Agenda - 04-06-1999 - 10a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER 4 AMERICAN RED CROSS CAMPAIGN TO PURCHASE COMMUNITY CHAPTER HOUSE INTRODUCTION The Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross has served the needs of Orange County citizens for more than 80 years. As a partner with the public and private sectors of our community, the chapter has continued to meet the needs of an area with tremendous growth in population over the past 15 years. By mandate, we must continue to meet the needs for anticipated future growth. Last year more than 44,000 individuals (almost 40 percent of the County population) benefited in some way from a service or program provided by the American Red Cross chapter in Orange County. The services of this chapter also reach far beyond the boundaries of Orange County, providing international services, disaster relief, and armed forces emergency services. All are done without any federal or state government funding. Our capital campaign goal is to purchase the property at which the Orange County Chapter is conveniently located at 101 Ephesus Church Road in Chapel Bill. This purchase will allow us to immediately start using the monthly savings from the elimination of the lease payments to put even more back into the services we provide. The efficiency of our operation and the invaluable participation ofvolunteers allows us to devote an extememly high percentage of all funds we raise directly into serving this community. Purchasing our building will allow us to increase that efficiency. The American Red Cross is consistently ranked near the top of national agencies for efficiency in utilizing fiscal resources. In the current leased location, the chapter has the facilities to enable it to meet the growing needs of our citizens in Orange County. The facility has classrooms to offer instruction on CRP/First Aid, and Baby Sitting; the space to host blood drives each month, helping us to increase collections by 1,000 units per year; and a communications center to increase our capability to back -up or maintain emergency radio and telephone communications in the event of a disaster or power outage. Additionally, the facility has been and can be opened as a shelter for flooding victims and for evacuees in the event of a local disaster. The Chapter sponsors and hosts the National Teen AIDS Hotline, a nationally recognized toll-free service, which receives more than 1,000 calls per month from across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. This building effectively meets the needs of our staff and volunteers as well as serving the needs of other community organizations such as Orange County Disablility Awareness Council, Volunteer Orange and EMS paramedics. With over 500 volunteers in Orange County, we are second only to Charlotte/Mecklenburg for having the most certified disaster relief workers in the state. Each year our chapter consistently exceeds the Standards of Excellence set by the parent organization in Washington. Remarkably, all of our services and volunteers are coordinated with a paid staff of only 5 committed individuals. The additional funds generated from owning vs. leasing will give us additional opportunities to serve the needs in Orange County.