Summer 2013

Inside

Silicon Valley Chapter

@SV_RedCross

Facebook.com/siliconvalley.redcross.org

P4 Red Cross ‘literally a lifeline’ for POW

P3 Why I Help: Diane St. Denis

P2 In Memory of Col. Don Newhall

Around the Valley

A publication of the American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter

Visit redcross.org/siliconvalley for the latest news, events, and volunteer opportunities and follow us on:

Petals of Hope Gala Raises $250,000The American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter’s 2013 Red Cross Petals of Hope Gala on May 4 brought together more than 250 local philanthropists and community leaders and raised more than $250,000 for local lifesaving programs and services.

Guests at the event enjoyed cocktails and a silent auction with a beautiful view of the sun setting over the 18th hole of the exclusive Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club before retiring indoors for an exquisite dinner, award presentation, and competitive live auction.

“This was a truly wonderful evening for the Red Cross. We are so grateful to our donors and patrons and those in the community who came together in support of our organization,” said Florence Buatois, Gala Chair. “Because of their generous support, the Red Cross can continue to help those in our communities who are affected by disaster, and continue to teach critical lifesaving skills such as first aid and CPR.”

The University of Phoenix was honored with the 2013 Red Cross Humanitarian Partner Award for their humanitarian efforts, which, in partnership with the Red Cross, have helped in the

areas of nursing, blood donations, and lifesaving training such as first aid, and CPR across the United States. They have also helped provide services to military members and their families; including emergency messaging, holiday mail for soldiers stationed overseas, and assistance with transportation home in case of a critical emergency.

The University of Phoenix Chief Marketing Officer, Arra Yerganian, accepted the award from Bill Russell, the Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter Board Chairman, who praised the extraordinary support given by the University of Phoenix to the Red Cross.

Swiss Consul General Julius F. Anderegg shared the history and importance of the Red Cross around the world from his personal experience while stationed in the Middle East. He also shared the significant role the Red Cross plays in the local community, helping thousands with their most basic needs in times of disaster, and doing so one family at a time.

Stephen Silver, Chairman and CEO of Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry, brought great excitement to the evening with the presentation of a strand of fine pearls to 25 lucky guests as an event remembrance.

Presenting Sponsor was University of Phoenix. “Emergency Response” Sponsors were Harman Management/KFC and Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry. “Lifesaving” sponsor was Palo Alto Medical Foundation. “Investor” sponsors were The Brenner Group, HUB International, Sofinnova Ventures, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation. “Angel” Sponsors were B.T. Mancini Company, Berger Lewis, Cisco Foundation, Cortina Systems, eBay, and Santa Clara Valley Water District. Special thanks to Azadeh Couture, Joseph George Wines, SanDisk, Servicewrkx, and Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry.

Florence Buatois, Chair of the American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter Petals of Hope Gala enjoys the event with special guest speaker, Swiss Consul General Julius F. Anderegg.

flickr.com/photos/siliconvalley-redcross

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In Memory: Col. Don Newhall (1931-2013)

Colonel Don Newhall stood tall with a great grin and gleam in his eyes, as a vital part of the American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter’s Service to the Armed Forces department.

Don, who served in the Army National Guard, Air Force, and American Legion for 27 years, died March 28 at his Los Gatos home. He was 82 years old.

Affectionately called the “Colonel,” Don left an indelible imprint on the lives of his colleagues and friends at the American Red Cross and with his brother legionnaires of American Legion Post Moffett Field.

Don began his work with the Red Cross in 1971 as a Partner Services volunteer and liaison to Emergency Operations Centers in the area. He was instrumental in the Mountain Emergency Response Corp -- joining the Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley Chapters to get emergency supplies over Highway 17 in the event of an emergency. He always had a special allegiance to the mountains and was a government liaison for Cities of Los Gatos, San Jose, as well as Santa Clara County.

Don was the past chair of the Red Cross’ West Valley Advisory

Committee and served on the board of directors for the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross for three terms. While Don was never deployed out of the area, he could always be depended upon to respond to local disasters. He was also a key communications link for the Red Cross Service to Armed Forces department, helping the Chapter relate to military people and units as well as veterans groups. He was an important planner and participator in the annual Veterans Day Parade in San Jose. This was symbolic of the community’s respect for him and Don was treated as an honored guest.

Don was a cantankerous man who had a great sense of humor and honor for our Chapter, state, and country.

Don, you will be missed.

Letter from the Interim CEODear Friend,

The summer season began with active fires and fire advisories across eight states. If you are in a region at risk, please make sure you take precautions to be safe and prepared.

One way to prepare your home and your family is by downloading our free American Red Cross Wildfire App to your smart phone, or visit the iTunes or Google Play app stores and search for Red Cross.

The wildfire app gives you important information in the palm of your hand:• Preloaded content gives users instant access to

information on what to do before, during, and after wildfires – even without mobile connectivity.

• The latest updates from local, state, and federal fire agencies in the “Wildfire News” section.

• Red Cross emergency shelter locator for when you need help. • One-touch “I’m Safe” button that instantly posts a

message to your social networks, notifying friends and family that you are out of harm’s way.

The Red Cross stays prepared year-round in order to respond to nearly 70,000 disasters each year like wildfires, floods, and tornadoes. You can find helpful disaster preparedness tips by visiting our website at redcross.org/prepare. Let’s all stay one step ahead and dodge the worst by preparing for wildfires.

Stay safe,

Pilar FurlongInterim CEO and Chief Operating OfficerAmerican Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter

Dr. Liz Dietz with Col. Don Newhall and her husband, Col. Larry Dietz, at the 2012 Veterans Stand Down in Palo Alto.

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Red Cross volunteers are always ready and willing to help at a moment’s notice. On April 23, more than a dozen volunteers from the American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter responded to a two-alarm apartment fire, which displaced 32 people in Milpitas.

The fire that started in the kitchen of one apartment left eight units without power for 24 hours. Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteers were on the scene and quickly took action to make the displaced residents feel comfortable. Mass Care Co-lead, Stephanie Charles, tried several options to find vacant hotel rooms and when not enough rooms were available, she and her team opened a temporary shelter at the Indian Community Center in Milpitas. Volunteers set up cots, blankets, snacks, and dinner to help people feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible at the shelter. The shelter stayed open until everyone found temporary housing the next day.

It was just another day for our dedicated volunteers, but it meant the world of difference to the people affected by the fire.

Giving her time and energy to help her community, whether across the nation or in her own backyard, is in Diane St. Denis’ blood.

For the past 20 years, the American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter volunteer and former night shift room charge nurse in San Jose’s Valley Medical Center

has helped communities nationwide as a Disaster Health Services manager. She has left her home in San Jose to help during 15 national disasters including Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and the recent EF-5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.

“Volunteering and helping out the community has simply been engrained in me,” said Diane, who was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. “My mother was always willing to give the shirt off her back and that’s who I’ve looked up to.”

Diane’s personal connection to New York City combined with her background, made her instrumental in the Red Cross Superstorm Sandy disaster relief response. There, she was

responsible for hundreds of disaster health services team members and 15 Red Cross shelters in the city of 19 million.

Diane says she and her disaster health services team worked tirelessly to meet their clients’ needs. They visited elderly people trapped in flooded high-rises, without running water, heat, or electricity, walking up 13 to 18 flights of stairs to help get people prescriptions, food, and other necessities.

While in New York for a month, she worked 12-hour days, with just two days off. Long hours don’t faze Diane, who received the highest national honor for a Red Cross Nurse – the Ann Magnusson Award, in 2009.

“I was completely fine with [the long hours] because I knew I was doing something good for the community,” Diane said of her deployment during Superstorm Sandy.

Diane continues to follow in her mother’s footsteps and recently completed two deployments to Oklahoma to assist those affected by the devastating storms and tornadoes that ripped through the state in May.

“I’m always amazed at how quickly volunteers are willing to accommodate their schedules to be on the scene,” said Stephanie Wilde, DAT Dispatcher that day. “Our volunteers really make things happen!”

Thank you to the following volunteers for your hard work and dedication to the people affected by the April 23 fire:

Red Cross Helps 32 Displaced by Fire

Why I Help: Diane St. Denis

Chapter volunteers responded to a two-alarm fire in April and helped displaced residents.

Diane St. Denis

• Roxanne Anderson• Woody Baker-Cohn• Kent Fielden• Michael Garcia• Carla Gerber• Tom Gerber• Mo Ghandehari• Shelley Giles

• Alison Hughes• Rini Johar• Kelley Johnson• Jack Maxfield• Demetrious McCarthy• Susanne Newswanger• Phyllis Schmidt• Stephanie Wilde

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different times,” explained the former Veteran’s Affairs clinical social worker who worked in Palo Alto for more than 30 years helping Vietnam Veterans recover from PTSD.

“People can be OK at first, but then all these thoughts and feelings come up that can disrupt their daily lives,” he added.Wesley said some people simply needed someone to talk to or to learn techniques to help cope with stress, while others needed referrals to therapists for longer-term counseling.

“I enjoy the work because I see results. I think the Red Cross does a great job,” Wesley explained.

The Red Cross offers free counseling and support on a 24-hour helpline for anyone who has been affected by a disaster at 1-800-985-5990.

The shocking events at the Boston Marathon traumatized and changed the lives of thousands of people. American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter volunteer Wesley Mukoyama used his experience as a clinical social worker to help people affected come to terms with their experiences.

The Santa Clara resident flew to Boston on April 30, two weeks

after the bombings, and spent 12 days assessing the psychological health of, and providing emotional support to, first responders, victims, and witnesses.

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) happens at

Volunteer Deployed to Boston After Marathon Bombings

Red Cross ‘literally a lifeline’ for Prisoner of War

to Russia, but he and six others chose to walk west in the hope of reuniting with American forces. When they were lucky enough to do so four days later, Daniel weighed in at 120 pounds, down from the 180 pounds he jumped at 12 months prior. He was back in the States three weeks later.

France recognized Daniel’s bravery and perseverance in 2011 through the award of the Legion of Honor, its highest decoration. Daniel accepted the honor on behalf of “ninety seven of my buddies from the Baker Battery 377th who did not come back…”

Daniel went on to a satisfying post-war career as an airplane engine mechanic, instructor, and manager at Alameda Naval Air Station. He and his wife Nancy have supported the American Red Cross for many years. Says Daniel, “I have great appreciation for the Red Cross and what they did for me and my fellow POWs.”

Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Daniel R. Soria and 8,000 of his fellow 101st Airborne soldiers parachuted into Normandy on D-Day in advance of the Allied amphibious assault later that day. Four chaotic days later, the Germans captured Daniel and he spent the next 12 months as a German Prisoner of War.

Red Cross food parcels distributed to the POWs “were literally a lifeline,” says Daniel, who now lives in Newark, California. “I remember the containers of SPAM. The rations provided to us by the Germans were starvation-level as they themselves didn’t have much food. The Red Cross food parcels basically allowed us to survive.”

Red Cross food parcels were provided by the American, British, and Canadian Red Cross societies and distributed to POWs by the International Committee of the Red Cross. American food parcels contained, among other items: K-ration biscuits, a tin of coffee, powdered milk, cheese, soup cubes, a can of SPAM, and cigarettes.

“We were able to trade the cigarettes for other items we couldn’t get in the camps, so they were very useful,” Daniel said.

In May 1945 Russian tanks liberated Daniel’s POW camp. He was offered the opportunity to accompany the liberators

Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) Daniel R. Soria and his wife Nancy in their home in Newark, Calif.

Wesley Mukoyama