This past week, Canadian Red Cross lost one of our long-time and beloved volunteers, Ted Itani. Throughout his life, Ted’s contributions to humanitarian work were truly extraordinary.

“The primary goal of our work is to increase social connectedness,” explains Frank Cohn, director of DUDES Club, a British Columbia-based non-profit organization that promotes men’s health and wellness, particularly among Indigenous communities.
 

The First Nations Health and Wellness Colouring Book is bursting with life and love. It is a gathering of Manitoba First Nation artists invited to react to and create with the themes of health and wellness. In partnership with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Canadian Red Cross produced the colouring book as part of a continuing conversation with First Nation communities to support health and wellness.

Ololade (Lola) Ogunsuyi has discovered her niche working with the Canadian Red Cross as a site manager, supporting residents and staff at long-term care homes in Ontario. With her penchant for sharing knowledge and solving problems, Lola has instilled confidence in teams as they work to turn the tide against COVID-19.

“Learning sewing came to me as a blessing for myself and the community,” Minara Begum, a resident in Camp 5 said fondly. Minara lives in the camp, with her parents. They had been living on aid provided from different agencies for people who fled from violence in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Home fires can happen anytime and anywhere but are most likely to occur during winter in Canada. According to the Commissariat aux incendies de la Ville de Québec, 4 in 10 fatal home fires occur between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., when the household is asleep.

Ten years ago, on the afternoon of March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake triggered a tsunami along Japan’s Pacific coast. Villages, towns and cities along a 70-kilometre stretch of coastline were damaged or destroyed. More than 15,000 people lost their lives. Canadian Red Cross humanitarian worker Kathy Mueller went to Japan to support the Japanese Red Cross in its immediate response to the tsunami. This is her story.

Staying active isn’t just good for your body, it can also have a powerful impact on your mental health. Many Canadians are spending a significant portion of their day sedentary. Recent findings from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2022–2024) reveal that adults spend an average of 9.3 hours each day sitting or lounging. Only 42% of people are hitting the national recommendation of keeping their sedentary time down to nine hours a day.