can learn how to prepare for fires and other emergencies by becoming a member of the Red Cross Ready Rating™ Program at www.readyrating.org. Complete a free, online assessment of your current readiness level and receive customized feedback with tips to improve preparedness.

In addition to helping families and businesses prepare their homes and facilities for potential fires, the Red Cross is there to help those in need when fires break out. The Southeastern Michigan Region responded to 1283 home fires last year, providing food, clothing, shelter and support to those families devastated by home fire. Since January 2011, the Southeastern Michigan Regional Chapter has responded to over 20 multi-unit, large fires in addition to an average of five single family home fires a day i6n this area. Volunteers and staff are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to emergencies in the community.

“In order to continue responding to disasters like fires at homes and businesses here in Southeast Michigan, the Red Cross depends on the generous support of individuals and businesses in the community,” added Hendricks “Visit semredcross.org for more information on how to donate and more.”

The Red Cross is sheltering and feeding people in 10 states who are being forced to leave their homes as major flooding hits the East Coast and fires tear through Texas.

• More than 770 people spent Wednesday night in Red Cross shelters open throughout New York and Pennsylvania where devastating flooding is compounding the problems already caused by Hurricane Irene. Additional disaster workers and supplies are on the way to the area.
• Red Cross relief operations are continuing in Texas where wildfires are still burning. More than 230 people spent Wednesday night in Red Cross shelters to escape the smoke and flames of the fires. Officials report more than 880 homes have already been destroyed.
• Relief operations are also ongoing in North Carolina, New Jersey and throughout New England where Hurricane Irene destroyed thousands of homes at the end of August. Approximately 319 people spent Wednesday night in Red Cross shelters in those areas.
  Red Cross costs for this multi-disaster response are growing by the hour. It is estimated the response to Hurricane Irene alone will cost between $10 million and $15 million. New relief efforts for flooding in Pennsylvania and New York, and the large wildfire response in Texas will add to that estimate. We really need your help now.
• To make a donation visit www.redcross.org , call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
• Contributions may also be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.
• The American Red Cross is not a government agency. We rely on donations from the public to provide our services.

As part of our response to Irene, Lee and the Texas wildfires, more than 6,550 Red Cross workers have:
• Served more than 1.8 million meals and snacks.
• Provided approximately 60,000 overnight stays in hundreds of shelters.
• Handed out more than 198,000 relief items like hygiene kits, mops, brooms, tarps, work gloves and coolers.
• Provided almost 25,000 mental health and health services consultations.

If someone needs to find an open shelter, they should follow their local media. They can also visit www.redcross.org or download the free Red Cross shelter app for their iPhone.

• If you are evacuating and heading to a shelter, bring extra clothing, pillows, blankets, prescriptions and emergency medication, personal hygiene items, and important documents.
• Don’t forget special items for children and infants, such as diapers, formulas and toys, along with other items for family members who are elderly or disabled. Make arrangements for your pets.
• People can let friends and family know where they are by registering on Safe and Well at redcross.org. They can also have a family member or friend who has internet access register for them.

The Red Cross is urging immediate blood and platelet donations in areas unaffected by these disasters and asks that people in affected areas consider donating blood once it’s safe to do so.

• These disasters have forced the cancellation of many Red Cross blood drives, resulting in the shortfall of several thousand blood donations.
• Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), meet height and weight requirements (110 pounds or more, depending on their height), and who are generally in good health may be eligible to donate blood.
• To schedule an appointment, please call 1-800-RED CROSS or go to redcrossblood.org.

The Red Cross responds to approximately 70,000 disasters every year, providing shelter food and relief supplies to people affected by these emergencies.

• Donations to American Red Cross Disaster Relief ensure that no matter where a disaster happens, the Red Cross can respond without delay. Unrestricted gifts are preferred because these donations make it possible for the Red Cross to help people before and after any disaster – such as a wildfire, flooding, tornado or hurricane – no matter when or where.
•  The Red Cross spends an average of $450 million annually on disaster relief throughout the United States and around the world. Major disasters that impact entire communities – like Hurricane Irene – add to the total cost of our response.