News Archives 2004

Contact: Mary Miller
American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter
(503) 528-5633 or (503) 705-2584

Red Cross and Fook Lok Loaves and Fishes Center Partner to Create
Service Center Exercise Involving Portland’s Asian Community

Portland, Ore. – April 30, 2004 – The American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter will hold its fourth exercise this year to test the ability of volunteers. Saturday’s exercise will include a new twist – serving a population that knows English as a second language. Fook Lok Loaves and Fishes Center has recruited more than 50 adults and children who will play the role of disaster clients. Fook Lok is also providing translators for the exercise.

A Red Cross service center is a fixed facility where trained volunteers issue direct assistance to disaster clients. Volunteers participating in Saturday’s exercise will test their skills in the functions of mass care (feeding and sometimes sheltering), health services, disaster mental health, logistics, communications, public affairs and local volunteer recruiting. Volunteers will be working in context of a small, non-commercial plane crashing into a predominately Asian residential area.

“Recently, the American National Red Cross has become more reliant on local volunteers to help with disasters, resulting in cost effective relief operations,” said David Gassaway, emergency services director for the American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter. “These exercises train our local volunteers and prepare them for a large disaster that could happen here in Oregon. Fook Lok’s support of this exercise will create a very realistic scenario that will help our volunteers get practical experience.”

With more than 1,000 trained volunteers, the Oregon Trail Chapter tests their capabilities, procedures and readiness levels periodically. The Oregon Trail Chapter has a memorandum of understanding with the City of Portland to set up shelter and feeding for large groups within hours of a disaster. There are more than 400 pre-designated shelter sites in the Portland and coastal areas.

WHAT: Red Cross service center exercise

WHEN: Saturday, May 1 from 9:00 a.m. to noon

WHERE: Kern Park Christian Church - 6828 S.E. Holgate, Portland

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2004 Archives

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American Red Cross, Oregon Trail volunteers respond to house fires every 32 hours on average.
To assist the Red Cross in providing disaster relief, please call (503) 528-5634.
To prepare yourself and your family for fire or other disasters, go to www.PrepareOregon.org