Yokota Red Cross

Courtesy of 374 AW Public Affairs

6/13/2011 - YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – Members of the Educational and Developmental Intervention Services opened the lending library located inside the 374th Medical Group Annex at building 1585, room LA22 at Yokota, June 10.

The lending library is a special library that is equipped with items such as, developmentally appropriate toys, children’s books, educational resources and therapeutic games for children with special needs.

The library is available to children that are qualified to receive services from the EDIS program and is open every Friday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

“Any child receiving occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language pathology, early childhood special education, clinical social work or psychology services on their Individualized Family Service Plan or their Individualized Education Program are eligible to use the library,” said Jennifer Hoggatt, EDIS certified occupational therapy assistant.

The purpose of the lending library is to loan items to the families that receive our services and allow them the opportunity to use these special items in their child’s most natural environment while addressing their developmental concerns.”

The lending library is the first of its kind at Yokota, and according to EDIS staff, is the first and only kind in Pacific Air Forces.

The library was developed through the Military Hospital Outreach Program with the help of Yokota’s Red Cross and in collaboration with the Yokota Officers Spouses Club representatives of the Yokota Interagency Coordinating Council.

The EDIS program is available at military installations throughout mainland Japan.

To find out more information on enrolling in EDIS, parents can make a self referral by contacting their local agencies to schedule a screening for their child or they can request a referral from their child’s pediatrician or primary care manager.

For more information on the lending library or any other EDIS programs, call 225-9993.

by Airman 1st Class Lynsie Nichols
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

May 11, 2011 marked what some would say is a “revolution in rehabilitation” at Yokota AB, Japan.  The $38,000 AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill® was given to the physical therapy department at the 374th Medical Group as a gift from the Red Cross through the Military Hospital Outreach Program (MHOP). Yokota AB is the first base in the Air Force to get the treadmill and the first base in PACAF to have one.

The goal of the anti-gravity treadmill is to cut rehabilitation time (averaging 5 to 6 months) for lower limb injuries in half the time, allowing service members to return to duty as quick as possible following an injury or surgery. The treadmill is FDA-approved to aid in rehabilitation following: an injury or surgery of the lower extremity; total joint replacement (hip or knee); gait training in neurologic patients; and weight control and reduction.

The anti-gravity treadmill uses a unique differential air pressure technology to provide unweighting, down to 20 percent of a patients weight and can be increased in 1 percent increments. This technology allows a patient to exercise at a pain free level following an injury or surgery.

In an effort to raise more money for disaster relief for areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, Yokota held a fund raising benefit on Saturday, April 18, 2011. Japanese and American bands performed at the  Sakura Shell, located on the east side of base, giving rise to the name “Tomodachistock.” It was a day filled with a  full spectrum of music performed by:

Car Bomb (Irish Pub Music)
Hot L (Rock)
Tr3s (Latin Jazz)
AT*69 (80′s Rock)
Days Gone By (Acoustic Rock)
Army Rock Band (Rock)
PACAF Band (Rock)

 

Several organizations sold t-shirts, food, and beer in an effort to raise money, as well as donations made to the Red Cross itself. Until the day of the event, the Red Cross had raised $24,000 and hoped to match that goal at Tomodachistock. The Red Cross succeeded in raising $23,366.90 from the Yokota community in just the span of 7 hours.

So far the American Red Cross has raised and donated over $120 million to disaster relief in Japan. The money donated will go to the Japanese Red Cross, that provides emergency relief, medical services, and counseling those affected by the disaster.

Donations can still be made by logging on to: www.redcross.org or going to the Yokota Red Cross office located in the AFRC building.

QUESTION: How can I make a financial donation?

ANSWER: You can donate to us by mail, by phone, on our website or by text message.

Donate by Phone

You can donate by credit or debit card, by calling:

(English): 1-800-HELP-NOW (1-800-435-7669)

(Spanish): 1-800-375-7575

(You can dial 809-463-3376 from most DSN numbers to be allowed to make 800 number calls)

 

Donate on our Website

You can donate online by clicking the “Donate Now” link at the top of this page, or by visiting http://www.redcross.org.

Donate at American Red Cross Office

You can donate in person by visiting the Yokota American Red Cross office located in the Airman and Family Readiness building (AFRC) located between Chili’s and the YCC.  Ensure checks and money orders: write “Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami” in the memo section.

Donate by Mail

We can accept checks.  Make checks payable to American Red Cross and in memo note “Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami”.  Then mail them to our lockbox:

American Red Cross
PO Box 4002018
Des Moines, IA 50340-2018

Thank you for your donation, we are grateful for your support.

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QUESTION: I would like to donate items.

ANSWER: Thank you so much for your generous offer.  Many donations, though well intentioned, have hidden costs and pose many complications. These include such items as clothing, furniture, toys, or small individual donations of items of any sort. These are not viable in-kind offers because:

• There needs to be enough of a particular item supplied for it to be distributed equitably. Small donations and collections don’t meet these criteria.
• The Red Cross can’t guarantee the usability and safety of such products. We don’t know the origins, conditions, and expiration dates of collected items.
• Collections require time, money, and personnel to process, all precious resources in disaster relief. Following disasters, all relief workers and resources focus on the people affected and meeting their emergency needs. There are no resources available for examining, sorting, and cleaning.
• If you have collections of goods and individual items, these have the greatest impact when they are donated to other charitable organizations within your own community, or to other organizations that are also helping within the affected area.

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QUESTION: I would like to donate items to the recent international disaster.

ANSWER: Thank you so much for your generous offer.  During an international response, the American Red Cross works in partnership with other national societies around the world.  Together, we support disasters in three ways: by making a financial donation to the affected country’s Red Cross Society, by sending volunteers with specialized skills from the American Red Cross’ National Headquarters that have been requested, and by sending supplies such as tents and jerry cans from the International Red Cross Federations’ overseas warehouses.

Financial donations are the best way to support international relief operations.  Financial donations give us the flexibility to purchase the exact items disaster victims need.  And, unlike product donations which can be very expensive to transport and inappropriate to the local culture, financial donations allow us to purchase needed items closer to the disaster site. This has the benefit of not only minimizing transportation costs, but of also supporting the local vendors in the community also affected by the disaster.  Are you interested in making a financial donation?

For Donors who are still interested in International In-Kind Donations:

Like Red Cross, many international relief organizations are not able to accept donations of products for overseas operations.  Shipping products, especially after a disaster, is very challenging and often more expensive than purchasing product locally.  Local purchases allow organizations to purchase exactly what is needed when it is needed without having to worry about transportation or storage.  Local purchases also ensure that organizations are distributing products that the affected families are familiar with – that the food they distribute is normally what the family prepares, that the hygiene supplies have labels and instructions written in their native language.

For Donors who are Insistent on Donating Overseas:

InterAction is an organization that brings together many different international relief organizations based in the US.  After an international disaster, InterAction posts the names of the organizations responding to the event on their website, http://www.interaction.org/.  Though most international organizations only accept product, you may be able to find an organization seeking these supplies on their website.

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For Community Groups

QUESTION: My in-kind offer has been referred to several different organizations; I know people need this – but I have not found any organization that will accept it!

ANSWER: In the first few days after a disaster, the Red Cross, like many organizations can be overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the public.  We receive hundreds of calls from the public with very generous product offers.  Due to the costs of time and money involved in processing and transporting product donations – we are typically only able to accept a very small percentage of offers we receive.

QUESTION: What is the American Red Cross doing to assist the Japanese community?

ANSWER: The American Red Cross is currently in discussions with the Japanese Red Cross to assess their needs and see how we can help. The Japanese Red Cross has extraordinary disaster response capabilities. They have been operating since 1887, and they run multiple hospitals and blood collection services across the country.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is assisting Japan with restoring family links.

The American Red Cross has a warehouse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, fully stocked with pre-positioned relief supplies for 5,000 families, and it has disaster specialists on standby. These supplies can be used for people in U.S. territories or other Pacific nations.

The Japanese Red Cross continues to assess needs and has deployed 62 national disaster response medical teams with more than 400 staff to affected areas. The Japanese Red Cross has not requested international assistance at this time; however, the American Red Cross is in direct contact about their ongoing needs.

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QUESTION: I’m concerned about my loved ones. What can I do?

ANSWER:

NON-MILITARY, U.S. CITIZENS: The best way to contact or locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Japan is to contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or (202) 647-5225 (to call the 888 number from a DSN, dial 809-463-3376 first). The American Red Cross Safe and Well website has been updated to include the disaster dropdown “Japanese Earthquake.” People in the area can register themselves on the site as being safe and well and families in the States can check to see if their loved ones are registered on the site: http://www.redcross.org/safeandwell

MILITARY: The military has reported that all their personnel are accounted for, and all Red Cross staff on military bases are also fine. As is the normal practice for a disaster, Red Cross station managers are currently in the military Emergency Operations Centers for their respective installations and assisting as needed.  The American Red Cross Safe and Well website has been updated to include the disaster dropdown “Japanese Earthquake.” Military members can register themselves on the site as being safe and well and families of Military members stationed overseas can check to see if their loved ones are registered on the site: www.redcross.org/safeandwell

JAPANESE OR OTHER NATIONALITIES: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working closely with the Japanese Red Cross, has launched a special Family Links website to help people seeking to re-establish contact with family members and friends. People in Japan and abroad can register on the website to inform their family and friends that they are safe and provide their current contact details, while those looking for people can check the list for information. They can also register the names of family members and friends, encouraging them to get in touch. The website is at http://www.icrc.org/familylinks. Even though communication networks are overloaded right now, the situation may change and access to mobile networks and the internet may improve.

Other Family Linking Resources: The Google Person Finder site is available: http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en

If you have the mobile phone number of your family member in the affected areas, you may utilize the following services to check whether he/she has registered his/her message(s) on this service. Services are available in English and Japanese.

DoCoMo: http://dengon.docomo.ne.jp/Einoticelist.cgi?es=0

SoftBanK: http://dengon.softbank.ne.jp/pc-e1.jsp

Willcom: http://dengon.willcom-inc.com/dengon/Top.do?language=E

EZWeb: http://dengon.ezweb.ne.jp/E/service.do?p1=dmb221

Please note that when you enter the mobile phone number for search on the webpage, you should enter the number without any dashes.

There has been an enormous outpour of desire to help by our local community.  At this time, the Yokota American Red Cross is accepting only cash donations (U.S. dollars, Japanese Yen, checks are all okay).

You can donate in person by visiting the Yokota American Red Cross office located in the Airman and Family Readiness building (AFRC) located between Chili’s and the YCC.  You can also donate online by clicking the “Donate Now” link at the top of this page, or by visiting http://www.redcross.org.

Yokota American Red Cross is not accepting donations of clothing, food or any other goods at this time.