Red Cross Programs (Page 15)

Know your breaststroke from your front crawl? Think you’d be fine if you found yourself unexpectedly swimming in open water? Every year, even great swimmers drown so here’s a few reasons why everyone, even strong swimmers, need to wear a lifejacket or personal flotation device (PFD).

Using funds provided by the Canadian Red Cross to help non-profits provide frontline services during COVID-19, ICS has organized food box distributions in cities across Ontario. The organization will reach 2,000 people, including the Kharfan family who received a food box during the first distribution in London. Hear their story:

When Lesley-Anne Morley took on leadership of the Indigenous Swimming and Water Safety program for the Canadian Red Cross in 2014, she never imagined that, years later, she would be adapting the program for a global pandemic.

Content note: This story contains discussions on domestic violence that may be upsetting to some.
Elizabeth (not her real name) is a survivor. Of emotional, mental, and physical abuse. By her former boyfriend. It’s people in situations like Elizabeth’s that “Violence Prevention Avalon East” in Newfoundland and Labrador is trying to reach. An alliance of community and government agencies, it is dedicated to ending violence in homes and communities.

The Francophone Association of Brooks is working hard to continue programming amidst the pandemic, thanks to the Government of Canada’s Emergency Support for Community Organizations granting program.

Jamie recently shared a post on her social media about taking our psychological first aid course and how much it helped her, especially with her own mental health. We asked her if she would share her story with us (and you) to hopefully help others, and this is what she wrote.

As kids adapted to the new virtual ‘classroom,’ a Zoom visit by Red Cross Ambassador, Saskatchewan Roughrider Dan Clark, was a welcome chance to chat about dealing with stress for a group of Yorkton, SK students.

With the Red Cross for over a dozen years, I have been deployed to the scene of unimaginable emergencies many times, including the Lac-Mégantic railway tragedy, the Fort McMurray wildfire, the recent floods in Eastern Canada and to Montreal to welcome many Syrian refugees. Unfortunately, I understand too well the plight of people confronted with extraordinary situations.