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Ebola has been one of the most talked about health emergencies in the past year, but unless you’ve been in close contact with an infected person, you are very unlikely to contract the virus. There are many myths and fears surrounding the Ebola outbreak, both in the affected region of West Africa and in our own country. These fears are hampering efforts to fight the disease.

Like most Canadians, I am itching to ditch the cold and lie on a beach somewhere. I’m searching for travel deals and getting insider tips on the best places to go. I’m also making sure I can enjoy my whole vacation and get back in one piece! I’m a Red Crosser so ‘safety first’ is one of our unspoken mottos. Here are a few things to remember if you’re looking to head south like me.

It was the largest Red Cross response ever to a single country. The Red Cross helped one in two Haitians, about five million people. After the 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, individual Canadians and governments generously donated $222 million to the Canadian Red Cross to support the tremendous emergency and recovery efforts. 

While much of the attention around the current Ebola outbreak has been on treating patients, combating the fears, stigma and myths associated with the virus is another important component of the Red Cross response.

I’ll admit it. I’m not much of a hiker. If I had to choose, I would pick reading a book on the beach to hiking mountains any day. But I just came back from hiking through the mountains for seven hours in Honduras and even though my legs are sore, I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.

It's hard to believe that 2014 has very nearly come to a close. Nostalgia has officially kicked in and we’ve started to reminisce over all the notable events that occurred in the last twelve months. While many top 10 lists focus on the newsworthy stories from pop culture, sports and science, we thought we’d also take a minute to look back at the year in Red Cross Talks posts. So, without further ado, here are our ten favourite posts of 2014 in no particular order. 

While most of us will be spending the holidays with our families and friends, we wanted to highlight the special individuals working with the Canadian Red Cross who have sacrificed their holidays here at home to help those in need overseas. 

Since Typhoon Hagupit made landfall in the Philippines earlier this month, the Philippine Red Cross has been busy providing emergency relief and assessing damage in the hard-hit area of Samar Island.

The Red Cross has set up a basic health care unit in Dolores, Eastern Samar Province to provide services until health care facilities in the area can resume normal activities, with technical support for this clinic being provided by the Canadian Red Cross.