Alberta News and Stories

Volunteer admires the power of community in disaster responses

November 19, 2016 - Brenna Brown is a Disaster Management volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross. She was most recently involved in the Alberta Fires response, setting up emergency reception centres and shelters in Calgary and Edmonton to provide services for the thousands of evacuees from Fort McMurray and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Province honours Respect Education team with Inspiration Award

November 16, 2016 - Just in time for national Bullying Awareness Week, the Ministry of Human Services of the Province of Alberta has named the Red Cross’s anti-bullying education program as one of the winners of the 2016 Inspiration Award in the category of Leadership in Prevention of Bullying.

From Alberta to North Carolina: Canadian and American Red Crossers working together

November 04, 2016 - We met many of our American Red Cross friends this past May when they joined us to help during the Alberta wildfires in Canada, and we jumped at the opportunity to head south of the border to assist residents of North Carolina, following devastating flooding from Hurricane Matthew.

Red Cross helps families recover from the unexpected

October 28, 2016 - When you live in Northern Alberta, the threat of forest fires is something you get used to. 
“I didn’t initially realize how severe it was,” said 29-year-old Jessica Masse, a resident of Fort McMurray. “Earlier that day, I was playing outside with my daughter and my mother-in-law. The skies were blue,” Jessica recalled. But in just hours the blue skies had disappeared – and were replaced with smoke.

A poem to move forward from the Alberta fires

September 30, 2016 - When Peter Derban visited the Red Cross office in Fort McMurray, he shared a poem written about his experiences during the Alberta fires. Through his poetry, he is sure to give credit where credit is due.
 
‘Fire department in Fort Mac like angels work hard, all day and night.
They are tired, won’t give up. Evil flames they fight, nonstop.”

Past experiences motivate Red Cross volunteer in Alberta fires response

August 30, 2016 - Mohammed Sunba shares his experiences of volunteering with the Red Cross: he started nearly two years ago to support people who have been impacted by personal disasters, such as house fires and floods. The Alberta fire response is the largest disaster Mohammed has been a part of as a Red Cross volunteer.

Helping a community swim towards recovery

August 26, 2016 - Swim instructors Kaitlin Perry and Breena Rusnell always knew their work went far beyond teaching children how to do the front crawl or how to tread water.  Read how the swim instructors are helping their students and community recover from the devastating Alberta wildfires. 

Hope and help from someone who has been there

July 31, 2016 - Disaster is not new to Nancy Hollman. Imagine a stormy, grey, summer afternoon. On her bed with her two and a half year old son, Hollman was suddenly thrown to the floor and covered in debris. It was July 31, 1987. A tornado had just demolished her Edmonton home. 27 people died, but Nancy and her child survived to be rescued from the rubble. Almost 30 years later, Nancy is now working with the Canadian Red Cross, meeting with people who lost their homes just three months ago, in the Alberta wildfires. 

A Silver Cross Mother and her Red Cross service

July 26, 2016 - Red Cross volunteer Nicole Beauchamp, her husband Robert, and their family have long served their community and country. Beauchamp has been with Red Cross for 20 years and spent part of her summer assisting Alberta fire evacuees, first in Edmonton in May and then again in Calgary in June and July. 

Ready When the Time Comes: Acklands-Grainger invites Fort McMurray Red Cross team to move in

July 19, 2016 - Red Cross teams have witnessed thousands of acts of kindness as Canadians come together to help those affected by the massive wildfires in Fort McMurray and surrounding communities.
Last week, Jenn McManus, VP of Alberta operations for the Red Cross, visited the Acklands-Grainger employees in Fort McMurray to recognize one such act of kindness.