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Red Cross official urges Pelican Rapids to boost preparedness, offers free smoke-alarm installs amid blood shortage
Summary
Kimberly Vosite, executive director for the American Red Cross Eastern North Dakota/Northwest Minnesota chapter, briefed the Pelican Rapids City Council on the chapter’s volunteer-driven disaster response, a free smoke-alarm installation program and an ongoing emergency blood shortage.
Kimberly Vosite, executive director of the American Red Cross’s Eastern North Dakota/Northwest Minnesota chapter, told the Pelican Rapids City Council on Jan. 27 that the chapter covers 36 counties and three tribal nations and stands ready to support local sheltering and recovery needs.
Vosite described the chapter’s focus on preparedness and volunteer response, emphasizing that “90% of us, our workforce is volunteers.” She highlighted a free smoke-alarm program in which Red Cross volunteers install alarms at no charge for qualifying households and encouraged local partnerships to identify partner shelters and volunteers who could run them until Red Cross staff arrive.
Vosite also described Red Cross services beyond sheltering: disaster mental-health support, disaster health services, veteran- and military-family communications, and financial assistance for veterans. She noted the group’s frequent deployments to support storms, floods and tornado responses across the region.
On blood collection, Vosite said Pelican Rapids donors are important to the national supply and warned the chapter is operating amid an emergency blood shortage. She said regional blood drives will be held in February, and thanked local hosts including the barn at Dun Villa and Lake Region Electric Co-op for recurring donation events.
Council members thanked Vosite and asked questions about seasonal demand and volunteer deployments; Vosite said responses vary by season (cold months see more home-fire responses locally, while hurricane season affects national deployments) and noted chapter volunteers are often deployed to other states during large events. The presentation closed with an invitation to collaborate on the tabletop emergency-management exercise the council discussed later in the meeting.
The council did not take formal action on Red Cross items; Vosite left handouts for council members and offered to follow up with staff on shelter partnerships and blood-drive dates.
