2020 Press/Media Coverage
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November 26, 2020, Brainerd Dispatch: The annual Brainerd Community Thanksgiving Dinner was held at the Brainerd American Legion. This was a volunteer activity with financial and volunteer support from the Brainerd VFW, the Brainerd Elks and the Brainerd Eagles. Some 1000 meals were delivered by volunteers and 400 were picked up in a drive-thru. There was no indoor dining because of COVID. In the center of the photo is Brainerd Senior Vice Commander Dave Meyer carrying food packages. Additional volunteers from the Brainerd VFW were Stan Borle and Richard Schmidt all day Wednesday, then Chuck Hanson and the Shaun Thayer family on Thursday. About ten turkeys were cooked at the Brainerd VFW. Cars were backed up two blocks and donations were accepted to cover costs. Extra food was donated to Adult and Teen Challenge.
Dave Meyer helping at Thanksgiving. Brainerd Dispatch photo.
August 30, 2020, in the Brainerd Dispatch:
From the National VFW website July 7, 2020:
Emails July 2020: Hi Mark, very nice article. Thanks for sharing. Jan Lambert. Nice job Mark! Dawn Garin. We continue to be a shining beacon and positive model for the rest of the state. Mike Williams. You do a good job. Thank you. Dave Meyer.
Apil 6, 2020:.Local woman spotlights unity, patriotism at blood drive during pandemic at the Brainerd VFW.
Tammy Ebertowski and friends are giving back to the communities in which they live.
Written By: Theresa Bourke | Brainerd Dispatch
Tammy Ebertowski and friends are giving back to the communities in which they live.
Written By: Theresa Bourke | Brainerd Dispatch
Tammy Ebertowski, dressed up like the Statue of Liberty to show her support for the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, gives blood at the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Brainerd Friday, April 3. Cayman Loney-Adams, collection specialist II with the Red Cross, administers the donation. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
As the American Red Cross faces a blood shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities to donate are popping up all over the lakes area.
One resident did her part to not only help with the shortage but thank others who did the same.
Tammy Ebertowski donated blood for the first time Friday, April 3, at the Brainerd Veterans of Foreign Wars. She also pooled money with some friends to purchase gift cards to local businesses for a drawing. Everyone who donated at the VFW drive Thursday and Friday got their name in the drawing for a gift card. Everyone who donated would most likely get a prize, she said. “We’re just being generous because we want to give back to our community and thank our heroes,” she said during a phone interview Tuesday, March 31. As a health care worker herself at Good Samaritan Society-Woodland in Brainerd, Ebertowski said she has been touched by everything going on right now and is grateful for the solidarity of the Brainerd lakes community.
“We’re all showing compassion and showing that we all care about each other and going out of the way to make a difference with all the health care doctors and nurses out there that are on the front lines,” she said. “... I just have been just totally amazed with how we've all come together just to unite with each other.”
But the gift cards weren’t the only unique elements Ebertowski brought to last week’s blood drive. While donating Friday, she flaunted an eye-catching Statue of Liberty costume. She said the outfit was a way to highlight the beautiful country she lives in. “I’m grateful for our freedoms that we still have in this day and age,” she said. And if all Ebertowski’s efforts helped save just one life, she said it was worth it.
One resident did her part to not only help with the shortage but thank others who did the same.
Tammy Ebertowski donated blood for the first time Friday, April 3, at the Brainerd Veterans of Foreign Wars. She also pooled money with some friends to purchase gift cards to local businesses for a drawing. Everyone who donated at the VFW drive Thursday and Friday got their name in the drawing for a gift card. Everyone who donated would most likely get a prize, she said. “We’re just being generous because we want to give back to our community and thank our heroes,” she said during a phone interview Tuesday, March 31. As a health care worker herself at Good Samaritan Society-Woodland in Brainerd, Ebertowski said she has been touched by everything going on right now and is grateful for the solidarity of the Brainerd lakes community.
“We’re all showing compassion and showing that we all care about each other and going out of the way to make a difference with all the health care doctors and nurses out there that are on the front lines,” she said. “... I just have been just totally amazed with how we've all come together just to unite with each other.”
But the gift cards weren’t the only unique elements Ebertowski brought to last week’s blood drive. While donating Friday, she flaunted an eye-catching Statue of Liberty costume. She said the outfit was a way to highlight the beautiful country she lives in. “I’m grateful for our freedoms that we still have in this day and age,” she said. And if all Ebertowski’s efforts helped save just one life, she said it was worth it.
THERESA BOURKE may be reached at [email protected] or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa.
May 15, 2020, Editor's Note: Three Red Cross Blood drives have been held at the Brainerd VFW since the beginning of Covid-19. Some 160 units of blood were donated to help COVID victims this year.
Brainerd Dispatch Newspaper Friday, March 27, 2020:
Essentia Health accepting COVID-19 donations, encourages wider community support. Essentia Health officials said they’re doing well on supplies of personal protective equipment right now, Marketing Manager Kathy Sell said she has received an outpouring of requests from community members through social media, asking how they can help.
Written By: Theresa Bourke
Essentia Health accepting COVID-19 donations, encourages wider community support. Essentia Health officials said they’re doing well on supplies of personal protective equipment right now, Marketing Manager Kathy Sell said she has received an outpouring of requests from community members through social media, asking how they can help.
Written By: Theresa Bourke
Essentia Health Volunteer Supervisor Deb Anderson (left) accepts donations of homemade face masks from Baxter resident Kathy Brastrup Thursday, March 26, at the Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd. Essentia Health is well stocked with personal protective equipment right now but will still accept donations. Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
Editor's note: Kathy Brastrup is a Brainerd VFW Auxiliary member. See more details.
As the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the world spreading COVID-19 to thousands, camaraderie and togetherness are spreading throughout communities, too.
Many want to know how they can help those in need, especially health care facilities.
Though she can’t volunteer in person at Essentia Health right now, Baxter resident Kathy Brastrup decided she could help by making masks, 35 of which she dropped off at the hospital Thursday, March 26th.
Brastrup said she was inspired after seeing others on the news making homemade masks.
“I thought, ‘I can sew,’ so I went on YouTube and found this pattern,” she said Thursday from her car, as she pulled up to the hospital to hand the masks off to Volunteer Supervisor Deb Anderson.
Each mask takes her about 20-30 minutes, and those she dropped off feature patriotic red, white and blue patterns. Anderson just hopes hospital staff won’t be using them under these circumstances when the Fourth of July comes around.
Though Essentia Health officials said they’re doing well on supplies of personal protective equipment right now, Marketing Manager Kathy Sell said she has received an outpouring of requests from community members through social media, asking how they can help.
“They’re all rallying together, and that’s great,” Sell said during a phone interview Thursday. “So we’ve created a format that they can provide that.”
In a news release sent Thursday, Sell said those who want to help Essentia can do so by donating the following items:
As the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the world spreading COVID-19 to thousands, camaraderie and togetherness are spreading throughout communities, too.
Many want to know how they can help those in need, especially health care facilities.
Though she can’t volunteer in person at Essentia Health right now, Baxter resident Kathy Brastrup decided she could help by making masks, 35 of which she dropped off at the hospital Thursday, March 26th.
Brastrup said she was inspired after seeing others on the news making homemade masks.
“I thought, ‘I can sew,’ so I went on YouTube and found this pattern,” she said Thursday from her car, as she pulled up to the hospital to hand the masks off to Volunteer Supervisor Deb Anderson.
Each mask takes her about 20-30 minutes, and those she dropped off feature patriotic red, white and blue patterns. Anderson just hopes hospital staff won’t be using them under these circumstances when the Fourth of July comes around.
Though Essentia Health officials said they’re doing well on supplies of personal protective equipment right now, Marketing Manager Kathy Sell said she has received an outpouring of requests from community members through social media, asking how they can help.
“They’re all rallying together, and that’s great,” Sell said during a phone interview Thursday. “So we’ve created a format that they can provide that.”
In a news release sent Thursday, Sell said those who want to help Essentia can do so by donating the following items:
- New medical-grade masks, gowns, eye protection and gloves;
- Face shields; and
- Homemade masks.
Mar 20, 2020: Red Cross officials say coronavirus fears are driving blood donors away.
Brainerd VFW to host drive
Many thanks to those who donated blood Thursday, April 2 and Friday, April 3, 2020.
In the Minnesota-Dakotas region, there have been 117 blood drive cancellations, resulting in roughly 3,800 units of blood lost.
Story from the Brainerd Dispatch Newspaper, written By: Frank Lee |
Brainerd VFW to host drive
Many thanks to those who donated blood Thursday, April 2 and Friday, April 3, 2020.
In the Minnesota-Dakotas region, there have been 117 blood drive cancellations, resulting in roughly 3,800 units of blood lost.
Story from the Brainerd Dispatch Newspaper, written By: Frank Lee |
American Red Cross officials say healthy blood donors are needed more than ever as coronavirus concerns continue to grow.
“About 80% of the blood we collect comes from mobile drives in our communities,” Carrie Wiste of the American Red Cross said Thursday, March 19.
Volunteer blood donors are required to maintain the nation’s blood supply and help keep it from falling below critical levels, according to Wiste.
“Due to the coronavirus, we have seen more than 4,500 Red Cross blood drives canceled. And that has resulted in about 150,000 fewer blood donations through March 18,” Wiste said. Closer to home in the Minnesota-Dakotas region, there have been 117 blood drive cancellations, resulting in roughly 3,800 units of blood lost.
“We're facing a shortage, and we have been getting personal letters from doctors in different places around the country who are writing to us, saying, ‘Hey, I'm currently looking at the blood supply at my hospital. We're down to one day,’” Wiste said.
A single car crash victim may require as many as 100 units of blood, according to the American Red Cross, and every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
“We are taking extra precautionary measures to keep people safe and ease their minds at blood drives,” Wiste said.
The American Red Cross urges the public to join its lifesaving mission by giving blood this month in celebration of Red Cross Month. Donors of all blood types, especially type O, are urgently needed to help ensure blood is available for patients this spring.
“About 80% of the blood we collect comes from mobile drives in our communities,” Carrie Wiste of the American Red Cross said Thursday, March 19.
Volunteer blood donors are required to maintain the nation’s blood supply and help keep it from falling below critical levels, according to Wiste.
“Due to the coronavirus, we have seen more than 4,500 Red Cross blood drives canceled. And that has resulted in about 150,000 fewer blood donations through March 18,” Wiste said. Closer to home in the Minnesota-Dakotas region, there have been 117 blood drive cancellations, resulting in roughly 3,800 units of blood lost.
“We're facing a shortage, and we have been getting personal letters from doctors in different places around the country who are writing to us, saying, ‘Hey, I'm currently looking at the blood supply at my hospital. We're down to one day,’” Wiste said.
A single car crash victim may require as many as 100 units of blood, according to the American Red Cross, and every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
“We are taking extra precautionary measures to keep people safe and ease their minds at blood drives,” Wiste said.
The American Red Cross urges the public to join its lifesaving mission by giving blood this month in celebration of Red Cross Month. Donors of all blood types, especially type O, are urgently needed to help ensure blood is available for patients this spring.
American Red Cross employees take a number of precautions to ensure blood drives and donation centers are safe for all. Submitted infographic / American Red Cross
“We are trying to remind people that these are not mass gatherings. They are controlled events that are staffed by trained professionals who will follow strict protocols, at every single drive, to maintain sanitation and, you know, good health in our communities,” Wiste said.
The American Red Cross provides about 40% of the nation’s blood and blood components, but supply does not always meet demand because only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood yearly.
“We take the temperature of all of our staff, our volunteers and every donor that comes in the door,” Wiste said. “We're asking them to please be patient and let us check temperatures to make sure that no one is running a fever before they come in the door.”
As of Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health officials confirmed 89 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus that first emerged last year in China, with the closest case to the county of the potentially fatal disease in Benton County. The MDH states the total number of cases is likely an underestimate, as officials know the virus is circulating in communities.
“We're sanitizing our laptops and tablets that people used to check in electronically. We are maintaining social distancing with the chairs we set out for waiting, so we're setting them far apart, placing them back to back, so people aren't in close quarters while they wait,” she said.
There is no data or evidence COVID-19 can be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases of transfusion transmission for any respiratory virus, including the COVID-19 virus worldwide, according to a Red Cross news release.
“As usual, our collection staff are changing their gloves between every person (who donates),” Wiste said. “We're wiping down and sanitizing anything that our donors touch, basically, during the donation process.”
Blood is essential for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses and traumatic injuries, so the need for blood is constant, according to Sue Thesenga, an American Red Cross external communications manager. Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured, according to the American Red Cross, and they can only come from volunteer donors. One donation can potentially save up to three lives.
“We're being restricted and places are being shut down to slow the spread of the virus, so that we don't have a crisis of care, where we don't have enough beds or respirators for the people who get sick and who need them,” Wiste said. “ … But, meanwhile, we could be facing a secondary problem if people don’t donate blood during, you know, during this period when people are being told to stay at home and practice social distancing. If they're not donating blood, we could be in real trouble.”
Brainerd blood drive: The Brainerd Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1647 will host an American Red Cross blood drive 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Rescheduled to Thursday, April 2 and Friday, April 3, 2020) at 309 S. Sixth St. in downtown Brainerd. To make an appointment to donate, contact Sterling Molby at 218-851-1148 or the Red Cross at 1-800-733-2763. More details at brainerdvfw.org.
How to donate blood: To make a blood donation appointment for any upcoming blood drive, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information.
A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in at the blood collection site.
Those who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
As a public service, the Dispatch opened this article to everyone regardless of subscription status.
FRANK LEE, county and features reporter, may be reached at 218-855-5863 or at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/DispatchFL.
“We are trying to remind people that these are not mass gatherings. They are controlled events that are staffed by trained professionals who will follow strict protocols, at every single drive, to maintain sanitation and, you know, good health in our communities,” Wiste said.
The American Red Cross provides about 40% of the nation’s blood and blood components, but supply does not always meet demand because only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood yearly.
“We take the temperature of all of our staff, our volunteers and every donor that comes in the door,” Wiste said. “We're asking them to please be patient and let us check temperatures to make sure that no one is running a fever before they come in the door.”
As of Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health officials confirmed 89 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus that first emerged last year in China, with the closest case to the county of the potentially fatal disease in Benton County. The MDH states the total number of cases is likely an underestimate, as officials know the virus is circulating in communities.
“We're sanitizing our laptops and tablets that people used to check in electronically. We are maintaining social distancing with the chairs we set out for waiting, so we're setting them far apart, placing them back to back, so people aren't in close quarters while they wait,” she said.
There is no data or evidence COVID-19 can be transmitted by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases of transfusion transmission for any respiratory virus, including the COVID-19 virus worldwide, according to a Red Cross news release.
“As usual, our collection staff are changing their gloves between every person (who donates),” Wiste said. “We're wiping down and sanitizing anything that our donors touch, basically, during the donation process.”
Blood is essential for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses and traumatic injuries, so the need for blood is constant, according to Sue Thesenga, an American Red Cross external communications manager. Blood and platelets cannot be manufactured, according to the American Red Cross, and they can only come from volunteer donors. One donation can potentially save up to three lives.
“We're being restricted and places are being shut down to slow the spread of the virus, so that we don't have a crisis of care, where we don't have enough beds or respirators for the people who get sick and who need them,” Wiste said. “ … But, meanwhile, we could be facing a secondary problem if people don’t donate blood during, you know, during this period when people are being told to stay at home and practice social distancing. If they're not donating blood, we could be in real trouble.”
Brainerd blood drive: The Brainerd Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1647 will host an American Red Cross blood drive 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Rescheduled to Thursday, April 2 and Friday, April 3, 2020) at 309 S. Sixth St. in downtown Brainerd. To make an appointment to donate, contact Sterling Molby at 218-851-1148 or the Red Cross at 1-800-733-2763. More details at brainerdvfw.org.
How to donate blood: To make a blood donation appointment for any upcoming blood drive, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information.
A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in at the blood collection site.
Those who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
As a public service, the Dispatch opened this article to everyone regardless of subscription status.
FRANK LEE, county and features reporter, may be reached at 218-855-5863 or at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/DispatchFL.
