It has been yet another disastrous year, which means the Red Cross has gotten a brisk workout. The latest was trying to ease the suffering during southern California’s wild fires, and that means one more reason to help replenish the organization’s reserves.
There is a way to help do that while acquiring some handy disaster-preparedness goods for yourself. The Red Cross began licensing products in 2006 and gets a cut of the sales.
Some of the products would make great gifts when sending the college-bound back to their campuses after the holidays.
On the higher end are the crank-charging emergency radios ranging from $50 to $60. Varying in price according to size, one version comes with AM/FM and shortwave radios and the other with AM/FM, TV and weather-channel bands. Both can charge a cell phone and have a flashlight, siren and blinking red light.
Good for a car trunk would be the Personal Emergency Preparedness kit, for $16.96. This includes emergency drinking water, a rain poncho, an emergency blanket, 2 hand warmers, a particulate mask, among other items all contained in a compact nylon backpack.
Another goody to send along with a college student is the Easy Start Battery Charger for jump-starting a car. It’s included in various auto kits, including the Red Cross Basic Roadside Kit, with suggested retail of $32.99 (Just make sure she or he knows how to use it without blowing the electrical system.)
Check out redcrossstore.org or look for the products at Target. The Red Cross hopes to have all its products grouped together in retail stores eventually. For now they are found among products in their respective categories. On the Red Cross Web site, check out the vintage goods, which include some clothing and a very cool field bag (messenger bag) bearing the Red Cross emblem ($25).
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Some of these products may not be found on the Red Cross site, so simply Google them, because they can be found at many other Internet locations, such as Amazon.com.