March is Red Cross Month! At the meeting on March 6, the Town Council included on its agenda a proclamation to honor the supporters of the Red Cross and its humanitarian mission. The proclamation ended with the declaration of March as Red Cross Month. Local Red Cross volunteer Mr. Ben Trautman accepted the proclamation on behalf of the Red Cross and told attendees about the local work of the humanitarian organization.
Mr. Trautman highlighted that Florida’s Coast to Heartland Chapter of the Red Cross, which covers Indian River and other counties, helped save lives through the Home Fire Campaign, in which, since its launch in October 2014, the chapter has worked with community partners to install 2,900 household smoke alarms.
He added that Red Cross volunteers respond to individual house fires and home floods to provide human assistance to those affected so that they can quickly get onto the road to recovery after displacement.
He also talked about the Red Cross’ local work regarding hurricane preparedness measures. He invited Orchid residents to attend an upcoming community event in May: the annual Hangar Party at the Vero Beach Airport that helps prepare visitors for the upcoming hurricane season in a fun and relaxed environment.
He added that the Red Cross is an important partner to the United States Armed Forces by providing many different services ranging from 24-hour, 7-day-a-week emergency communications, support to military families, services on-base and in military hospitals, and veterans assistance.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Trautman thanked the Town for the recognition that this proclamation provides the very busy volunteers of the Red Cross.