Contact: Jill Gorin
Cell: (615) 456-2250
Office: (615) 250-4272
gorinj@nashvilleredcross.org

Red Cross Assists Apartment Fire Victims

The Nashville Area Red Cross serves 36 counties in Middle Tennessee as a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disaster and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Nashville Area Chapter is funded by local donations, as well as United Way of Middle Tennessee funding. To make a gift, call 250-4265, or visit www.nashvilleredcross.org for more information.
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Contact: Beth Ferguson
Office: (615) 893-4272 xt 106
Fergusonb@hot-redcross.org

Heart of Tennessee Chapter Expands to Serve Treis County Chapter
including Franklin, Moore and Coffee Counties

MURFREESBORO, Tenn., (JULY 7, 2008) --  Through a joint decision between the board of the Heart of Tennessee Chapter and the board of Treis County Chapter in Tullahoma, TN the Treis County Chapter will now be joining forces with the Heart of Tennessee Chapter. The decision was mutual and necessary to ensure that sufficient funds could be raised from the community to support the mission of the organization to help the community prepare, prevent and respond to disasters. As the Red Cross is a non-profit, non-governmental agency that depends on financial contributions from the public to provide vital services to the community the organization must change and adapt to the increasingly difficult economy of today on order to ensure accountability and to provide effective service delivery. All funds raised in Franklin, Moore and Coffee counties will continue to remain in those communities to fund local disasters, train residents in Health & Safety and to provide Services to the Armed Forces. The Red Cross office in Tullahoma will remain open. Heart of Tennessee Chapter Board Chairman Joesph A. Peay, CEO of Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, has asked former board chairs Mike Picklesimer and Roy Boyd to lead a transition team. Heart of Tennessee Chapter CEO, Greg King, will also be at the forefront of the merger working to ensure that the mission of the Red Cross remains the focus of the transition. King is a graduate of MTSU class of ’86, worked for 16 years with the Boy Scouts of America, and served as a field director for the Middle Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America and worked actively in Coffee County. King has a solid fundraising background that has helped ensure stability of the Heart of Tennessee Chapter. In the past 19 months since his arrival the Heart of Tennessee Chapter has generated over $1,000,000 to provide services to the community.

Franklin, Moore and Coffee counties have been an integral part of the Red Cross organization for 90 years and the Heart of Tennessee Chapter wants to reassure the communities that they will continue to receive the services they have come to depend on from the Red Cross. The ultimate goal of the expansion is to effectively raise more money to increase the services that are all ready being provided. Residents can still get disaster assistance 24/7 as well as take life-saving CPR and First Aid Training and get military assistance for emergencies.

The Heart of Tennessee American Red Cross Chapter provides vital emergency assistance to help victims of local disasters in Rutherford, Bedford, Cannon, Franklin, Coffee & Moore counties. Over the past year the Chapter trained nearly 8, 237 people in CPR and First Aid and transmitted 191 emergency messages for military families. Over 16,000 pints of life-saving blood were collected from the community last year. All of these services are made possible by over 130 dedicated local Red Cross volunteers as well as through generous gifts from the local community. To get more information or to make a financial contribution to the local chapter please call (615) 893-4272 or log on to www.midtnredcross.org to donate online.

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Contact: Van Baskin,
Board Chair
Treis County Chapter
Cell: (931) 649-5491
email: vanbaskin@cafes.net 

Additional Contact:
Colleen Zakrewsky, CEO
Nashville Area Red Cross Region
Cell: (615) 456-2537
email: colleen@nashvilleredcross.org

Treis County Red Cross Joins Forces with Heart of Tennessee  Red Cross
Stronger, better--Together

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 2, 2008) -- In an ongoing effort to maximize resources in today’s difficult economy, a transition in management will take place at the Treis County Chapter of the American Red Cross effective immediately. The Board of the Treis County Chapter has decided to join forces in merging with a neighboring Red Cross Chapter.

“While this has been a difficult decision for our board and we want to recognize the talented and dedicated staff of the Treis County Chapter, we have struggled in the past several years in raising sufficient funds from our community to sustain the Chapter at this current level of operations,” says Van Baskin, board chair of the Treis County Chapter. 

Our Board reached the conclusion that the financial resources that our community entrusts to us must be used to provide emergency financial assistance to local disaster victims, emergency messaging between our military families and deployed service members, certified CPR and first aid trainings, and organizational support and continued training of our dedicated volunteers. We want to reassure our supporters that your donated local dollars will remain in our community,” continued Mr. Baskin.

The American Red Cross has been a part of Franklin, Coffee and Moore counties for more than 90 years. The organization is committed to providing its lifesaving and humanitarian services well into the future. In fact, 24/7 disaster relief services to residential fire and other disaster victims, as well as emergency communication messaging for military families will continue without disruption through this transition through the dedication of trained volunteers in Franklin, Coffee, and Moore counties and assistance of the Heart of Tennessee Chapter headquartered in Murfreesboro. Additionally, certified Red Cross CPR, first aid, and other lifesaving courses will continue to be offered to residents in Franklin, Coffee, and Moore counties through a network of locally trained providers.

“We will work very closely with the leadership of the Treis County Chapter and Heart of Tennessee Chapter to ensure a smooth transition. One of our organization’s greatest strengths is our volunteer corps. We need the local Red Cross volunteers in Coffee, Franklin and Moore counties more than ever and will work closely with volunteers and community stakeholders throughout this process,” states Colleen Zakrewsky CEO of the American Red Cross Nashville Area Chapter, the regional Red Cross Chapter responsible for ensuring Red Cross services in 36 Middle Tennessee counties through a network of local Red Cross community chapters.

 The Treis County Chapter is one of 8 local Red Cross chapters that comprise the Nashville Area Region of the American Red Cross, serving 36 counties in Middle Tennessee as a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disaster and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Nashville Area Chapter is funded by local donations, as well as United Way of Middle Tennessee funding. To make a gift, call 250-4265, or visit www.nashvilleredcross.org for more information.                                                     

Contact: Jill Gorin
Cell: (615) 456-2250
Office: (615) 250-4272
gorinj@nashvilleredcross.org

Interview Opportunities Available with Red Cross in Midwest Floods

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 1, 2008) --  Volunteers with the Nashville Area Red Cross are in the midwest helping with the disaster relief operation in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana.  The magnitude and scope of the flooding is being compared to that of the damage done during Hurricane Katrina.  Thousands of people have lost their homes and the Red Cross is helping them pick up the pieces.

To date in the state of Iowa alone, the Red Cross has served more than 500,000 meals and snacks, assisted more than 4,000 families, opened or supported 36 shelters and comforted more than 9,000 individuals with mental health counseling.

Interview opportunities are available with Jill Gorin, Spokesperson with the Nashville Area Red Cross, who is currently deployed to Southeast Iowa, one of the hardest hit regions in the midwest.

For media opportunities, please call Jill Gorin at (615) 456-2250.

The Nashville Area Red Cross serves 36 counties in Middle Tennessee as a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disaster and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Nashville Area Chapter is funded by local donations, as well as United Way of Middle Tennessee funding. To make a gift, call 250-4265, or visit www.nashvilleredcross.org for more information.

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