|
|
|
|
Who We Are... T he Centre Communities Chapter of the American Red Cross is based in Centre County (hence the primitive spelling), Pennsylvania, with chapter headquarters in downtown State College. A second office is located in Philipsburg to serve the Moshannon Valley on the western edge of Centre County, as well as the eastern third of Clearfield County. The total service area is larger than the state of Rhode Island.
T he primary economic engine of our market is the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), a top-rated national university with an annual operating budget in excess of $2 billion. Its main, University Park, campus with 40,000 students and more than 10,000 full-time faculty and staff, is here.T he Centre Communities Chapter works because of over 800 volunteers and nine FTE (full-time equivalent) paid staff. Together we serve a growing population of more than 160,000.
T he Chapter has a schedule of first aid, CPR, aquatic and HIV/AIDS courses year-around. The cost of most of these courses runs $40 to $45 per course. During the fiscal year 2005-06, the chapter offered 701 classes and trained 4,723 individuals in CPR, first aid, aquatic safety, lifeguard training, babysitting, and use of the automated external defibrillator (AED).
B lood collection is another important function of the Chapter. A sustained series of blood drives in our Centre and Clearfield County area, including on the Penn State campus, have made the Chapter a leading provider of blood in the Greater Alleghenies Blood Services Region. During the 2005-2006 fiscal year, we collected 19,041 units of blood.T he Penn State Student Red Cross Club, a unit within the Chapter, is one of the largest and most active student clubs on the University Park (State College) campus and plays a vital role in organizing campus blood drives. Of the 19,041 units of blood collected by the Chapter, 8217 units were collected on campus.
H ouse fires, forest fires and other home-grown disasters call out the Chapter's disaster teams many times in a year, often in the middle of the night.During the July 2005 - June 2006 fiscal year, the chapter paid and volunteer staff responded to 26 disaster incidents. We provided assistance for 112 individuals who were affected. Effective 6/30/06, we had expended $29,268 in chapter funds just for disaster relief. The chapter provided mass feeding for 420 emergency workers and clients as a result of the Philipsburg fire in August, two other forest fires in May, and a plane crash in June. In addition, the chapter provided emergency communication, casework services,
or financial assistance to 57 families of servicemen and women during the
2004-06 fiscal year. Go to "Origins" for the story of our chartering. Click "Official Family" to see our roster of Chapter officers, board and staff. Our telephone number is 814/237-3162 and our e-mail is ccc.redcross@verizon.net |
