SAN DIEGO – July 1, 2020 – The American Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial Counties operates with the mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. In June 2020, the following key programs and services were provided throughout the region, which covers all of San Diego and Imperial Counties as well as American Samoa:

Disaster Services:

• Responded to 26 incidents, including 17 home fires.
• Served 33 families, including 102 individuals.
• Provided five canteen service requests. 400 meals, snacks and drinks were provided to first responders.

Service to the Armed Forces (SAF):

• Bringing support to our military and veteran community, we conducted virtual resiliency workshops for 20 participants.
• Conducted over 250 wellness checks to military veterans.
• Served 810 military members, veterans and their families through Emergency Communication and Critical Community Service cases.
• Delivered 75 Hug-a-Hero dolls to children of military parents preparing to deploy.

Volunteers:

• Local Red Cross services were supported by volunteers who spent a total of 8,228 hours in June to aid the Red Cross mission.
• The June 2020 Volunteer of the Month is Elizabeth Arredondo. Elizabeth is our Imperial Counties Volunteer Engagement and Retention volunteer and she is a lead on the Canteen and the Disaster Action Team. She is selfless and will do everything she can to help someone in need. Elizabeth, thank you for all that you do for the Red Cross.

Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Program:

• A total of 16,665 women, infants and children received nutrition counseling and support in June 2020.
• For more than 40 years, the local Red Cross has administered the WIC program in San Diego County. WIC is a supplemental nutrition assistance program that provides families in the most vulnerable communities with access to nutrition education, breastfeeding support, community resources and groceries. During COVID-19, WIC has modified operations to continue to safely provide critical nutrition services virtually.
• WIC is ready to serve new families. Changing economic conditions have caused some families to experience a loss of income, which may make them eligible for WIC services. WIC helps income-eligible families with children up to age 5 access healthy foods, nutrition information, breastfeeding support, and referrals to community resources. Interested families can connect with their WIC office by visiting sandiegowic.org.
• In response to WIC authorized foods being found in short supply on store shelves, WIC temporarily expanded its authorized foods list to offer a greater selection of options for families. The new food options offer substitutions when regular WIC items are unavailable.

Biomedical Services

• Thanks to the many who gave blood and scheduled upcoming appointments, the American Red Cross has been able to meet immediate patient needs.
• During this uncertain time, the Red Cross encourages individuals to keep scheduled blood donation appointments and to make new blood donation appointments for the weeks and months ahead to ensure a stable supply throughout this pandemic.
• Blood donation is essential to ensuring the health of our communities. The need for blood is constant, and volunteer donors are the only source of blood for those in need.
• The Red Cross is testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies to provide donors insight into whether they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
• This is the time to take care of one another. Those who are healthy and feeling well are encouraged to make an appointment to donate by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
• The Red Cross has collected and distributed thousands of convalescent plasma products, a potentially lifesaving treatment for critically ill COVID-19 patients.
• The Red Cross continues to need convalescent plasma donors in the weeks and months ahead and encourages fully recovered individuals to complete our Donor Information Form on RedCrossBlood.org/plasma4covid.

For more information about the American Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial Counties, please visit redcross.org/SoCal.

About the American Red Cross Southern California Region

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the public to perform its mission. The Red Cross Southern California Region proudly serves San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial Counties. In addition to carrying out disaster preparedness and response programs, blood collection, health and safety training, international services programs and supporting the military community, the Southern California Region provides nutritional counseling through its Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in San Diego and helps communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters through its Prepare SoCal and Prepare San Diego initiatives. For more information, please visit redcross.org/SoCal or cruzrojaamericana.org, or connect with the Southern California Region on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and YouTube.

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