Community Corner

Red Cross Plans Emergency Drill June 3; Volunteers Needed for Simulation

'Shelter' will open overnight at Geraldine Johnson School in Bridgeport.

Area residents including from Stratford are needed to participate in an overnight American Red Cross preparedness exercise at Geraldine Johnson School in Bridgeport on June 3. They will be part of a statewide test by the American Red Cross Connecticut Region of shelters across the state.

The goal of the exercise is to make sure the Red Cross shelter operations plans and teams are ready in the event of an emergency, said Steve Woods, American Red Cross Connecticut Region Senior Director of Emergency Services. “We will check our plans, our communications and our sheltering capabilities to make sure that we are ready to partner with local communities to keep Connecticut residents safe,” Woods said.

The exercise is especially timely, given the recent disaster responses the Red Cross is making in areas across the nation affected by severe weather this spring. Since late April, more than 7,000 Red Cross workers have been operating shelters and providing other relief services to people in 18 states across the nation affected by storms, flooding and wildfires.

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Volunteers needed for the exercise would report to the “evacuation shelter” at 6:00 p.m. on June 3 and stay overnight. The “shelter” will close at 8:00 a.m. on June 4. Volunteers for the exercise must register in advance to participate. To register, email Steve Woods at ctexercise1@ctredcross.org or call him at (203) 683-4271. 

"We need people to sleep in the shelter on cots, just as they would if this were a true emergency,” Woods said. 

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Participants will receive dinner and snacks Friday night and breakfast Saturday morning. “The Red Cross drill includes testing our ability to prepare and serve meals to a large number of shelter residents,” Woods said.

Families are encouraged to attend, Woods said, but children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Volunteers must bring their own blankets, pillows and toiletries although Woods said in a true emergency these things would be provided. 

“This is an important exercise for the Red Cross. We hope people take an opportunity to do something a little different for one weekend and help us to be a better prepared community,” Woods said. 

People wishing to participate must register in advance. They can do so by sending an email to Steve Woods at ctexercise1@ctredcross.org or call him at (203) 683-4271. 

About the American Red Cross in Connecticut:

The American Red Cross in Connecticut helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, more than 8,000 volunteers and a small corps of employees helped victims of nearly 500 local disasters; taught emergency preparedness and lifesaving skills to nearly 200,000 Connecticut Residents; provided international tracing and message services to more than 80 Connecticut residents seeking loved ones separated by disaster or war; and helped more than 1,400 Connecticut military families with emergency communications and other services. Nearly 100,000 Connecticut citizens gave blood through the Red Cross, which supplies blood and blood products to the State’s acute care hospitals and transfusing facilities. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work.


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