This week, the Canadian Red Cross and the ICRC are hosting a workshop bringing together experts to identify recommendations to ensure the safety of health facilities in times of conflict. As such, we’ll be posting a blog post every day this week to help raise awareness about the need for healthcare workers to be protected in emergencies.

Ambulances, hospitals and medical personnel have been under threat or the target of violence in countries such as Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, and in other parts of the world affected by conflict or emergencies. When healthcare workers are in danger, the impact is also felt by those who need access to health care.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), this is one of the most crucial yet overlooked humanitarian issues today. The Red Cross has launched the Health Care in Danger campaign to raise awareness on these issues and find…

Guest post by Sandra Brunner, a member of the Canadian Red Cross Social Team and a Red Cross digital volunteer

I recently had to update my CPR/AED skills to include infants, as I was teaching mom and baby Pilates classes. I thought it would also be a good time to get my Standard First Aid, something I had been thinking about. I got in touch with my friends at the Red Cross and signed up through them for a two day CPR/AED and Standard First Aid course.

There’s always a small amount of fear when I sign up for courses like this. The reality is that you’re learning skills that could potentially save someone’s life. That’s a lot of responsibility and not to be taken lightly.

Our instructor for the two days, Brian, was really great. He kept us going through the material at an understandable pace and kept…

if you ever see an oversized lifejacket walking around your community, you’ll know Buckles is in town!

Buckles is the Canadian Red Cross mascot for water safety. He gets around the country quite a bit too. He’s been to Timmins, ON; last summer he did a road show in Atlantic Canada; he golfed in Calgary and visited Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. He even got to pose with Snoop Dogg (well, not really — we photoshopped Snoop’s head in there).

This summer, we took Buckles to meet our friends in the Moose Cree First Nations community in Northern Ontario. Buckles was a hit up there!

At the Red Cross, we love Buckles because he reminds all of us – kids and adults – how important it is to wear lifejackets and stay safe while having fun in and around the water.

Would you like to see Buckles in…

Are you prepared for a disaster? Not sure? Well, there’s an app for that!

Check out our new disaster preparedness calculator app created with the support of the Red Cross’ leading corporate partner, Walmart.

Using this Facebook app is easy: just drag and drop the items you already have and the app will calculate how prepared you are according to how many adults, children, and pets are in your home. The calculator will generate a list of items you need to build your own emergency preparedness kit to help you and your family stay safe for 72 hours in the event of a disaster. After reviewing the items to include in your kit, the list can be downloaded to help make shopping for your items easier.

In the event of an emergency or disaster, it could take emergency responders several days to reach your home and there may be certain situations where you…