Club Red starts at Southeast, will assist SEMO American Red Cross

Club Red, a new organization on campus, will assist the SEMO American Red Cross with its mission to help victims of disasters and help prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Kelsey Boeser, a senior studying public relations and advertising at Southeast Missouri State University, started the club on campus and is the president of Club Red.

"I started my internship with the SEMO American Red Cross, and I didn't know what they did and everyone assumes that they just do blood drives, but its so much more than that," Boeser said. "They solely depend on volunteers, and especially at these times with Hurricane Sandy, the student body could really be utilized getting involved."

Boeser contacted Sara Gerau, executive director at SEMO Red Cross, about interning and had to go through a routine interview process. Boeser writes press releases, creates advertisements, manages social media sites and assists with event coordination. After Boesler graduates in May, she would like to work for a non-profit organization while she attends graduate school at the University of Florida.

The first meeting for the club was Nov. 5.

More than 25 people attended the meeting.

"We are very excited about the initial student interest, and we are looking forward to see the organization grow," Chelsea Welker, a senior studying communication disorders at Southeast and vice president of Club Red said.

The club had several events already planned.

The first event, the Hurricane Sandy Donation Drive, will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 12 through Nov. 15 at the University Center. The event will help raise money for the American Red Cross, which in turn will go to the victims of the recent disastrous hurricane on the East Coast.

"We will have a table set up that will have information on Hurricane Sandy that will help show students how severe it really is," Boeser said. "At the table as well, any student that is interested in joining can do so."

Another event that Club Red will have is its own version of the American Red Cross's Holiday Mail for Heroes Card event. This will take place at 5 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Program Lounge at the UC. The event is an open event for anyone that wants to donate cards.

"We will get cards together that will in turn go to local veterans and soldiers, but there are guidelines with the cards that have to be followed," Boeser said.

According to the American Red Cross website, the cards can't be postmarked later than Dec. 7. No care packages, monetary donations or any kind of inserts, such as photos or letters, can be sent with the cards. Glitter is especially banned from being on the cards as it can aggravate health issues of ill and injured soldiers. More rules and regulations for the cards can be found at redcross.org.

Boeser plans to do other events, such as a blood drive, soon.

The high turnout at the first meeting came as a surprise to Boeser and Welker, but they both still hope to have an increase in involvement over the semester.

"A lot of times students don't know how to get involved with big organizations like the Red Cross, so this is a good stepping stone allowing students to get involved," Welker said.

Meetings for Club Red will take place at 5 p.m. Mondays in the UC Program Lounge for right now, but the time might change.

Since Boeser is the public relations intern at SEMO Red Cross, she will get updates weekly on the needs and upcoming events at the organization.

"We are going to support the SEMO Red Cross by doing anything that we can," Boeser said.