Blood drive in 1953 at the New York Fed via @MichaelSterchack

Seen at Simbeck Hampson blog

Red Cross Ambulance Station, Washington, DC circa 1919 via Shorpy

Jenna Ingram, 12, with the organ at her grandmother’s devastated home in Mapleton, Iowa. More info about this week’s American Red Cross disaster responses and where to help.

Japan’s Crisis One Month Later via The Big Picture

Survey finds young Americans unaware of rules of war

Volunteer touched by pregnant mother after house fire via Columbus Red Cross

It’s a superhero! It’s a cute! No, it’s a pug! [Denver.YourHub]

Writers write. For the Red Cross [Writers for the Red Cross]

Cross number 5 off my list [carharttsandcoachbags - language warning here]

Citizen Tech: social media in disaster response [Amy Sample Ward]

The Red Cross with a family of friendly bears [Michael Danko Flickr]

Hurricane Donna canteen from 1960 [Florida Keys Public Library Flickr Collection]

Red Cross uniform composite [Anyjazz65 Flickr]

Wildfire in Israel [The Big Picture]

Hope! [Hawra's Safar Flickr]

Mariachi Fire [LA Observed]

Not all heroes are superheroes [tuckpuck2 on YouTube]

Friday Final Cut – even more links! [Oregon Trail Chapter]

When I woke up this morning and was thinking about blogging, I thought about Thanksgiving and how much I personally have to feel grateful for.

One of the things that struck me is that when you’re part of the Red Cross family, you’re more in tune than ever to how fortunate we are. We see people at their most vulnerable. Over the 2.5 years I’ve been here I’ve seen people who lost everything after a hurricane. I saw schoolchildren devastated after an earthquake in China. I saw people in Haiti living under tarps and tents.  I saw how grateful those people were because of the assistance the Red Cross was giving them.

It strikes me in this season how very fortunate I am personally. I am so grateful for my good health, that I’m surrounded by friends and family, and that I have the privilege to work with such passionate and caring people in the American Red Cross.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

1947: 6 year old Austrian boy “Werfel” receiving a new pair of shoes donated by the Junior Red Cross in America.

2010: 10 year old Haitian boy Jordanie Derulus receiving his prosthetic leg.

That squirrel even got into some of our preparedness posters:

This week in 2008 Tropical Storm Fay was born, a dam burst in the Grand Canyon, and we were starting to really see the value of Twitter.

This week in 2007 the Red Cross Blog didn’t exist yet – but it would enter our lives a week later on August 28th! Check out our first post.

Your American Red Cross had a busy weekend responding to your neighbors all over the country. Stay tuned to the Disaster Online Newsroom for info about our responses.

• How do you warn 8 million New Yorkers a tornado may hit the city any minute? [In Case of Emergency Blog]
• Twisters confirmed in Penna [Philadelphia Inquirer]
• Residents pick up the pieces after flood [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• Chicago area continues cleanup efforts after storm [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Flood relief efforts continue in Kentucky [Huntington Herald Dispatch]
• Flooding in Missouri [Disaster Online Newsroom]
  
• Dam failure, flooding ‘an awful mess’ in Iowa [CNN]

When it comes to mascots we’ve definitely got a few around here:

Who’s your favorite mascot of all time?

Our disaster tech team is positioned in South Texas for Tropical Depression 2.

>> More on the Disaster Online Newsroom