Ncsk News Issue2 September 2006

The North/Central Saskatchewan In your community and a part of your world...

Issue 2, September 1, 2006 Editor: Bonnie Wilken, Public Affairs CRC, 560-561-860

Watch For...

Thank You!

Region NewsIn this issue...• Red Cross Involvement Starts Early• John’s Story• Red Cross Needs Volunteers for Disaster Response• Fire Victim Thankful for Red Cross Help• The Gift That Gives Back to You!

• September 12, Disaster Services Volunteer Information Night (Saskatoon) • September 21, Peace Day 2006 will be held in Rotary Park (Saskatoon)• September 30, RespectED Moves Ahead! Professional Development for Prevention Educators (Saskatoon)

Making a difference in our community

Want to know what the Red Cross is doing in Saskatchewan? Check out www.redcross.ca/saskatchewan

Saskatoon Foundation

Contact UsSaskatoon:443-2nd Ave. N.Saskatoon, SKS7K 2C1Ph: (306) 668-0720Fax: (306) 668-0722

Prince Albert:54-11th St. E.Prince Albert, SKS6V 0Z9Ph: (306) 765-2600Fax: (306) 953-8381

NEWS

Pronto Airways

Athabasca Health Authority

The Red Cross Exhibition Parade Team!!

Buckles and some of its friends pose for a photo after the 2006 Mascot Parade.

NCSK News. Issue 1, August 2006. Page 2


By Bonnie Wilken, CRC

Kirsten Samborski is not your average 15-year-old.

She’s a lifeguard, president of her youth club, in a video club, junior pin for SRC, in the God Squad, a math tutor, and a member of her school’s Visions Committee which helps direct school activities, as well as being fully bilingual in English and French.She’s also the youngest Canadian Red Cross Region Council Member – ever.

Kirsten brings a new focus to the region council, said Chriss Gates, North/Central Saskatchewan Region Director.

“Kirsten brings her youthful perspective to Red Cross and reminds us that if we are genuinely interested in engaging youth as volunteers and leaders, we must first ask their opinion and then truly hear their voice. Kirsten is the youngest youth region council member in the country. She represents the Red Cross commitment to youth engagement and her vote at the region governance level truly empowers her to influence the future direction of Red Cross,” said Gates.

But if you ask Samborski about the significance of her age she just shrugs and says more kids her age would get involved if

they knew the opportunities out there for them.“I guess a lot of kids don’t really do this sort of stuff so it’s kind of nice to be involved in something so big (the Red Cross),” she said.The Canadian Red Cross Region Council is a volunteer group which directs the Red Cross. Region council identifies the needs in a community and then decides what kind of action the Red Cross can take to fill those needs. They also work directly with Red Cross staff on projects and evaluate staff performance.Samborski works with Red Cross Water Safety and Injury

Prevention – a natural choice for a natural swimmer.“I’m going for a lifeguard, so I’m interested in that sort of stuff. I’ve grown up around the pool, so that’s what I like,” she said.Samborski credits her dad, Bill Samborski, as the guiding force behind the move. She said her dad was president of the North/Central Saskatchewan Region Council at one time and she literally grew up at Red Cross events.“When I was little, 6 or 7, I used to follow my dad around to all the conferences and I got to know all the people ... everyone’s so nice – it feels like a family,” she said.

Red Cross Involvement Starts Early

Kirsten Samborski, 15, is the youngest Red Cross Region Council Member in Canada.

cont’ page 3



Kirstin cont’ from 2

Her dad, who was president of the Red Cross Central Saskatchewan region in the

mid 1990’s agrees.

“I don’t think there is any other volunteer organization in the world that treats their volunteers so well... I’m glad to see she’s getting involved ... I certainty think her interest in genuine and I think once she gets some direction, I see her following through. I see her involved with Red Cross her whole life,” said Bill Samborski.The North Battleford youth strongly believes in the importance of community and school involvement. She said she finds volunteering for the region council interesting as well as being a great learning experience and she likes the organizations international ties. “No matter where I live, whether it’s here or America or Russia – there’s always a Red Cross I can join, so that’s great!,” said Samborski. “Hopefully, when I’m an adult I can become more involved and stay involved until I’m really old and be able to help people whether it’s overseas or here at home.”

What Samborski tries to do is educate people about the Red Cross and the work the organization does in the community.“A lot of people don’t know that the Red Cross does house fires and stuff. They think the Red Cross is just about the Tsunami – they don’t know it’s a part of the community,” she said.Her friends have mixed reactions to hearing Samborski’s volunteer resume.“I’ve been trying to explain what it’s about, and some of them look at me like I’m nuts, but some of my closer friends understand and respect me for what I’m doing,” said Samborski. “I think if a lot of younger kids got involved in stuff like this, then I think our world would be a better place.

John* was never one to say much. He’d grown up in a simpler time where a

person’s word was their bond and a helping hand carried no expectation that it be repaid. He served his country during war, not for valor or glory, but because he felt a responsibility to do the “right” thing.

As time passed, he married, raised a family and watched, with satisfaction, as the bounties of honest toil enriched him and those he dearly cared for. Like many of his generation John had an abiding belief in giving back to the community. He volunteered his time and money to many worthy causes. Whenever praise came his way he was quick to point to others more deserving in his mind.

Over the years John reflected on the changes he saw, both good and bad, and decided he wanted to continue setting a positive example. Recognizing his own mortality John decided the best way to ensure support for things he held important was through financial gifts, in his Will, to organizations that meant something to him. One such organization was the Canadian Red Cross. Because of his generosity, Red Cross has been able to reach out to teenagers in the community through its Abuse Prevention Education program.

John’s good deeds remind all of us that we too can make a difference both here and now and in the years to come. As someone recalled John once saying when asked why he made those gifts, he was heard to reply, “When I go, I shall go with a smile on my face.”

(*The donor’s name was changed to ensure anonymity.) -submitted by Robbie Gamble

No ordinary hero

“I think if a lot of younger kids got involved in stuff like this, then I think our world would be a better place.”



The Canadian Red Cross needs at least another 1000 disaster services volunteers in Western Canada alone to support its disaster response program.

“In partnership with the government and our local first responders, thousands of Disaster Services volunteers responded to nearly 2200 emergencies or disasters across Canada last year – helping over 18,000 people,” said Erin McLeod, Disaster Services Volunteer Coordinator and Trainer.

“With the hurricane season pending and a higher than average risk of forest fires due to the predicted dry summer, we are looking right now for people interested in this unique and life-changing experience,” said McLeod.

In addition to the disasters that grab headlines, like Hurricane Katrina or this summer’s large-scale evacuations due to northern forest fires, Red Cross volunteers respond to smaller crises such as house fires and provide disaster preparedness training to the public.

The organization is focusing recruitment efforts on people who can offer key skills in emergency response, registration and inquiry, leadership and accounting. These volunteers will be offered free, comprehensive training and are asked to make a two-year commitment to the Red Cross. When on call, Red Cross volunteers may need to respond at a moment’s notice to help provide emergency shelter, food and clothing to those affected. Though the hours can be unpredictable and the days long, the work is rewarding.

Frances Yarbough is familiar with the support Red Cross provides its volunteers, having had a long history working and volunteering with the organization. She has responded to 11 disasters in her career with the organization.

“Red Cross is volunteer-friendly. Their staff want the best for their volunteers and they’re supportive and committed to ensuring I have the training I need,” said Yarbough, who, in addition to her Red Cross volunteer commitment, works as an Adult Educator while taking part-time graduate studies.

For more information, or to apply to the Disaster Services Volunteer program, contact: Erin McLeod at 306-765-2600 or [email protected].

Red Cross Needs Volunteers for Disaster Response

Disaster Services is an exciting volunteer opportunity at the Canadian Red Cross.

Upcoming Volunteer Information Sessions

September 12, 7 p.m. - Saskatoon OfficeSeptember 14, 7 p.m. - Prince Albert OfficeSeptember 20 - North Battleford



By Bonnie Wilken, CRC

December 19th 2005 is a day that Claudia Turner

will never forget.

After coming home from a funeral, and waiting for news from her daughter who was in labour, the North Battleford woman did a bit of housework and went to bed.

She woke up in the middle of the night and her room was so black with smoke she couldn’t see the light of her digital alarm clock. The door out of Turner’s bedroom was too hot to touch, so she used a blanket to open the door and ran out of her burning home, barefoot and in her pyjamas to safety. She was the only person in the house at the time – her children were staying out of town.

Turner was taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation, but received no lasting injuries from the disaster. The fire was too advanced for her home to be saved, so Turner and her six children were out in the cold in the middle of December with nowhere to go.

Fire investigators said the fire started from some cigarette ashes in a trash can.

“The next day Rose from the Red Cross went and visited me

at the hospital,” said Turner. “I didn’t have any clothes or anything. I didn’t have time to grab my shoes – I just had what I went to sleep with ... I remember when I went to the hospital that night. I remember they asked if I had a place to go or if I needed the Red Cross ... the nurses were the ones that said someone will come from the Red Cross if you don’t have anywhere to go.”

She said the Red Cross gave her a voucher for clothes from Wal-Mart as well as a hygiene kit.

“She (Rose) was very helpful because of course, after the fire I didn’t have any money – everything I had was in the house,” said Turner.

“I don’t know what I would have done without the Red

Cross. I didn’t have any money or any place to go. And those couple of days gave me time to try and relax, get my thinking together and the Red Cross got together with Victims Services and got a food hamper together for me,” said Turner.

Turner spent about a month living in a hotel with her children before she found a new place to live on January 13, 2006. She said the community in North Battleford really came together to help her and the Disaster Services volunteer who took care of her made a real difference and left a lasting impression.

“She kept checking on me at the hotel which I though was really caring of her. She checked on me to make sure I was ok and made sure I had food,” said Turner.

Fire Victim Thankful for Red Cross Help

Turner is back on her feet now after a house fire changed her life - thanks to the generosity of her community.

NCSK News. Issue 2, September 2006. Page 6


We are now pleased to offer a way for you to make a charitable donation to the

Canadian Red Cross and receive guaranteed income for life – the Canadian Red Cross Charitable Gift Annuity.

With the gift annuity, you transfer a sum of money to the Red Cross. A portion of this, usually 25 per cent, is utilized as an outright donation for the work of the Red Cross, and you receive a receipt for this that can be used to lower your taxes in the current year. We utilize the remainder of your transferred funds to provide an annuity that generates regular income for you for life – and at a higher rate of return than a GIC and with greatly reduced taxes!

How you BenefitYou (and potentially your spouse) receive regular income for life at a high rate or return with reduced taxes. You receive an immediate tax receipt for your donation which can lower your taxes. You also receive the satisfaction of knowing you are helping others by supporting the work of the Red Cross.

Who QualifiesThe Canadian Red cross Charitable Gift Annuity is best suited for donors aged 60 and over. The older you are, the larger the portion of

your annuity payments that is tax exempt.

Asset ReplacementA further option exists for you to use a portion of your monthly income from the annuity to establish and pay premiums for a life insurance

policy. You could use this policy to benefit family members in the future, or the Red Cross.

____ Yes! I want to donate _________________ to programs and services right here at home in the North/Central Saskatchewan Region.

_____ Yes! I wan to donate __________________ which will go towards helping the world’s most vulnerable people.

A charitable gift annuity provides you with regular income

payments, a tax deductible receipt, and the personal

satisfaction of knowing you are supporting the work of the Red

Cross.

Call for a QuoteThe amount of regular income generated by an annuity for each person will vary according to the amount transferred and donated to the Red Cross, the donor’s age, and whether or not the annuity is held jointly with a spouse. If you would like more information on annuities, or a quote based on your individual circumstance (and at no obligation), please contact our local Manager of Planned Giving, Robbie Gamble at 306-765-2600.

The Gift That Gives Back To You!

please detach and include with donation

Name:_____________________________________________

Address:_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________

Telephone:__________________________________________

please check one

A tax receipt will be sent to you once your donation has been processed. Please make out cheques to Canadian Red Cross, North/Central Saskatchewan Region

Documents

Ncsk News Issue2 September 2006