The business office of the Morgan-Lawrence Chapter will be closed on Monday, Sept. 1 for the Labor Day holiday.  However, the regular Monday Blood Drive will continue as scheduled from Noon-6 p.m. at 431 Holly St. NE in Decatur.

The Morgan-Lawrence Chapter of the American Red Cross announces the kickoff of the 4th annual Major Gifts Campaign. A Major Gift is considered to be one of $1000 or more. The goal for this year’s campaign is $50,000.

Funds donated to previous Major Gift Campaigns were used to purchase an Emergency Response Vehicle which was used four days after purchase to provide food and comfort to rescue workers searching for a drowning victim and which proved to be invaluable in the chapter’s response to the February 6 Lawrence County tornado. Donations to this year’s campaign will support chapter programs and services including Disaster Relief; Community Disaster Education; Emergency Military Communications; Health and Safety Courses; and Blood Services.

For more information about the Major Gifts Campaign, contact Debbie Heard, dheard@morglawredcross.org. To make a donation to the Campaign, visit www.morglawredcross.org/donations/ or mail your contribution to P. O. Box 297, Decatur, AL 35602.

As part of Toray’s celebration of the opening of two new production lines and their long history of corporate responsibility to the communities they serve, the Morgan-Lawrence Chapter along with Meals-on-Wheels received a $10,000 donation on Friday, July 11. Mr. Greg Clemons, Toray Operations Manager, in presenting the check expressed appreciation to our chapter for its commitment to disaster relief and blood services in our community.

The U. S. Congress mandates that the American Red Cross do two things - provide disaster relief and emergency military communications, but we receive no federal funding to carry out this mandate. For this reason, we are especially grateful to Toray for their generous contribution to our efforts to fulfill the Congressional mandate to the people of Morgan and Lawrence counties.

Gift Bags for the special woman in your life are for sale at the Morgan-Lawrence chapter.
The stylish Black and White Gift Boxes include a Tea Mug with two tea bags and your own tea spoon, 12 pack coaster set, GinnyO’s Gourmet Cheese Rings, a gift box of Toffee to Go, and additional bonus gifts! Perfect for anniversary or birthday. The price of the bag has been reduced to $28, with $16 of the cost being tax-deductible. Bags can be ordered by visiting www.morglawredcross.org or by calling 353-4891.

What if American Red Cross, Morgan-Lawrence Chapter earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37% of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy’s and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place a order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter American Red Cross, Morgan-Lawrence chapter as the charity you want to support. And, be sure and spread the word!

For the second year in a row, the Morgan-Lawrence chapter has been named a highly performing chapter by the National Red Cross.  In order to receive this honor, the chapter met or exceeded standards in the areas of service delivery, fund raising, volunteer management, disaster readiness, and fiscal accountability.   The awarding of this honor to the chapter signifies that the Morgan-Lawrence county area can be assured of the highest quality service and accountability by their local Red Cross.

The Morgan-Lawrence Chapter is proud to announce the purchase of an Emergency Response Vehicle. The ERV will allow us to provide on-site aid and comfort to victims of disaster as well as rescue workers. The vehicle has space for storage of first aid and comfort items and will be equipped with a generator to assist with keeping food and drink warm and providing necessary lighting at night. Funds for the purchase of the vehicle were raised by the chapter during the last three Major Gifts campaigns held in August of each year. Many thanks to the donors who contributed to these campaigns to make this purchase possible.