The South Georgia Chapter teaches Disaster planning to area groups and organizations. These programs cover developing family disaster plans, assembling disaster supply kits and evacuation planning. We are prepared to provide immediate assistance to families affected by the disaster. After a damage assessment is completed, assistance may include vouchers for food, temporary housing and clothing. In addition to basic assistance, the South Georgia Chapter offers prescription cards to replace lost medicine or related necessities. Clients' needs are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Three Actions - Be Red Cross Ready

Get a Kit
"Gather the necessary supplies you need to act on your plan in the event of a disaster. Have at least three-days of supplies in an easy-to-carry evacuation kit with additional supplies at home, in case you cannot leave. Your kit should contain supplies so you can provide first aid and comfort for the everyday scrapes, as well as personal supplies for life-threatening emergencies or a disaster that may impact the entire community. Encourage your neighbors, work places and community groups to gather supplies so they are prepared too. Remember to check your kit and replace the stock every six months."
The supplies include items that people need everyday - even if there is not a disaster -- such as food, water, clothes, medicines and medical items. Other items may only be needed if there is a disaster or an emergency, such as a flashlight, first aid kit, protective eyewear and gloves.

Make a Plan
"Decide what you and your family will do when your daily routines are disrupted by an emergency. Plan together what each person is expected to do, where everyone will go, and how to get there. Write down your plan, share it with each other and then practice it at least twice a year. Support your community plans by volunteering in the community and by giving blood. If you plan to help your community recover from a disaster by volunteering with the Red Cross or another organization, make certain your plan includes how you will assist your neighbors while taking care of yourself and family. If a family member is in the military, also plan for how your response would change if they are deployed. Be sure to include the local military base resources that may be available."

Be Informed
"Learn about what disasters or emergencies may occur where you live, work and play. These events can impact only you and your family - like a home fire or medical emergency - or impact your entire community - like an earthquake or flood. Learn what you can do to prepare for these events by visiting your local Red Cross chapter and ask about local disasters and First Aid and CPR/AED training. Identify how local authorities will notify you during a disaster and how you will get important information, including local radio, TV and NOAA weather radio. Share what you have learned with your family, household and neighbors to encourage them to be informed too."




The Coming Home Series, Presented by Walmart

The American Red Cross is pleased to present the Coming Home Series, Presented by Walmart, dedicated to our country’s service men and women and their families and loved ones. Our goal is to support and ease the transition home:
  • The Coming Home Series, Presented by Walmart focuses on individual/small group discussion that enhances the likelihood of positive reconnections among family members and the successful re-engagement of the service member in civilian life.

  • The series consists of a number of topic areas that service members and their families have found relevant to their experience as they transition back home. Some of these include: managing anger, supporting children, building communication, reconnecting with others, and recognizing PTSD & TBI and other topics critical to reunion adjustment.

  • This series is designed to assist those impacted by a military deployment and bridges all branches of the Armed Forces. We invite Reserve, National Guard, active duty service members, veterans and their families, including spouses, parents, siblings and significant others, to participate

  • Participants will be able to choose the topic they are most interested in from the available options; sessions and materials focus on learning useful tools, effective coping mechanisms and where to find resources.

  • The workshops include:

    • Communicating Clearly
    • Exploring Stress and Trauma
    • Identifying Depression
    • Relating to Children
    • Working Through Anger

  • You may read more about the Coming Home Series, Presented by Walmart in this brochure.

  • To register for one or all of these valuable workshops, please email your name, city/state and which workshop you are interested in attending to ComingHome@usa.redcross.org


Contact Information:
vredcross@bellsouth.net
509 N. Patterson Street
Suite 201
Valdosta, GA 31601
Phone: 229-242-7404
Fax: 229-219-0469

Useful links:
National American Red Cross
The Salvation Army
United Way

VOAD:
The South Georgia Red Cross is an active member, across our 11 county service delivery area, with many local organizations known as Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). These VOAD's have membership representation from many local, state and national organizations. The purpose of VOAD is to meet community needs in the wake of a large-scale disaster through cooperation, coordination, communication and collaboration. VOAD coordinates planning efforts and matches community needs with services provided by member VOAD agencies. This cooperative effort has proven to be the most effective way for a wide variety of organizations to work together in a crisis. The local VOAD is led by one of our partnering agencies, Americas Second Harvest. Visit their website

Emergency Services
Program Manager

Jack Looney is the Emergency Services Program Manager of the South Georgia Group.  If you are interested in becoming a disaster volunteer, please contact Jack Looney at:jack_valarc@windstream.net or call 229-985-6924. 

Disaster Emergency Services:

Each year around the country, American Red Cross Chapters respond immediately to more than 70,000 disasters, including house or apartment fires (the majority of disaster responses), hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents, explosions, and other natural and man-made disasters.

Emergency Communications Service:

When a military family experiences a crisis, the American Red Cross is there to assist by providing emergency communications twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. The Red Cross relays urgent messages containing accurate, factual, complete and verified descriptions of the emergency to service members stationed anywhere in the world, including ships at sea, embassies and remote locations.

Red Cross emergency communications services keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of an immediate family member, the birth of a service member's child or grandchild or when a family experiences other emergencies.

No matter where a military member and their family are stationed, they can rest assured the Red Cross will deliver their notifications in times of crisis. Even if the service member receives notification of an emergency through an e-mail or a phone call, Red Cross-verified information assists commanding officers in making a decision regarding emergency leave. Without this verification, the service member may not be able to come home during a family emergency.

Call (877) 272-7337 (toll-free within the continental United States) if you need assistance.