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Every year, over 500 Canadians die in drowning-related incidents. Of these, over 90 per cent are men. Statistics, however, often mask the individual losses though and the enormous impact a drowning death can have on an entire family. Danika Crossman, boating safety program coordinator with the Canadian Red Cross, knows this loss first hand. In 2009, her uncle drowned while he was boating with his wife on Lake Okanagan in Kelowna, B.C. He was 41.

April 25 marks one year since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal, resulting in widespread destruction. Nearly 9,000 lives were lost, around 22,000 people were injured, and more than 800,000 houses were damaged or destroyed. The Red Cross, with the support of Canadians, responded immediately and three million survivors received emergency aid. Vital relief items such as clean water, food, and shelter materials, were distributed to ensure the survival of tens of thousands of affected people.

My family recently found ourselves on a Caribbean island where we were having a wonderful vacation. My husband and I have always loved the water and once upon a time were both lifeguards in Canada (let's just call us 'retired'). With two young children, we respect the ocean and are always looking for opportunities to talk over safety in the water, taking the opportunity in this case to explore ocean currents and what they mean when we're thinking about cooling off in the ocean.

Participants crouch down in groups on the ground of a hotel in Ottawa with dried spaghetti sticks and marshmallows. The aim of the team-building exercise is to work together to come up with a way to create the highest structure topped by a marshmallow. The exercise is part of a training of future Red Cross Operations Managers.

It was an emotional evening as 10 people from Alberta and British Columbia were recognized for their heroic efforts in two life-changing events and given Canadian Red Cross Rescuer Awards at a ceremony in Calgary.

We’re so lucky Nicole Fassina is a new Red Cross recruit! Not only did she fly all the way from Tajikistan to take part in Canadian Red Cross training, but she can rap with the best of them, and is a Terry Fox Award winner. Recently, Nicole was one of 26 people, along with doctors, nurses, technicians, administrators and other professionals, who attended Canadian Red Cross IMPACT training in Ottawa. IMPACT stands for International Mobilization and Preparation for Action, and helps prepare people to work on a range of Red Cross international operations.

When we say CERA, we’re talking about Capacity Building for Emergency Response in the Americas Imitative. Recently, a CERA workshop took place that aimed to help better strengthen and prepare National Societies in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica and Nicaragua for disasters, emergencies and day-to-day operations. 

Last week, a group of incredibly talented individuals gathered in Ottawa to attend a week-long Red Cross training session known as IMPACT, short for International Mobilization and Preparation for ACTion. This training includes team building exercises and mock scenarios, all which prepare aid workers to be deployed to the field.