The Pulse

Tools for School

As part of the 2009 Summer of Service, we are encouraging people to get involved with our "Tools for School" initiative.

Over the span of two weeks, hundreds of volunteers will flood our Global Distribution Center in Kansas City, KS and help us assemble 8,000 backpacks full of essential school supplies. These backpacks will be distributed to disadvantaged children in Kansas City and beyond.

We "adopted" this initiative in 2006 and it's been a wonderful entry point for volunteers ever since.

Over the years, this initiative has provided more than 130,000 kids with a new backpack, so they can start the school year on the right foot.

You can join this effort! We need at least 100 more volunteers to help us. Weekday sessions from 9 a.m.-12 noon and 1-4 p.m. are available during July 13-17 and July 20-24. Some weeknight slots are available from 5-8 p.m.

These three-hour sessions make great team-building exercises or community-service projects for your family, school group, civic club, faith community or local business.

Contact Heart to Heart today by calling 913-764-5200 or signing up online and bring a smile to a student in need.

More Aid on the Way to Pakistan

In times of disaster, Heart to Heart sends shipments of targeted to aid to help people in crisis. The recent conflict between Pakistan military forces and the Taliban has forced more than 2 million people to flee into the Swat Valley.

That's where our humanitarian partners are meeting health needs. With the help of FedEx, we sent an initial shipment of medical aid to Islamabad, where it was then transported to refugee camps in the Swat Valley.

Our partners report overwhelming need and asked for additional supplies. We're responding with a second shipment today. It contains medicines and vitamin supplements specifically for children, who are the most vulnerable to airborne and water-borne diseases in exposed environments.

We stand already preparing additional shipments of aid, because the need is great. Please help us save as many lives as possible in this troubled region. Make an online donation today.

Your support will enable us to help children caught in the crossfire of this regional conflict.

 

H1N1 Virus: 50,000+

Today, the World Health Organization updated the spread of the H1N1 flu virus and said that more than 50,000 cases of the virus have been reported in 96 countries and territories worldwide.

Heart to Heart is continuing to address the situation, working closely with humanitarian partners around the world to prepare for potential outbreaks in new regions.

So far, we have shipped aid to clinics and hospitals in the U.S. (where most of the cases have been reported to date), Mexico (where the most deaths have occurred), and Guatemala. We have provided training in the United States and Guatemala. We are planning an extensive training exrecise in China this fall (October 16-25).

We are still looking for technical experts to join this team. If interested, please contact Kyle McPhee at 913-764-5200.

First Friday: Summer of Service

"First Friday" is a special message each month from Heart to Heart's CEO, Jon D. North, and communicates our agenda for the coming weeks. The column usually appears on the first Friday of each month (though this month it appears on the second Friday). In this edition of "First Friday" Jon talks about the impact of volunteers on our global work...

When Heart to Heart was founded back in 1992, it had a distinctive "grassroots" feel and was fueled almost entirely by volunteers from all walks of life. Though we have gotten more professional on the staff side over the years, we have not lost our perspective on the value of volunteerism.

Today, volunteers still help us at almost every turn -- whether it's answering the phones or stuffing envelopes at our world headquarters, sorting product or packing pallets at our warehouse, helping us create healthier communities at home or abroad, or making our events flow seamlessly.

Volunteers keep us ticking and they help us stretch every dollar even further.

Over the next three months, I encourage you to volunteer as part of our "Summer of Service." We have something for everyone -- from individuals and families to schools, civic groups and businesses.

New Grants Help Local Health Outreach

Heart to Heart recently received two grants -- one from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and another from the REACH Foundation -- that will energize our local health initiatives.

The grants result in approximately $160,000 in new funding that will help us enhance the health services of safety-net clinics in the metro area. We are excited that we will be able to provide additional pharmaceutical and laboratory support to several free clinics, as well as increase diabetic testing and treatment opportunities for at-risk populations in Kansas City.

Read the press release about these recent grants.

You can support our local health initiatives by volunteering at one of our upcoming health fairs or by making a financial contribution. You donation of time or money will help us stretch our resources even further in these difficult economic times.

Level 6

Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) did something it has never done in its 41-year history: It announced its first flu pandemic by raising its alert system to Level 6 -- indicating that, in fact, a global outbreak exists.

It is important to note, however, that the alert system indicates scope rather than severity. To date, nearly 30,000 cases of Influenza A (H1N1) have been reported in more than 70 countries worldwide. Naerly 150 people have died from the virus.

There are easy ways to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

Through May 31, Heart to Heart launched an awareness campaign, translated prevention materials into multiple languages, and shipped protection equipment to hospitals and clinics affected by the outbreak in the U.S., Mexico and Guatemala. Additional shipments are on the horizon.

Because of your support and action, we have been part of the global effort to contain the H1N1 virus. More work is waiting, and the virus could mutate over the summer into something much more dangerous during the tradition flu season in the fall.

We need your continued support. Help us contain this deadly virus by making a donation today.

NOAA: Busy Hurricane Season Ahead

Hurricane season is just around the corner. That means it's time to look into the crystal ball and check out what weather forecasters are saying about the odds of a major hurricane.

First up to the plate was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which said today that it's going to be a busy storm season in the Atlantic this year: A strong possibility of 9-14 named storms, 4-7 of which could become hurricanes, including 1-3 becoming major hurricanes.

A tropical storm is named once it has sustained winds of 39 mph and it becomes a hurricane when it has sustained winds of 74 mph.

Major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 and 5 storms) have sustained winds of 111 mph of more. These types of storms are also known as typhoons or cyclones in other parts of the world.

While it looks to be a busy hurricane season, Heart to Heart is making preparations to be ready if one of these storms makes landfall.

Last year, Heart to Heart was on the scene and on the job when Hurricane Ike struck Galveston, Texas. We worked with the University of Texas Medical Branch to provide ongoing medical care to people affected by the storm, since none of the hospitals or clinics were too badly damaged to see any patients.

Sign up today to join our readiness team. There's a place for you on our Crisis Response Team. We need individuals, groups and companies to be readt when duty calls.

You can also help us by packing Care Kits, which we distribute to people in crisis in the U.S. and in disaster zones all around the world. Here are the instructions on how to build these hygiene kits.

Sending Relief to Combat Zone in Sri Lanka

On a day when Sri Lanka leaders are hailing a major victory of Tamil Tigers, relief groups are stepping up efforts to assist those who have been caught in the crossfire. Heart to Heart is one of the few groups to get its aid to the clinics in the combat zone.

We have a powerful tool to help healthcare workers treat wonded civilians. It's called the Ready Relief Box, and it contains enough medicines and supplies to provide up to 400 courses of treatment. Now Sri Lankan doctors and nurses can treat thousands of people at a time when medical resources are scarce.

Not only did we send several Ready Relief Boxes, but working through our local partner in Colombo and a network of groups, we were aid send a truckload of supplies to medical personnel in the affected region.

You can support relief efforts like this or the complex emergency in Pakistan or flooding in Brazil by making an online donation today!

Pristine Day Greets Golfers at Kauffman Classic

What do you get when you combine 100+ golfers, a 75-degree day, a challenging golf course, and lots of fun? Answer: The Kauffman Golf Classic.

Wonderful weather, great food and fun golf games greeted more than a hundred players at the 15th annual Ewing M. Kauffman Golf Classic -- a charity golf event held at Oakwood Country Club that benefits the humanitarian work of Heart to Heart International.

No one recorded a hole-in-one, but there were plenty of close calls. Many teams took advantage of the opportunity to score an ace (wink, wink) or feel like Tiger Woods on the boom-boom drive hole.

The winning score was 12-under in the first flight and 5-under for the second flight.

All funds raised from the Kauffman Golf Classic support Heart to Heart's efforts to restore communities to health.

Remembering China: One Year Later

One year after a massive earthquake struck Sichuan Province in southwestern China, residents are still recovering. It was on May 12 near the city of Beichuan that a magnitude-7.8 quake leveled towns and buried residents. In the end, it left more than 90,000 dead or missing and nearly 5 million homeless.

Heart to Heart was one of the first groups on the scene. Our medical staff in Chengdu quickly mobilized for action and joined the Chinese Red Cross in providing emergency care for survivors.

We were able send a GO Team of 30 U.S.-based volunteers and several additional staff members to help coordinate the unprecedented relief effort.

Within 30 days of the disaster, Heart to Heart had mobilized nearly 4,000 China-based volunteers to assist in delivering relief supplies to villagers trapped in mountains and hillsides of Sichuan.

Thanks to grants from companies like FedEx and New York Life, we have continued to focus our efforts on disaster-readiness training over the past year.

We are remembering China today, as the nation marks the one-year anniversary of the Beichuan earthquake.

On May 22, another Heart to Heart team will travel to Chengdu and help lead training exercises on pandemic preparedness and emergency-response coordination.

You can support the team's efforts by making an online donation today.