Members of the Delphi American Legion Post learned of the “Get to know us before you need us” program of the American Red Cross at their last meeting. Newly appointed Service to the Armed Forces Program Manager Dieter Hantschel presented information of his office’s efforts to extend the Red Cross’ outreach to families of deployed service members.

He stated that the Red Cross has a congressional mandate to assist service personnel in several ways. One includes emergency communications in case of illness or death of an immediate family member, as well as “news of the joyous event of the service member’s new son or daughter.”

Hantschel pointed out that even though recruiters and others in the armed services make the information available to the servicemen and women, this information is largely ignored or forgotten and in the event of an emergency back home, the family is left helpless.

“Last year, in our tricounty service area, there were three deaths in families and the service members were not notified in time to attend the funerals,” Hantschel related. In each case, the affected families simply didn’t know to call the Lafayette office of the Red Cross, he said. “We hand out the “Get to know us” brochure at many events, have supplied the Recruiting Station with them and when we get the name of a recently enlisted recruit, we mail a brochure to the family.”

Hantschel appealed to the members of the American Legion to help pass the word about this service to anyone in Carroll County who might have an interest in this part of the Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES).

Additionally, the members heard some statistics about the Red Cross involvement in Carroll County, such as the support of 75 volunteers during the Tippecanoe River floods, the fire at The Andersons and the recent fires in Delphi.

“Until recently, there were no volunteers from my county,” said Hantschel, a Carroll County resident. “We now have a Carroll County Disaster Action Team established and so far five residents have come on board. We are looking for more.”

He related that agreements have been completed for an emergency shelter location in Delphi and that the Red Cross will locate a trailer, equipped with some of the most urgently needed supplies, in Carroll County to reduce the response time of volunteers and equipment from the Lafayette headquarters.

“We always have room for volunteers, regardless of age. Our emergency call takers work from home – one of ours is a lady in a wheelchair,” noted Hantschel. He stressed that the Red Cross furnishes no charge door-todoor transportation for veterans to hospitals and other medical facilities. The Red Cross would provide a van to Carroll County but someone needs to step forward and volunteer to drive, according to Hantschel.

He closed with an appeal for more volunteers and more monetary donations, noting that for every dollar the Red Cross spent in Carroll County last year only 2 cents came from here.

For more information, to volunteer and to donate, contact the Tippecanoe Chapter, American Red Cross, at (765) 742-6975 or on the web at www.lafayetteredcross.org.