Major Achievements Between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007 Fiscal Year

Emergency Preparedness

• Taught more than 12,000 people throughout Santa Barbara County how to save a life by training them in CPR and First Aid – 2,000 more than the previous year.
• Trained over 2,240 people in Lifeguarding and Water Safety Skills – nearly twice the number taught during the previous year.
• Instructed 320 young people in Babysitter’s Training – an increase of 63 over the last fiscal year.
• Delivered Emergency Preparedness materials to more than 500 homes in wildfire risk areas and over 5,000 others in Santa Barbara County.
• Distributed disaster preparedness materials and health and safety materials to over 10,000 school children, seniors and community members throughout Santa Barbara County.
• Delivered 66 presentations on Emergency Preparedness to seniors and community groups throughout the county.
• Participated in the Santa Maria Airport “mock terrorism” drill.
• Conducted a table top “mock flood” drill in Santa Barbara for Red Cross and Disaster Volunteers.
• Created a relationship with City of Goleta and the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce to establish the Partnership for Preparedness, dedicated to increasing emergency preparedness in the Goleta Valley.

Disaster Response

• Assisted 70 families devastated by loss of housing, clothing, furnishings and other personal possessions due to home fires or other disasters.
• Trained more than 200 local Disaster Volunteers in how to help the Red Cross respond to local and national disasters.
• Made contact and updated over 100 emergency shelter agreements with area schools, faith communities and other local groups.
• Organized a Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster (VOAD) group to ensure all local agencies are able to meet the needs of those affected by disasters in Santa Barbara County.
• Participated in numerous drills and exercises to ensure all partner agencies can work effectively and efficiently together when disaster strikes our County.
• Extended our ability to serve North County by launching a $1.5 million Capacity Building Campaign to establish the Chapter’s new 11,750 sq. ft. Red Cross Preparedness and Response Center in Santa Maria

Public Awareness and Education

• 134 print articles on the American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter appeared in local newspapers.
• 67 broadcast stories featuring local American Red Cross activities ran on local television and radio.
• 14 Public Service Announcements about the American Red Cross ran on an ongoing basis on four local television stations and three radio stations.

Armed Forces Emergency Services

• Delivered emergency communications, deployment information, counseling and other crisis assistance that helped over 300 military personnel serving overseas connect with their families. This is three times the number we helped the previous fiscal year.

Volunteer and Youth Support

• Established and chartered Red Cross Clubs fostering leadership development, safety and disaster preparedness skills in 12 more local high schools, one college and Vandenberg Air Force Base for a total of 16 Red Cross Clubs throughout the county. The previous fiscal year we chartered only two Red Cross Clubs.
• Depended on the assistance of more than 1,100 Red Cross Volunteers throughout the county.
• Planned and hosted a three-day annual Leadership Development Camp for 18 local high school students facilitated by Red Cross UCSB Club members.