Brandywine Community Church Mock Disaster

November 14, the FBCI team traveled to Brandywine Community Church to conduct their Mock Disaster. The Action Team did a wonderful job meeting all the challenges offered by the injects, sometimes in a more creative way than we expected. This picture was posted on the information board for all to see in the hopes that Albert and Sprinkles could be reunited. Brandywine Community Church is our first partner in Hancock County to complete the training, so we at the American Red Cross are very excited by their participation.

Congratulations Christy Bennett!

Christy Bennett, from Englewood Christian Church, was the first to mail back her Completion Certificate for the Basic Food Safety course!

We are expecting more certificates to come within the next coming weeks. If you have any questions on the Basic Food Safety course please contact us! (Reminder: The course is required for all those working in the Kitchen area).

Thanks!!

Englewood Mock Disaster: A+

There was no reason to be afraid at the Halloween mock disaster at Englewood Christian Church. Having a long history of serving the community and hosting guests at their downtown facility, Englewood easily overcame the challenges of the mock disaster with confidence, grace, and hospitality. Thanks to all of the Englewood Christian Church Action Team members and player volunteers, and also to Bert and Ernie Harvey of Plainfield Christian Church for joining us as guest observers. As we continue "mock disaster season" at First Church of the Nazarene and Brandywine Community Church over the next two weekends, we are glad to be off to such a strong start. Thank you, Englewood!

Interfaith Activities

One of our first partners, St. Lukes United Methodist Church on 86th Street has been sponsoring a program called Faith of our Neighbors. The FBCI Coordinators have been able to attend on two occasions. During the service, a leader from another faith is interviewed at the lecturn. A question and answer session with that faith leader is held following the service. This has been an educational and interesting program involving Buddhists, Muslims, Native Americans, Sikhs, and on Sunday, October 18th, they will celebrate Judaism.

The Sacred Places Tour for October has included a Greek Orthodox Church and our newest partner, Al-Fajir Masjid on Cold Spring Road. On Sunday the 18th, they will be learning about Native American Spirituality at the Peace Learning Center and Buddhism at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Center in Bloomington. Sunday the 24th, the tour will visit to our partner, the Sikh Satsang on Acton Road and the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana on German Church Road. You can get directions and learn more about these faiths at internationalinterfaith.org.

If your church is conducting an activity that supports the interfaith and diversity goals of the Faith-Based Community Initiative, let us know. The FBCI Coordinators will post the relevant information on this blog, and we really like learn about our partners and different faith families!

"Mock Disaster Season" at the FBCI

Autumn is the season of changing leaves, colder weather- and mock disasters! In the coming weeks, the FBCI will be holding mock disasters at three of its facilities: Englewood Christian Church (October 31st), First Church of the Nazarene (November 7th), and Brandywine Community Church (November 14th). We are excited to be working with our partners at these churches to put training into action as we prepare for the possibility of a real shelter opening in the cold months ahead! If your Action Team leadership is interested in observing a mock disaster, please contact the FBCI coordinators. Thanks to our partners at these three facilities for helping to make our "Mock Disaster Season" happen!

Mayor Ballard honors FBCI Partner with Visit

FBCI coordinator, Laura Bradley joined our partner Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis (Acton Rd) in welcoming Indianapolis Mayor Ballard and family on Sunday, October 4. The mayor arrived at the temple and was honored with a traditional Sikh turban and sword, and Mrs. Ballard received the gift of a book. Mayor Ballard made a brief but powerful statement on the importance of acceptance of diversity, education, and mutual respect between people before leaving to attend the Colts game.

The Sikh Satsang are the newest partner in the FBCI program, and we thank them for inviting us to this exciting event.

In Focus: Testing Your Phone Tree

FBCI Action Teams offer the best sheltering experience possible for those affected by disaster due to their love and compassion- but they have know to get to the shelter first! In the busy schedule of preparing teams and facilities for a real disaster, it is easy to overlook the most important aspect of the FBCI Action Team: the phone tree. Why is this the most important aspect? If the phone tree does not work, the shelter cannot be opened! We thank all our partners for the countless hours they have devoted to preparing to serve their community in a time of disaster, but please take a moment and consider this vital first step of the activation: do the contacts listed on your facility survey know who to call if they are activated? Does everyone on the team? If you have any concerns, or want help testing your own phone tree, please let the FBCI coordinators know!

Join us on September 12

The FBCI would like to invite all our partners to participate with us in the Seventh Annual Race for all Races (registration starts at 7:30 am). Sponsored by the Asian American Alliance, the FBCI coordinators will be participating in the non-competitive 5K walk.

According to the Alliance website, the race is a "broad-based and family oriented event that will promote the diversity of the city of central Indiana and a portion of the proceeds will go to Indianapolis Public School Scholarships. Monies will be used for items such as book rentals, eye glasses, backpacks, shoes, and a college fund".

So come on out and support our Indianapolis community by taking a walk. The weather should be beautiful! For more information and to register visit, http://www.tuxbro.com/Race%20for%20All%20Races%20-%20entry%20info.htm. It is $20 for early registration and $25 the day of the race.

Familiar Faces in New Places

Laura and I have noticed that some FBCI members have been coming to the courses (Fulling Our Mission, Mass Care, Shelter Operations, and Shelter Simulations) at the American Red Cross. THIS IS GREAT! If you have individuals who want to join your action team or are interested in the trainings or need training of some-sort, have them come down to the group trainings at the Red Cross. The four courses take four evenings, typically from 6-10pm.

The FBCI Family: Working Together

This past Saturday (May 9), we had our 3rd Mock Disaster Exercise (let's call it the MDE). Afterwards, Chris M. talked to us a little bit and shared something that really warmed my heart.
May 2 had been the MDE at Traders Points and Chris M. and Dick R. from 2nd Pres. had dropped to see what exactly their church had gotten themselves into. Traders Point did a really good job, and I think Chris and Dick were able to take a lot back home with them. Well, to return the favor, Greg K. from Traders Point came and observed 2nd Pres' MDE and was able to see how their team had organized and what Traders Point could do to better prepare their team.

Chris M. told us that she and Greg had been able to talk and share about their experiences and their teams. They even realized that if 2nd Pres' team ever needed help (during an emergency), that Traders Point's team could come out and vice versa!

This is exactly the dream that I have for our FBCI program: our partners coming together and working not only with the Red Cross, but with each other. It really warmed my heart to see 2 of our partners learn from each other and talk with each other and share ideas. Now, they not only have access to the ideas and ingenuity of their Action Team, but also that of a whole other Action Team!

FBCI partners: I encourage you to realize you are not alone! There is a whole network of organizations that have gone through training and are organizing their teams and have great ideas! Perhaps, like Traders Point and 2nd Pres., you'll find that other FBCI partners are willing to be there for you in a time of need and have a wealth of resources (their Action Team or otherwise) to share.

FBCI Celebrates its first Mock Disaster!

The FBCI coordinators congratulate Shelbyville Community Church's spectacular performance in the first ever FBCI Mock Disaster Drill! Held Saturday, March 14th, the Mock Disaster Drill was a chance for SCC's Action Team to come out and show their skills in opening and operating a Red Cross shelter. Under the leadership of Sandra Hall and Scott Brunner, the team did not disappoint! SCC was ready to accept clients in less than half an hour, and hosted them with skill and compassion. Special thanks to Sandra, Scott, and Mark Steenbarger for making this event happen!
The drill is a five hour exercise in which Action Teams "stand up" their own churches as shelters (just as they would in a real emergency), and then register and care for simulated clients played by fellow congregants or members of the community! We hope to make the Mock Disaster a part of every FBCI partner's experience with the program. With two more drills on the way, look for more news on mock disasters soon! (You can read an article about the exercise in The Shelbyville News here).