Don Silva’s 33-year career as a Senior Business Systems Analyst for Blue Cross, and his volunteer work with the American Red Cross Rhode Island Chapter helped him realize that having AEDs in the workplace can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency.  But having 21 AEDs lining the halls of the Blue Cross buildings means nothing without employees who know how to use the lifesaving tools.  Don was also instrumental in making sure that Blue Cross employees received training to use the equipment.  Three to four people on every floor are now certified to use the AEDs, making every day at Blue Cross that much safer. Read more...

 

Joanne Ramsey’s volunteer work may not earn her a salary, but she says it comes with its own rewards. One reward in 2004 was particularly memorable. “I was the only person kissed by President Bush… It made the local papers in Florida,” Joanne says with a proud smile. “Isn’t that neat?”

 

Whether it is a fire raging through a home here in Rhode Island or a hurricane stripping the Gulf Coast of life thousands of miles away, it is good to know that there is someone like Joanne ready to help when the call comes in. Read more... 

What would you do if you found out that you only had six months to live? When Frank DiPrete found out that he may not live to see his 33^rd birthday and that his new bride could become a widow much sooner than she ever imagined, he did what many people faced with his illness could never have the courage to do.  

 

Today, 23 years after he was diagnosed with a rare genetic brain disorder, Frank’s future is as bright as the little yellow house in East Providence that he shares with his wife of 25 years Mary Ann.   Along with the volunteer work he does for the Red Cross, Frank is the CEO and director of the East Bay Community Bike Path group, a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member and a former member of the Citizens Police Academy Alumni.  Read more...  

When you walk into the Providence office of the American Red Cross Rhode Island Chapter, and make your way through the cubicles of volunteers who are tapping away at the keys on their computers, with a stack of papers on the left, and a Dunkin Donuts cup on their right, you eventually reach a divider.  On this divider, there sits a red and white hand made angel with dark curls and a smile.  Behind this angel is Arthur Shlevin, Field Supervisor in Emergency Services for the  Disaster Action Team. Read more...