Alberta News and Stories
Building Bridges through Water Safety
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A conference can build a bridge, not just between those working in the same industry, but between cultures. This year’s Water Safety conference addressed the way in which different cultures associate with water. One population impacted is Syrian refugees.
A poem to move forward from the Alberta fires
- When Peter Derban visited the Red Cross office in Fort McMurray, he shared a poem written about his experiences during the Alberta fires. Through his poetry, he is sure to give credit where credit is due.
‘Fire department in Fort Mac like angels work hard, all day and night.
They are tired, won’t give up. Evil flames they fight, nonstop.”
Love is in the air at Red Cross
- Love was in the air last week at the Canadian Red Cross office in Fort McMurray. Red Cross caseworker Tiffany Whitford thought her boyfriend Adam Nicholson and their two children Lola and Maddix were stopping by the office to drop off her lunch.
Past experiences motivate Red Cross volunteer in Alberta fires response
- Mohammed Sunba shares his experiences of volunteering with the Red Cross: he started nearly two years ago to support people who have been impacted by personal disasters, such as house fires and floods. The Alberta fire response is the largest disaster Mohammed has been a part of as a Red Cross volunteer.
Hope and help from someone who has been there
- Disaster is not new to Nancy Hollman. Imagine a stormy, grey, summer afternoon. On her bed with her two and a half year old son, Hollman was suddenly thrown to the floor and covered in debris. It was July 31, 1987. A tornado had just demolished her Edmonton home. 27 people died, but Nancy and her child survived to be rescued from the rubble. Almost 30 years later, Nancy is now working with the Canadian Red Cross, meeting with people who lost their homes just three months ago, in the Alberta wildfires.
A Silver Cross Mother and her Red Cross service
- Red Cross volunteer Nicole Beauchamp, her husband Robert, and their family have long served their community and country. Beauchamp has been with Red Cross for 20 years and spent part of her summer assisting Alberta fire evacuees, first in Edmonton in May and then again in Calgary in June and July.
Ready When the Time Comes: Acklands-Grainger invites Fort McMurray Red Cross team to move in
- Red Cross teams have witnessed thousands of acts of kindness as Canadians come together to help those affected by the massive wildfires in Fort McMurray and surrounding communities.
Last week, Jenn McManus, VP of Alberta operations for the Red Cross, visited the Acklands-Grainger employees in Fort McMurray to recognize one such act of kindness.
Friendship born out of shared passion for helping people
- There is an unlikely friendship - Alzinia Pailin is an American Red Cross volunteer from California and Marie Bernatchez is a French speaking Canadian Red Cross volunteer from Quebec. But after being paired together on a three-week deployment in the small town of Lac La Biche, south of Fort McMurray, as part of the Alberta fire response, the two women found much common ground including their work as Red Cross volunteers and quickly became friends.
Myths vs. facts: tornado safety
- Last summer, we had a few tornado scares in Southern Alberta. Working at the Red Cross, I felt as though I was prepared to stay safe. However, I learned that there are actually a lot of myths around tornado safety. Learn more about some of the most common ones.
Red Cross working in First Nations community impacted by the Alberta fires
- As an emergency management director, Angela McKenzie is used to helping others from the Fort McKay First Nation deal with disaster. So, it was doubly challenging when wildfires swept north from Fort McMurray and forced her to flee, along with her new baby and hundreds of others, through dense smoke and flames.
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