The American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) Chapter provided around-the-clock emergency assistance to 89 people left homeless by a two-alarm fire in Norristown. The fire broke out at Town and Country Apartments on Arch Street in the early morning hours of November 8.

In the last ten days, the chapter hosted both our annual Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter Spectrum Awards and the Delaware County Clara Barton Ball.

Red Cross workers who responded to the California wildfires disaster in October, including 26 from SEPA Chapter, won high praise for their work

For the sixth consecutive year, the American Red Cross has received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent evaluator of charities. Receiving four out of a possible four stars indicates that the Red Cross excels, as compared to other charities in America, in successfully managing the finances of the organization in an efficient and effective manner.

More than 50 volunteers from the Red Cross and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) teamed up on November 17 to sharpen their sheltering skills. They participated in an interactive shelter drill at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale to learn hands-on techniques in disaster shelter operations.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (SEPA VOAD) began its effort to reach out to agencies and volunteers in Chester County this month with the goal of increasing disaster preparedness in the area.

As area residents prepared to "fall back" to mark the end of Daylight Saving Time, the American Red Cross, Philadelphia Fire Department, CBS 3 and First Alert teamed up to remind people in the region that this was a good time to prepare for fire safety.

Despite chilly temperatures, an overcast sky, and intermittent patches of drizzle and rain, community residents began lining up on the morning of Monday, November 19, 2007, two hours before the annual Turkey Day event was set to begin.

Day after day, month after month, year after year, you are there for each other. As volunteers, you offer the greatest gift - your support when it is needed the most. It is thanks to you that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter is able to support our community 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Don Sexton is the new weekend responder in Emergency Services. He joins the ES team after volunteering as a Disaster Action Team responder with the Nassau County Chapter of the American Red Cross on Long Island from 2004-2007.

It is hard to prepare yourself for a DSHR assignment. You hear about the disaster through the media and call the DRO Information Hotline to gain useful information, but it can only partially prepare you for when you witness it firsthand.