PORTLAND, Ore. – When the American Red Cross comes a-knockin', look for free smoke detectors, batteries and first aid kits.
These supplies will be given away on Saturday, July 11 (9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) and Sunday, July 12 (1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.), as volunteers, staff and community partners conduct door-to-door safety outreach in Hillsboro. The staging area for the event is the Cooler Club parking lot, 1735 SE Tualatin Valley Hwy. Hillsboro was identified after mapping communities in the metro area with the highest need for Red Cross emergency assistance.
"We know these communities need our help after disasters, but we want to be there before anything happens," said Maree Wacker, CEO of the Oregon Trail Chapter. "Together We Prepare Hillsboro is all about prevention – reducing house fires and taking the time to educate residents about all sorts of emergencies."
Portland General Electric is sponsoring Together We Prepare Hillsboro along with CDW Corporation and State Farm Insurance. "This two-day event is a great opportunity to provide important safety information to our customers to help them better prepare for unanticipated events such as power outages," said Joe McArthur, vice president of transmission and customer service at PGE and Red Cross board member. "We are proud to support this neighborhood outreach program."
Those interested in volunteering or becoming a partner for Together We Prepare Hillsboro should contact Morningstar Padilla at 503-528-5621.
About Together We Prepare Our Neighborhood:
When former CEO Thomas Bruner arrived at the Oregon Trail Chapter, he inquired about the demographics of the Chapter's disaster clients and the locations of Disaster Action Team (DAT) responses.
When plotted on a map, the information pointed to a clear pattern: people in lower socio-economic neighborhoods tended to have a higher incidence of American Red Cross responses. The next question was clear; "What are we doing to help prevent emergencies and disasters in those communities?"
Together We Prepare Our Neighborhood is a large-scale prevention project where the Oregon Trail Chapter conducts door-to-door outreach in an at-risk neighborhood over a period of two days. In each area, the Chapter works with neighborhood associations, schools, social service agencies and faith communities.
In Oregon, the American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disaster every eight hours; provides more than 90 percent of the blood used by Oregon patients; teaches thousands of Oregonians lifesaving skills; provides transportation to seniors and the disabled; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization – not a government agency – and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its humanitarian mission. For more information, please visit
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