A month ago we celebrated our fifth annual Red and White Gala. While it is hard to believe this was our fifth year, it’s exciting to see the growth in attendance and revenue. We had 150 people attend, and we raised over $46,000! It was a beautiful event and we are so thankful for all the people who helped with it, especially the 40 or so volunteers who helped plan, procure auction items and sponsors, and worked the day and night of the event helping to setup, facilitate the auction, and clean up. We could not do the event without these valuable volunteers and we owe all of them a huge THANK YOU!

 And now we turn our focus to the Real Heroes Breakfast, scheduled for Thursday, September 4 at the Salem Conference Center. This event has shown tremendous growth in the three years it has been held. We raised $13,700 the first year, $33,600 the second year, and $54,600 last year. Last year’s attendance was 325 and we’re hoping for at least 350 this year but we need your help! To have a successful event we need hero nominations and that’s where you can help. Nomination forms are on our website at www.redcross-salem.org.  We have lots of “heroes” in our community – we just need people to nominate them so they can be recognized. Please give some thought to those people you know or have heard of, or read about, who have gone “above and beyond” in saving a life, or making our community a better place to live and work. If you have questions about how to nominate someone please feel free to call me at 503-779-1250 or email me at karens@redcross-salem.org.

 And last, but definitely not least…March is Red Cross Month and that means our 15th Annual Giving Campaign is in full swing. We have teams of volunteers out in the community asking for support for our services for the coming year. This year has been a very busy one in terms of disaster response, and it follows on the heels of a record year last year. I don’t know if this is a trend, but if it is, we are all charged with raising more money to support these services. Our Disaster Action Teams are all volunteer led but the services we provide – food, clothing, shelter, and medications – all cost money. You can help by contributing to this worthy campaign.

 Thank you for your continued support of the American Red Cross. Whether you are a volunteer, blood donor, financial donor, business partner, or community partner, we couldn’t do it without you and we are grateful.