Board News

TURN YOURSELF IN!

You don't have to be a Mayor to get arrested at the Red Cross Mayors Jail & Bail -- anyone can be a "Jail Bird"! All you have to do is sign up and turn yourself in at the Fanwood Court on October 2, 2010 to be "arraigned." A celebrity judge will set "bail" at an agreed upon amount, and you then make some calls

to raise the bail in donations to the Red Cross.  You can sign up to be a Jail Bird using our personal fundraising web tools here.

HELP US RAISE BAIL

Jail Birds from all 22 towns served by the Tri-County Red Cross are being arraigned on October 2, 2010 at the Fanwood Court. You can

help them avoid jail  by donating towards their bail. All of the money raised for bail will go to support disaster prevention and relief in Union, Somerset and Middlesex Counties. Call us at (908) 756-6414 or visit a Jail Bird to bail them out of Jail!

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Every year the Tri-County Red Cross gives out more than a thousand toys to local children for the holidays, signing up more than 200 families who need just a little leg up to make the winter holidays just a little better. Today we are doing the final preparations, and tomorrow we will pass out the presents.

It sounds like a small thing to just pass out toys, but it's amazing how many people are behind the effort to make it happen. Here are just some pictures of people who made this happen in 2009, and more will be coming.

One of our biggest benefactors is Borders in Watchung, and their customers. Last year Dot Smith called us up out of the blue and offered to make us the beneficiary of their holiday toy drive. We were overwhelmed by what we received, and this year there is even more! So far we have received more than 20 boxes of stuffed animals, toys and books. Here's a picture of Elsa Mejia, Denise Neto and disaster volunteer Terri Esposito organizing just a few of the books for kids that Borders' customers bought.

Every time you hear about how kids these days just don't care like they used to, check out these kids who stood up to help those who are a little less fortunate. Kids from the Bayberry Elementary School collected toys for the annual Tri-County Red Cross Toy Drive 2009. Pictured is Ms. Mary Nunn, principal of the school.

We can't leave out the kids at Wardlaw Hartridge, either, who were so enthusiastic that they had to create an old-fashioned bucket brigade to get all the toys from the school to our disaster response van. Check out their enthusiasm -- partly for the good feelings, and partly because it was really, really cold!

The officers of the Navy Recruiting Station in Plainfield also collected food and clothing for the effort.  Here's a pic of all the stuff they gave!

This is only a small sampling of the people and organizations who have supported the holiday toy drive and the disaster relief services of the American Red Cross' Tri-County Chapter.  We cannot support our community without these donors, volunteers, organizations and businesses being there every time they are needed.

So thank you, from all of us at the Tri-County Red Cross.  You are truly appreciated.

Here's another school that really came through for us, the Allied Health in Elizabeth. It's a four minute video, but tells a lot obout the kids and the school. It's worth a look!

Many times when we send out our e-mails and blog posts we are asking you to help us fulfill the Red Cross mission. Today we simply want to thank you for all you have done for your community over the past year, and all that you will do in the coming year.

Happy Holidays,
The Volunteers, Donors and Members of the Tri-County Red Cross

Give the Gift of Life this holiday season by making a donation in someone else's name, or buying a class giving life-saving skills for a loved one.

Gift certificates for classes are good for one year (2010), and are can be used for any scheduled class given by the Tri-County Red Cross during the year. Instructions on how to register will be sent with the gift certificate and a Red Cross holiday card.