Back By: Joseph White, CEO American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter A year ago in St. Louis, hundreds of people lined the sidewalks to give blood. More than 487 Red Cross volunteers from the St. Louis region stepped forward to offer help, some spending weeks at the relief operations in New York and Washington D.C. St. Louisans held fund raising drives at schools, civic organizations and places of worship. Children donated change from piggy banks and lemonade stands. Through gifts great and small, the people of St. Louis donated more than $6 million to the Liberty Fund, which is solely designated to help those affected by the attacks on September 11. In the days, weeks and months that followed, we saw you give with your hearts and offer hope during one of the bleakest moments of American history. Now we want to issue a different challenge to the people of St. Louis. A challenge to help our country continue its road to recovery. A challenge of personal responsibility: Be prepared. Be prepared for the unthinkable in our community. From the fury of Mother Nature to the appalling mindlessness of terrorism, disasters happen. There are things all of us can do to prepare: - Create an emergency response plan for your family so they know how to react in the event of an emergency. - Make sure your child's school and other caregivers have your contact information. - Ask your employer if there is a disaster plan at your workplace. - Get certified in CPR and learn basic first aid skills - Commit to donating blood or organizing a blood drive. - Enroll in a free disaster training course. These steps are simple, yet powerful enough to save a life. Just as we are challenging you to be prepared, the St. Louis Area Chapter of the American Red Cross learned some painful lessons from September 11. We saw the new realities of how a disaster might unfold. We can be proud of the largest spontaneous outpouring of humanitarian support. And we can challenge ourselves to prepare for the unexpected. Joseph C. White is chief executive of the St. Louis Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.

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