Red Cross: Providing care and comfort to Coshocton

COSHOCTON - When you think of the Red Cross, the first thought that comes to mind might be how the organization assists people in times of disasters. Although this is a vital part of its operations, the Red Cross does much more in communities throughout the country.

Children’s programs, fire awareness and blood services are important aspects of the Coshocton County American Red Cross.

“We touch a lot of lives with a variety of programs,” said Sher Alloway, a 14-year volunteer and coordinator of various Red Cross programs in Coshocton County.

As one of the United Way’s 19 community partner agencies, the Coshocton County American Red Cross affects many lives in the area in positive ways. Helping victims of house fires is a major focus of the local organization, Alloway said. Annually, there are typically more than a dozen fires in Coshocton County, she said, and she understands from personal experience how the Red Cross comforts those who have loves their homes to fires.

“Because I lost my home to a fire in 2009, I know exactly what it means. You lose everything,” Alloway said.

This is especially the case for families that live in rural areas, miles from fire departments. The Red Cross is there to help families get back on their feet following house fires, from assisting with food, shelter and clothing to providing comfort kits with basic needs items for adults and children.

“When you have nothing because you lost everything in a fire, these little things mean a lot,” Alloway said.

Before a fire or other disaster occurs, the Red Cross wants individuals and families to be prepared. Project Prepare is a new program implemented two years ago to teach people how to prevent and respond to disasters. An important way the program helps people in Coshocton County is by providing smoke detectors. They work with the fire department to assess neighborhoods at risk. The goal is to prevent fires in the first place, and to get out alive when they do occur, Alloway said.

“If it weren’t for a smoke detector, I wouldn’t be alive,” she said. “You have to have a smoke detector.”

The Coshocton County Red Cross also acts as a liaison for those serving in the Armed Forces, provides health and safety programs that provides instruction on babysitting, first aid, AED and CPR, and hosts multiple blood drives in the community each year. “Coshocton has a lot of people who come out to donate blood,” said Tricia Ford, account manager for Central Ohio Blood Services for the Red Cross.

Blood is needed for many reasons, Ford explained, from accidents to surgery to diseases. Blood drives, including those held at the local high schools, account for Coshocton having the highest amount of blood donations out of the five counties she serves, Ford said, and blood donations go back to the community to help those who need them.

“Whenever there is a need for blood, we take care of our local hospital first,” she said.

Touching young lives is also an important impact the local Red Cross has in the community, Alloway said. Each July, the aquatics program teaches about 200 area children to swim with two weeks of instruction at Lake Park Aquatic Center and two weeks at the River View Community Pool in Warsaw. “We don’t just teach the kids to swim, we teach them safety,” she said. “It’s a valuable skill, and many of the kids go on to become life guards or swimming instructors.”

Following the month of swimming instruction, children are invited to stop by Safety City during the first week of August at the fairgrounds. Children are taught a wide variety of safety lessons that last a lifetime, Alloway said. She has talked to generations of families that remember learning safety from Red Cross instructors, including bicycle, pedestrian and fire safety, poison prevention information, EMS and 911 services, and firefighters role in the community, to name a few.

“When you talk to a 30-year-old who remembers learning something years ago from a Red Cross program, that tells you the programs are working,” Alloway said.

United Way agencies serve Coshocton County

The Coshocton Tribune will highlight each of the 19 United Way partner agencies during the fundraising campaign.

The agencies are the American Red Cross, Children’s Dental Clinic, Coshocton C.A.R.E.S., Coshocton County Handicap Society, First Step Family Violence Intervention Services, Girl Scouts of U.S.A- Ohio’s Heartland, Maternal and Child Health Center, Boy Scouts of America-Muskingum Valley Council, Coshocton Senior Volunteer Program, Rising Tide Aquatic Club, Salvation Army, TLC (Tutoring, Learning, Contributing) of Muskingum Valley Educational Services Center, Coshocton City Recreation, Ridgewood Recreation, Canal Lewis Recreation, Conesville Recreation, Roscoe Recreation, Warsaw Youth Development and Union Recreation.

For more information on the Coshocton County United Way, contact the office at 740-622-4567.