American Red Cross North Carolina

FYI: There are still 8 Community Comfort Care Centers around Buncombe County. These locations will be open seven days a week from 9am to 7pm until further notice, and offer: · Showers · Laundry · Internet Access (Wi-Fi) and Charging · Blankets · Water · Meals (Hot and Shelf Stable) · Other supplies You can find us at: - Swannanoa: Ingles (2299 US Highway 70) - Swannanoa: Owen Pool (117 Stone Drive) - Asheville: Fairview Ingles (225 Charlotte Hwy.) - Asheville: At Home (980 Brevard Rd.) - Asheville: Old Big Lots (85 Tunnel Rd.) - Asheville: Bethel United Methodist Church (1056 Riceville Rd.) - Asheville: Buncombe County Sports Park, (58 Apac Dr.) - Weaverville: Morgan Hill Baptist Church (594 Barnardsville Hwy) If you are looking for hot meals, they will be provided at the locations above. Lunch is 11:30-1:30 Dinner is 4:30-6:30

Red Cross Volunteers Jan (South Carolina) and Bill (Iowa) are just two of the thousands of volunteers that traveled from their home states to help in our relief efforts in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. And nearly two months from when the storm tore through this area, they are still delivering hot meals to one of the many Community Care Centers we help operate along with local and county partners. On this day, Jan and Bill were delivering lunch to our center in Fairview, NC.

Old Fort is a small town located between Black Mountain and Marion, NC. Like many places in Western North Carolina, it was hit hard by Hurricane Helene. Recently folks at Davidson's Fort Historic Park, who have set up a site for residents to get the supplies they need, reached out to our Community Engagement team for help. On Saturday we delivered one truckload of sleeping bags, some generators, tents and cook sets. We then partnered with Camping World in nearby Marion to deliver two more loads of coats, blankets, canned food, socks, work gloves, diapers, baby wipes, cleaning supplies, and other essentials. The Red Cross will continue to support the residents of WNC for as long as we are needed, and it helps to have such wonderful partners who are also willing to help.

#MeetTheIntern Ayanna Sweat Ayanna is a Young Adult Intern for The American Red Cross of North Carolina. She is currently working on creating a monthly Red Cross newsletter and delivering swag to local Red Crossers. She is also working on a research project focused on civic engagement and student organizations on college campuses. This internship will help Ayanna to become more familiar with public health initiatives, and gain experience in community outreach and engagement. Ayanna is a senior at #UNCC, from #Hampton,Virginia, and lives in #Rolesville. She plans to graduate this May! She is studying public health with a minor in health and medical humanities. This is a great area of study for her because she is very interested in health and the human body and loves to give back to her community. A fun fact about Ayanna is that she loves to travel, read, paint, and watch TV. She is a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. She is excited to strengthen her communication, advocacy, and leadership skills. #Go49ers

Another day of loading up supplies and dropping them off in our communities in need. Red Crossers continue to work around the clock to provide support and relief to people in need, nearly two months after Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina.

“I was on the pickle ball court and told my partner ‘I’m a little dizzy, so wait just a second before you serve,” then I sat down. And then I was told I was flat on my back and lifeless,:” said Steve Martin. In March of 2024, Martin suffered from cardiac arrest while playing pickle ball at the Irwin E. Holmes Rec. Center in Durham, NC. “They did CPR for 9 minutes until EMS arrived. The AED that they have, shocked me twice. And the CPR kept me alive.,” Steve said. “The EMS people did 11 minutes with CPR and 2 manual shocks. I woke up driving into the emergency ambulance bay at the Hospital.” Steve gives credit for still being alive today, to seven staff members who acted quickly and provided life saving CPR and administering AED, as well as the EMS personnel who responded to the scene. “The only thing that happened was some peripheral blood clots, which is expected when your heart stopped pumping. But their CPR stopped it from being much more serious.” On September 6, the staff members at the rec center who were involved received the American Red Cross Lifesaving Award for their actions in March. “Thank you again for all of your training that was put into work. It was a life saver.” Congratulations to Destiny Garrett, DeAnne Brown, Ashley Harris, Kira Hoover, Morris Johnson, Takeschia Bullock, and Makail Mosley for your actions that day.

“It's really important for us to go out and help clear these trees as quickly as we can to try and get back to normal,” said Quetzal Jordan, Founder of Skills Academy for Women (SAW). After a disaster hits, the American Red Cross works with community partners to help provide relief and services to those who have been impacted. In earlier in November, the Red Cross donated more than a dozen chainsaws to SAW. “Right now, we are largely majority volunteers. We have some paid instructors but other than that, it’s volunteer base,” Quetzal said. “My role within all of this is helping to teach folks to gain the skills that they need to go out and help with the chainsaws that we just received from American Red Cross. We're going to take those chainsaws and go out in small teams to help clear out people's driveways, downed trees that landed in their yards, anything that's hazardous for folks and hopefully we'll be able to see some normalcy with all of this effort.” Quetzal explained this partnership began after a Red Cross volunteer witnessed what SAW was doing for the WNC community. “This connection could potentially lead to a lot of really great things happening here in Asheville. I'm so grateful for that connection because it is going to make a really big difference for people,” Quetzal said. If you're interested in joining or need help removing debris, visit skillsacademyforwomen.com. And if you or someone you know needs other immediate assistance after being impacted by Hurricane Helene, please visit redcross.org/Helene or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

The Red Cross, in coordination with local and state partners at Cragmont Assembly in Black Mountain, and Emerge Ministries' Disaster Response out of Beulaville delivered truck loads of supplies, including cleaning supplies, hygiene items, food, tarps and more for residents of Black Mountain, Buncombe County, and anyone who may need them. The Red Cross works with partners to make sure that the supplies residents need the most are available where they need them. All are invited to stop by Cragmont at 1233 N Fork Rd. Black Mountain between 12-6 PM daily.

We’re saying THANK YOU to long-time Charlotte blood and platelet donor Eugene Inozemcev who officially crossed the 10-gallon mark of lifesaving donations last week! “I want to have as much impact as possible - even though it takes longer,” said Eugene, as he made a platelet donation at our Park Road Blood Donation Center in Charlotte, N.C. “But it’s so easy. For the inconvenience or pain of a needlestick, you can really impact somebody’s health and even possibly save a life.” Every 15 seconds, someone needs platelets. Platelets are tiny cells in your blood that form clots and stop bleeding. For millions of Americans, they are essential to surviving and fighting cancer, chronic diseases, and traumatic injuries. Platelets must be used within five days and new donors are needed every day. That’s why we need YOU. Schedule an appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

The Red Cross, in coordination with local and state partners at Cragmont Assembly in Black Mountain, and Emerge Ministries' Disaster Response out of Beulaville delivered truck loads of supplies, including cleaning supplies, hygiene items, food, tarps and more for residents of Black Mountain, Buncombe County, and anyone who may need them. The Red Cross works with partners to make sure that the supplies residents need the most are available where they need them. All are invited to stop by Cragmont at 1233 N Fork Rd. Black Mountain between 12-6 PM daily. (pictured LtoR: Mathew Daughtry-Grubbs, Executive Director Cragmont; Ann Oomwrow, Red Cross volunteer; Stephanie Hunt Moore, Administrative Director Emerge Response Team; Tina Perkins, Red Cross volunteer; Dr. Terry Norris, Executive Director Emerge)