A statement released by MTV Networks on Friday says "Hope for Haiti" will be shown at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Networks showing the telethon are ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT. It will also be available internationally.

Haitian-born entertainer Wyclef Jean (ZHAHN') will helm the show from New York, and George Clooney will host the Los Angeles part. CNN's Anderson Cooper will be in Haiti.

MTV says there will be musical performances and celebrity appearances. No other talent was announced.

The show will benefit Jean's Yele (YAY'-lay) Haiti Foundation, as well as UNICEF, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, and the Red Cross.

- Ottavio’s Italian Restaurant in Camarillo will host a fundraiser from 4 to 8 p.m. Jan. 25. The restaurant will donate 20 percent of the proceeds to the American Red Cross. Ottavio’s, at 1620 Ventura Blvd., also will collect donations throughout the day.

- A benefit concert featuring two musicians from the Audio Adrenaline Christian rock band will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 31 at Ventura Missionary Church, 500 High Point Drive, Ventura. Proceeds go to the Hands and Feet Project, a nonprofit organization providing diapers, food, medicine, medical care, education, clothes and other needs in Haiti.

The cost is a donation of $15 per player with advanced reservations and $20 at the door. All proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross of Ventura County. Players can bring a desert to share and prizes will be awarded in four categories -- "Most Bonkers," "Lowest Score," "Second Lowest Score," and "Highest Score." One winner will be awarded in each category.

"This is a great way for the community to come together and have fun while helping our local chapter to carry out its mission to serve our residents in times of disaster," stated Maria Sanchez, Director of Development and Communications for the American Red Cross of Ventura County.

Produced by Parker Brothers and later Milton Bradley, Bonkers is a table card/dice game of four to six people per table who spin the dice and flip over the cards with the goal of being the first player to score 12 points.

To reserve a playing seat, call 805-987-1514, ext. 329 or email to beaudionE@usa.redcross.org. For information on the American Red Cross of Ventura County, visit the website at www.arcventura.org.

Since 1917, the American Red Cross of Ventura County has been meeting the needs throughout the communities it serves. Each year, more than 1,200 local volunteers respond to more than 50 local disasters, teach tens of thousands of individual's vital lifesaving skills, and support the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces. The American Red Cross is not a government agency.

Children, ages 7 to 12, will be offered safety education in upcoming sessions — 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Ventura Boys & Girls Club, 1929 Johnson Drive; Feb. 11 at the Simi Valley Boys & Girls Club, 2850 Lemon Drive; and Feb. 16 at the Somis Boys & Girls Club, 5268 North Street.

“We focus on hands-on learning. By playing games and doing skits the kids are able to remember everything we are teaching them,” said Danit Kaya, the lead youth services adviser for the Ventura County Red Cross.

Safe Kids Day is offered through the group’s Youth Services Program and uses its high school club volunteers to teach the children different skills to respond in emergency situations.

“We have high school students from all over the county come in and volunteer their time to teach the kids,” said Pam Mays, director of volunteer and youth services. “They set up six different sections that swap off in a ‘round robin’ style so the kids can participate in each one.”

The sections educate the children on basic first aid, water, fire and street safety, choking prevention and lost-and-found procedures.

“Our school normally covers the ‘ouch’ section, basic first aid and choking prevention,” said Amy Galipeau, president of the American Red Cross club at Newbury Park High School. “We have some pretty dramatic skits that engage the children in responding effectively to emergencies.”

The high school students focus on teaching the children to remember to “Check, Call, Care” — check the scene, call 911 and care for the person in trouble.

Galipeau said the children are all ears when taught by high school kids.

“This is a great opportunity for teens to serve as role models to young children,” Mays said.

Once-a-month training programs are held for the volunteers at the Red Cross headquarters in Camarillo.

“Every volunteer has to go through training,” Galipeau said.

The volunteers are prepped on how to engage the children.

“The level of the high school kids’ proficiency and the way that they engage the kids is great,” Kaya said. “It doesn’t seem like a classroom to the kids, just more like a camp.”

Kaya said the American Red Cross teaches at any local YMCA, after-school program or Boys & Girls Club free of charge.

“The whole point of our Safe Kids Day is to better prepare children to respond effectively in an emergency situation,” Kaya said. “When we teach them in ways that make them laugh and smile, we have a better chance of them recalling the information.”

Games such as “red light, green light” are incorporated into the street safety station, emergency vehicles are sometimes brought to the event to show off to the kids, and infant dolls are used in the choking prevention demonstrations.

“Hopefully, these events will light up the kids’ minds and hearts so that some day we will get some future volunteers in the American Red Cross,” Kaya said.

To register for the event, call the Red Cross at 987-1514, ext. 304.

A statement released by MTV Networks on Friday says "Hope for Haiti" will be shown at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Networks showing the telethon are ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT. It will also be available internationally.

Haitian-born entertainer Wyclef Jean (ZHAHN') will helm the show from New York, and George Clooney will host the Los Angeles part. CNN's Anderson Cooper will be in Haiti.

MTV says there will be musical performances and celebrity appearances. No other talent was announced.

The show will benefit Jean's Yele (YAY'-lay) Haiti Foundation, as well as UNICEF, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, and the Red Cross.

Jean is most famously a member of the Fugees. His publicist says he arrived today in Haiti to assist in relief efforts.

The singer is urging people to send a text to his Haitian charity, Yele, to donate $5 to the savaged country. (The number is 501501.)

It is so popular it appeared the Web site for Yele had crashed under the traffic.

Others on Twitter also passed around a number to text to donate $10 to the Red Cross. Text “Haiti” to the number 90999.

Other ways to donate:

n The American Red Cross is accepting donations through its International Response Fund. Donations can be sent to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at http://www.redcross.org.

n Mercy Corps, which is deploying an emergency response team: http://www.mercycorps.org/haiti

n Direct Relief International: http://www.directrelief.org, and click on Emergency Response.

n Doctors Without Borders: http://doctorswithoutborders.org

n United Way Worldwide: http://www.unitedway.org/worldwide

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The director of Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief International is en route and will be working with health providers in Haiti to see what needs to be flown into hard-hit communities, spokesman Jim Prosser said.

“They’re telling us that the situation is very dire,” he said. “The death toll could be in the hundreds of thousands.”

Prosser said the agency will be working with health clinics and hospitals with which it has longstanding partnerships.

“A number of those clinics have been affected and are still trying to operate,” he said. “One partner lost two volunteers in a collapsed housing facility.”

Direct Relief International, which has worked in Haiti since 1964, has made an initial commitment of up to $1 million in cash and medical supplies.

The American Red Cross has also made a commitment of $1 million, but no Ventura County workers have yet been tapped for the relief effort, an official said today.

Chris Johnson, CEO of the Ventura County chapter of the relief agency, said internationally trained volunteers living close to Haiti would be in demand.

“The experts closest and most available to Haiti will go first,” he said.

Ventura fire units were called to a garage fire at the 4800 block of Lafayette Street at about 6:15 p.m. Friday. When they arrived, firefighters found an attached garage that was fully engulfed in flames. A column of smoke from the blaze was visible from about two miles away, officials said.

A team of firefighters quickly attacked the garage fire, while another group poked holes through the ceiling of the room adjacent to the garage, which stopped the fire from spreading to the rest of the house, said Battalion Chief David Endaya.

Firefighters on the rooftop also removed the thickly layered wood shake shingles that were accelerating the fire’s spread. Units from Ventura County and Santa Paula fire departments also assisted at the scene, while Ventura Police controlled traffic through the area.

Preliminary damages were estimated at $110,000 to the structure and $20,000 to contents, according to a Ventura Fire Department investigator. American Red Cross representatives assisted seven residents who were displaced as a result of the fire.

No one was injured during the incident.

Ventura city firefighters responded at 10:50 p.m. to the motor home fire behind Tony’s Pizzeria, 186 Thompson Blvd. When firefighters arrived, they found the small motor home consumed in flames, Ventura City Fire Department officials reported in a prepared statement. Flames had spread to nearby palm trees and were threatening the pizzeria.

Firefighters knocked down the flames in about five minutes, fire department officials said. The motor home was destroyed, but the business was not damaged, said Battalion Chief Luis Espinosa.

No one was injured in the fire. The cause of the blaze was unclear Tuesday and remained under investigation.

The motor home did not appear to have smoke alarms, Espinosa said.

The motor home’s owner, an employee of the pizzeria who lived in the vehicle, was not home at the time of the blaze, Espinosa said.

The Red Cross was called to assist him with temporary housing.

The fire was reported at 11:44 a.m. in the 200 block of Los Cabos Lane. Firefighters found the fire in some cabinets in a garage that appeared to have been converted into living space, said Capt. Ron Oatman of the Ventura County Fire Department. Firefighters knocked down the blaze by 12:04 p.m., authorities said.

No one was injured, but four adults and a child were temporarily displaced because utilities had to be shut down, Oatman said. The Red Cross responded to assist the residents.

The fire’s cause was still under investigation.

“You need to do everything you can think of,” said David Smith, president and CEO of United Way of Ventura County. “Everything has to have a revenue attachment to it because it’s so competitive out there.”

Charity heads say some new tactics are working in the midst of national reports showing contributions last year suffered their worst decline in more than 50 years.

They include pursuing small donations, collaborating for common causes, and telling more convincing stories about the good they do.

Now is a critical time for connecting with donors because year-end holiday appeals are under way.

For many charities, the most lucrative period of the year is from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day. They raise 30 percent or more of their contributions as the days tick down to claim tax deductions for 2009.

Those appeals are showing a mixed bag of results, officials say.

Among them:

- United Way’s appeal has hit $75,000, ahead of last year’s collections of $40,000 at this time.

- The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign in Ventura is running 12 percent behind.

- The Rubicon Theatre’s holiday appeal is lagging $48,000 behind last year’s contributions of $350,000.

- Oxnard-based FOOD Share has collected almost 85,000 pounds of food and is trying to drum up $100,000 in cash. Although the food total is down from previous years, CEO Bonnie Weigel says the quality is higher. She also expects to fill the shelves with volume discounts that multiply cash donations sevenfold.

Small gifts count

Some nonprofit groups are going after gifts of as little as $1. Not only do small gifts add up, but the grass-roots campaigns can bring in matching corporate money.

As part of the Just One Campaign, each guest at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach hotel is being asked to give at least $1 for every night’s stay to benefit FOOD Share.

“It was everyone doing a little bit for the bigger picture,” said the hotel’s general manager, Douglas Wood.

In another bid, the cash-short Ventura County Red Cross chapter launched its 5 Dollars Saves A Life Campaign.

“If we could collect $1 or $2 from everybody in the county, we’d have all the resources we need,” said Chris Johnson, CEO of the disaster relief agency’s county chapter.

With hundreds of charities holding their hands out, veteran fundraisers say the winners have to distinguish themselves from the crowd and prove they’re well-managed.

An official said that’s been key for HELP of Ojai, where the last audit showed the human services agency finishing in the black for the first time in three years.

“People know the organization is sound financially, so they feel comfortable making a donation that is then going to be turned around to serve the community,” said Terri Wolfe, the executive director hired early this year.

Human service agencies had a natural appeal in the recession, but the needs were so high that a group of them came together to raise money instead of competing individually for gifts.

Called Ventura County Together, the collaborative raised almost $225,000 in two months’ time. The money paid for food, housing and medical care at clinics serving the uninsured.

A doubtful new year

Charity officials are cautiously optimistic about next year, but they don’t believe fundraising will return to normal levels until 2011.

Economist Bill Watkins doesn’t see much improvement, either.

“To the extent local charities get their money locally, it’s going to be tough,” said the director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Many donors just aren’t confident in the economy yet, said Michael Perry, regional director of Catholic Charities in Ventura County. “This year, people are a little more comfortable in giving, but it’s still not close to where it was,” he said.

Boards of nonprofit groups have not only looked for new ways to raise money, including social networking, but they also have looked to cut costs.

They’ve imposed pay cuts of as much as 20 percent, laid off personnel and delayed fundraising campaigns.

Project timelines altered

The Museum of Ventura County suspended its capital campaign for a $12 million expansion for a year, reviving it in October. Community Memorial Hospital delayed a $320 million construction and modernization project.

Hospital spokesman Mike Ellingson said that was mainly done to wait for the credit market to loosen up, but also to succeed in raising $25 million to $30 million in private gifts.

That fund drive is now planned in 2011, he said, adding that pledge periods may be lengthened from three years to five.

And United Way set a status-quo goal of $3.1 million for its workplace campaign this year, the same as last year. Smith said the economy drove that decision, but that preliminary results look better than they did in 2008, when the campaign came up about $300,000 short.

In the arts, managers say their causes have been hit particularly hard because contributors are devoting their cash to nonprofits serving basic human needs. But some see a little light ahead.

“We have had some very significant gifts this year that we didn’t have last year,” said Nelson Dodge, executive director of the New West Symphony. “I think people understand the need and have stepped up for that reason.”

— Margaret Mead

We all participate in weaving the social fabric; we should therefore all participate in patching the fabric when it develops holes.

— Anne C. Weisberg

As I reflect on the two quotes above, I am in awe of how they have such relevance today. It is easy for me to see how they apply to all the organizations that do the necessary work to keep our community vibrant and safe.

After repeatedly referring to the organization for which I proudly work as the “provider of cots, blankets and hugs after a disaster,” I realized how the analogy of a blanket really fits the work of your local Red Cross and its role in strengthening the fabric of Ventura County.

The Red Cross and volunteers who perform amazing tasks at 3 o’clock in the morning for families they have never met are just like the blanket that gets pulled out to provide much-needed comfort when we get cold. We know it’s there, but we tend to forget about it when the weather is fine. The volunteers are the fibers of that blanket and vital to many other nonprofits as well.

The economy has posed great challenges to most nonprofit organizations, including the Red Cross. Even though the Red Cross has responded to more than 50 disasters in Ventura County this year, its important work has been performed with little fanfare. Without high-visibility events, we sometimes forget the work that is ongoing.

These challenges have given birth to the “5 Dollars Saves A Life Campaign.” It will serve to remind people that giving up just one fancy cup of coffee a year will ensure the amazing Red Cross volunteers have the tools and resources to help those in need.

Donations of any amount can be made at local fire stations and at collection-can locations throughout the county, including many local retail coffee shops and franchises.

For more information about this campaign, please log on to http://www.5dollarssavesalife.org or call 987-1514.

Another way to support the local Red Cross chapter is through the “Quilt of Caring.” It celebrates the quilts used as far back as the Civil War to warm soldiers, and allows Ventura County residents the opportunity to honor a loved one by sponsoring a quilt square with his or her name emblazoned on it. Go to http://www.arcventura.org for more details.

Since its inception, the local Red Cross has trained more than 1 million people in how to swim, perform CPR and first aid and much more.

Your Red Cross has proudly been the blanket around a military member before he or she was sent overseas to defend our country and the blanket around their family as they anxiously awaited their loved one’s return. Red Cross is the last civilian contact before deployment and the first civilian contact when the soldiers, sailors and Marines return. It has enthusiastically performed that responsibility more than 55,100 times since it was chartered in Ventura.

Your local Red Cross has always been here to provide food, a place to stay and a path to recovery. From the great 1918 flu epidemic to the 1928 collapse of the St. Francis Dam to the 2000 crash of Alaska Flight 261 to the 2005 La Conchita mudslide, your local chapter has assisted more than 35,620 county residents in their time of greatest need.

There have been more than 1.3 million hours or “threads” from Ventura County citizens dutifully serving as volunteers since 1917.

Currently, 1,600 of your friends and neighbors support their community through Red Cross service. More than 10,000 youths in our county have supported the local Red Cross historically, with more than 400 currently supporting programs or participating through the 13 clubs at area high schools.

The work I have been describing has been done by Red Cross and many other charities and organizations that have been partnering with Red Cross for more than 93 years. Tough economic times have led to important new collaborations within the county, but, I am proud to say, collaboration and partnerships have been a vital part of the Red Cross since the chapter’s inception.

I urge you during this holiday season, as you reflect on family and friends and even the difficulties you’ve faced over this past year, to please remember all of the amazing charities and nonprofits that have been there to offer support, and consider a little something for them as well.

Thank you for supporting your local Red Cross.

— Chris Johnson is the CEO of the American Red Cross of Ventura County.

Red Cross officials launch campaign

American Red Cross chapters in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties are thinking small in the hopes of achieving big things.

During the holiday season, Red Cross officials are distributing donation cans to area businesses seeking $5 contributions to a new “Five Dollars Saves a Life” campaign.

“In tough economic times, it can be difficult to focus on needs beyond those of our own families,” said Chris Johnson of the Red Cross, the campaign’s creator. “We decided that asking for big dollar amounts would not be reasonable for many of us this year. Instead, we are asking for a small, manageable amount from all those the Red Cross serves in the tricounties, which is everybody.”

Besides the counter-top canisters, donations can be made at www.5dollarssavesalife.org, where the contribution can be directed specifically to one of the three local chapters.

In the spirit of the season, the American Red Cross offers 12 holiday safety tips.

Donations can be made in American Red Cross canisters, which can be found throughout the Tri-Counties at local retailers and businesses. Donations can be directed to one of the three local chapters at 5dollarssavesalife.org

Chris Johnson, CEO of the county chapter of the Red Cross, said the “$5 Saves a Life” fundraising campaign is taking place during December and January to raise the public’s awareness of the agency’s supportive role during devastating fires and to bolster donations in tough economic times.

“This year we’re in a perfect storm; requests for our services are up and donations are down,” Johnson said. “If people in Ventura County can just donate the price of an expensive cup of coffee a year, that’s enough to provide the funds we need.

“Sometimes we’re forgotten because the Red Cross is so much a part of the community. We get 100 percent of our funds from local donations, and 86 cents of every dollar goes to provide district services. We need to remind everyone of who we are and why we’re here.”

According to the Red Cross Web site, $5 provides blankets for a family; $10, a meal for someone displaced from their home; $20 provides disaster volunteer training; $100, a cot, blanket and supplies for disaster victims; and $250 gives a family of four a week’s supply of food.

Donations can be made in American Red Cross canisters, which can be found throughout Ventura County at local retailers and businesses. Contributions, which remain in the county, can also be made by visiting www.5dollarssavesalife.org.

Chris Johnson, CEO of the Ventura County chapter of the Red Cross, said its goal is to distribute 8,000 holiday cards to military personnel here and overseas, and their families.

Hugh Ralston, chief of the Ventura County Community Foundation, tied the results to the improvements in the financial markets following a global plunge in 2007.

“Clearly the market turned around in March,” he said.

But he was unsure whether the foundation would be able to restore annual distributions to their normal amounts for local charities in 2010.

“Who knows,” Ralston said. “It depends on where the markets are.”

This year, most nonprofit organizations benefiting from the $61 million endowment pool received distributions of 2 percent to 4 percent instead of the normal 5 percent.

Garette, 14, had the idea for a dessert bar, complete with homemade English toffee. But the fire took a key ingredient — a candy thermometer.

Sundays - 6:00 pm, 11/22 and 11/29

Tuesdays - 12:00 noon, 11/24 and 12/1

Thursdays - 3:00 pm, 11/26 and 12/3

Saturdays - 8:00 pm, 11/28 and 12/5

The fire was reported about 7:30 a.m. in the 5900 block of Ralston Street.

Firefighters confined the blaze to a bedroom of the house and extinguished it within about 25 minutes, said Battalion Chief Don Bartosh of the Ventura City Fire Department. No people were injured, he said.

The fire caused an estimated $65,000 in damage to the residence and its contents, Bartosh said.

The cause remained undetermined Wednesday afternoon, but authorities believe it was accidental. There was a working smoke detector in the house, Bartosh said.

The Red Cross responded to assist four adult residents who were displaced, according to officials.

Who should get H1N1 vaccines:

Alcoa Fastening Systems, a unit of Alcoa, is making the gift through the corporation’s nonprofit foundation.

The Red Cross is providing safety education to school children through the Safe Kids Day program. The events are held throughout the year, and the first one this year is being held today. High-school students teach fundamental safety skills to children in third through fifth grades.

The instructors conduct demonstrations on emergency action plans, first aid, water safety, rescue measures, and fire, water and street safety.

Alcoa Fastening Systems has two locations in Newbury Park. The check will be presented by plant managers Hady Elkobaitry and Ali Motamedi.

“Post-traumatic stress disorder is something that happened in our past that keeps occurring through dreams, feelings or reminders in our present lives,” said Partridge de Garcia, who will give a free talk on the topic Thursday at the Pierpont Racquet Club in Ventura. “It is not only for veterans, sexually and emotionally and physically abused people but also for people who have survived a car crash or a climate catastrophe — anything that keeps making you afraid in the present that happened in your past.”

For instance, “I had one patient who walked in on his partner with someone else,” Partridge de Garcia said. As a result, “he had a hard time ever trusting. Those same feelings occur when presented with new possible relationships.”

Warning signs include nightmares that relive the event or tragedy, the inability to get past the compulsive thoughts about it, and hypervigilance with people and places to such an extent that it’s hard to relax because the person cannot trust or is afraid that it will happen again, she said.

“It affects all of us,” she said. “We have all had stressful experiences that we remember — making a fool of yourself while walking across a stage, wearing something that you will never wear again because of the memories, breaking out in tears over a lost love or death of someone.”

People with post-traumatic stress disorder have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to, according to the National Institute of Mental Health; they may also experience sleep problems, feel detached or numb or be easily startled.

“It also depends on the age,” Partridge de Garcia said. “Sometimes (events seem) more traumatic because we thought our world was safe under 10 or 11 but even a one-time occurrence can cause post-traumatic stress disorder — if you are caught in a hurricane and only escape with your life, or if you are a survivor of a fatal car crash or airplane accident and you cannot stop feeling guilty.”

Over the years, Partridge de Garcia has offered workshops, speeches and business consulting on stress, leadership and mental health throughout the United States and in two foreign countries. She has received citations from local, state and national organizations, including the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce, which named her Educator of the Year.

Most recently, she was named Humanitarian of the Year by the American Red Cross of Ventura County.

Her talk Thursday is part of a free monthly speaker series at the Pierpont Racquet Club presented by Spa by Diane Loring Inc.

The topic “is educational for all of us,” Partridge de Garcia said. “And with the stress of war, nuclear weapons, economic disasters, joblessness post-traumatic stress disorder can raise its ugly head because we are feeling beaten down and out of control. And there is always someone in all of our lives that we know that has gone through a past event that has changed the course of their life from a sunny outlook on life to fear, negativity and despair.”

Concerned family and friends can search the list of those who have registered themselves as “safe and well.” The results of a successful search will display a loved one’s First Name, Last Name, an “As of Date”, and the “safe and well” messages selected.

The Ventura County Public Health H1N1 Hotline at 981-5390 is now in operation. Call if you have questions, and please share this information with anyone who may also have concerns.

The event, which is the major fundraiser for the county chapter, will include the presentation of the awards named for the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, who established the volunteer service in 1881.

Awards that will be presented are Humanitarian of the Year to clinical psychologist Priscilla L. Partridge de Garcia of Camarillo; Philanthropist of the Year to Ventura businesswoman Kathy Hartley; and Lifesaver of the Year to Thousand Oaks nurse Lesley Whitehouse.

Tickets for the awards dinner are $195, and the proceeds benefit the local chapter.

The volunteers for the American Red Cross plan to assist survivors with food, shelter, retrieving their belongings and cleaning. More volunteers could join them later, but it’s hard to know how many because it’s unclear how long the relief will be needed, an official said.

The fire was reported about 9:30 p.m. in the 1800 block of Ives Avenue in Oxnard’s Kona Kai mobile home park.

When firefighters arrived, they found smoke and flames coming from the mobile home, Oxnard fire officials said. Police were already on scene evaluating neighboring structures.

Samoa is a sovereign country and has its own Red Cross, the Samoan Red Cross, which is a sister society to the American Red Cross.

Red Cross CEO Chris Johnson said he had hoped to raise $100,000 from the show of world-class and rare automobiles originally set for Oct. 11 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. The cash would have helped offset a projected budget shortfall of close to $300,000 in the disaster relief agency, he said.

The fire was reported about 2:45 a.m. in the 400 block of Grand Avenue.

When firefighters arrived, they found a single story family home on fire, with flames from the blaze threatening nearby property, said Bill Nash, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Firefighters did not find any people inside either building, though they did rescue a dog, Nash said.

With help from the Ventura City and Fillmore fire departments, Ventura County firefighters knocked down the flames by about 3:50 a.m., Nash said.

The home was a total loss and the other building had fire damage that extended into its attic, Nash said. It was not immediately clear this morning if the second structure was a residence.

No injuries were reported.

The Red Cross was called to assist six people displaced by the fire.

The cause was under investigation this morning.

The event is in memory of pro surfer Donnie Solomon, a native of Ventura who died while surfing in Hawaii in 1995.

The ProAm event is scheduled for Friday, and the “Friends of Donnie” event will be on Saturday. The WSA Championships will take place both Saturday and Sunday.

All proceeds of the raffle will go to the American Red Cross of Ventura County.

For more information, call the American Red Cross at (805) 9871514 or visit www.arcventura .org.

Nationally, the American Red Cross launched a new campaign titled, “Do More than Cross Your Fingers” to promote and improve personal preparedness.

The awards, which honor women in three categories — Philanthropist of the Year, Lifesaver of the Year and Volunteer of the Year — will be presented at a dinner gala Oct. 10 at Sherwood Country Club near Thousand Oaks.

Nominees will be judged on their contributions to the community in each of the categories.

Nominations will be accepted by mail at 836 Calle Plano, Camarillo, CA 93012; or by e-mail at SanchezMaria@usa.redcross.org. The nomination deadline is Sept. 10.

But later that morning of July 10, the rented home she had cultivated for seven years in Simi Valley went up in flames, destroying too many valuables to count — including Max, her Australian cattle dog, who on that day saved her son’s life.

Over a month later, Cadoo and her son, Garrette, 14, are working to rebuild their lives. Garrette’s favorite pastime is creating art with pens, pencils and computers. His mom saved money every week for the last several years to buy him a computer and other items needed for his entrance into Santa Susana High School, a magnet arts school. All those items were lost in the fire.

The Clara Barton Awards honor women for their service to others.

“We wanted to do something special this year in conjunction with the Clara Barton Awards that would really draw attention,” said Chris Johnson, chief executive officer of the Ventura County Red Cross. “It’s our intention to create a great car event that rivals the Pebble Beach Concours.”

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance began in 1950 and has raised more than $12 million for charity.

The event will be Oct. 10-11 at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, officials announced this week

“We’ve committed with the folks of Sherwood Country Club to do this for next year and the year after as well,” Johnson added.

“The Clara Barton Awards are really something because we’re not rewarding our own volunteers,” said Maria Sanchez, director of development and communications for the Red Cross chapter. “We solicit nominations from the community and we reward women who have given back and helped their community.”

The Award Gala will be 5:30 p.m. Oct. 10, and the Concours will take place the next day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., officials with the country club and the Red Cross chapter said Monday at a news conference.

The 2 day training sessions are being offered on Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16 starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School, 13282 Santa Rosa Road, Camarillo in the Multi-Purpose Room.

Participants will learn how the organization and its volunteers respond to disasters; starting from a single family incident/fire and obtain an overview of how Red Cross members shelter and feed those affected by a disaster; how to run a shelter; and attend a Disaster Action Team workshop, where attendees learn how to respond as a team to help those impacted by a disaster.

The leak in a six-inch gas pipe on the corner of Surfside Drive and Port Hueneme Road was reported at 11:36 a.m.

Firefighters, police and Gas Company officials responded to the scene.

A two-square block area was evacuated, said Capt. Ron Oatman, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Those evacuated included an estimated 50 people from eight businesses and another 50 from residences, Oatman said. The Seaside Motel and the Port Side Condominiums were among the places evacuated.

Obama has made the call to volunteer a priority in his administration, seeing community service as a key link in our national recovery.

“My son stepped out and said, ‘Dad, check this out,’ ” Montiel said. “I went outside and saw the roof on fire. The flames were really intense.”

Oxnard Fire Department officials are still investigating what caused the fire that heavily damaged four second-floor units in an apartment building in the 1200 block of West Gonzales Road.

Officials said the fire broke out after just before 4 p.m. in the 16-unit, two-story apartment complex at the corner of West Gonzales and Ventura roads.

Four units on the second floor caught fire, but a total of 12 units sustained damage from smoke and water, Oxnard Fire Department spokeswoman Deborah O’Malia said.

Casualty and first-aid training available

The city of Fillmore and El Dorado Mobile Home Estates will sponsor mass-casualty incident and basic first-aid training for Fillmore residents from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 11 at the El Dorado clubhouse, 250 E. Telegraph Road.

Participants will receive an American Red Cross first-aid certificate. A hands-on exercise at the park is scheduled for July 18.

McQueen is recreation coordinator in aquatics in charge of the Simi Recreation and Park District’s Red Cross first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification classes.

On March 21, he had decided he would stay home from work because his wife, Bekki, was overdue to give birth to their second child. But she told him to go to work, and she would call if anything changed.

So McQueen, 35, went to teach a CPR class scheduled in the recreation room at Sycamore Drive Community Center.

The approximately two-hour course covers the basics of operating a home pool, raises awareness of how to make a safer environment, and teaches basic rescue techniques.

Participants will learn how to identify and manage common water problems, and how to perform water testing, sanitation and other important pool maintenance steps.

Fire officials said no one was home at the time of the fire, reported about 6:15 p.m.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to extinguish the smoldering fire. The fire damaged the home’s two-car garage, officials said.

The chapter holds nominations each year for the winner of several volunteer awards, the highest of which is the Stark Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award, named in honor of a past chapter member.

“We want to recognize the invaluable work that our volunteers do,” said Pam Mays, director of volunteer and youth services for the chapter. “They make my job a pleasure, and they amaze me with their talents.”

"It felt good to save Quinton's life," Zane said shyly.

In order to help saves lives, the American Red Cross and the National Swimming Pool Foundation have developed a new interactive course entitled, Home Pool Essentials: Maintenance and Safety. The approximately two-hour course covers the basics of operating a home pool, raises awareness of how to make a safer environment, as well as teaching basic rescue techniques.

Responding shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday to the fire in a single family home in the 5300 block of Annapolis Court, firefighters contained the blaze in about 25 minutes, Ventura city fire officials said in a prepared statement.

The class is designed to teach 11-to-17-year-olds how to supervise children and will include care tips. The course will include résumé writing.

Three join Red Cross board of directors

The American Red Cross of Ventura County has announced new members of its board of directors.

“Operating green allows the Red Cross to provide for our clients in a variety of ways,” said Chris Johnson, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Ventura County. “Aside from being the right thing to do environmentally, the money we save on conserving energy allows us to have more financial resources available to assist those during their time of need.”

From its new headquarters in Camarillo — which opened in April — Ventura County’s Red Cross serves as a regional hub, with Johnson overseeing all chapters north to Santa Cruz County.

The first session, Friday, June 19 will run from 4 to 9 p.m., and continue on Saturday, June 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each student will receive certificates in Babysitting, CPR for children and infants and First Aid.

Before joining Farmers, Smith was business head for the North America Insurance Project.

He is a graduate of UC San Diego and has taken additional graduate-level studies at UC San Diego and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

The show, featuring the works of award-winning artists as well as members of the AlmaVia of Camarillo assisted-living community, is a fine showcase of local creations. Beyond that, it also is a way to enhance the lives of older adults and the community.

“As a nonprofit dedicated to serving and enriching the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of older adults, we are always looking for innovative ideas in supporting our resident programming,” said Pat Muntz, associate executive director of AlmaVia of Camarillo, a faith-based program.

National headquarters deems an emergency a national disaster when the incident exceeds or exhausts a local chapter's ability to respond, Sanchez said.

"The beauty of the Red Cross: everyone is trained exactly the same, so they know where to go and what to do," when sent on assignments, Sanchez said. "We hit the ground running."

The fire was reported at 3:18 a.m. in a four-unit complex in the 1800 block of East Avenida de las Flores.

It began when a man left a frying pan on a burner in his kitchen after cooking an early morning breakfast, said Capt. Ron Oatman, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

The man left the kitchen, and when he returned, he found a grease fire in the frying pan. He threw water on the grease fire in an attempt to put it out, which splashed the burning grease and caused the fire to spread, Oatman said.

The program includes an overview of the American Red Cross, how the Disaster Services Team is organized and how the Red Cross responds to disasters.

For reservations call (805) 9871514, ext. 320, e-mail TrainingVentura@usa .redcross.org or visit www.arcventura.org.

The event will include fire and rescue demonstrations, life jacket giveaways for kids, fire extinguisher demonstrations and other free offerings intended to encourage safe boating.

Participating agencies include the Coast Guard, Channel Islands Harbor Patrol, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Ventura County Fire Department and American Red Cross.

The large, multicolored quilt will feature the names of individuals who have donated or who are recognizing the memory of a family member who may have benefited from the Red Cross.

The $1,000 squares are sold out, and one-quarter of the $500 squares have been purchased. The $250 and $100 squares are also still available.

The sales of squares will continue through June 30. The quilt is scheduled for completion this summer.

The fire was reported at 4:34 p.m. at an apartment complex at 6404 Whippoorwill Street.

When firefighters arrived, they found one unit of a two story apartment complex engulfed in flames and fire beginning to spread to an adjoining unit, the Ventura City Fire Department reported in a prepared statement.

Occupants of the six-unit complex had already evacuated with the help of Ventura police.

Red Cross offers baby-sitting classes

American Red Cross of Ventura County will offer a baby sitter’s training class Friday and Saturday.

The class is designed to teach 11-to-17-year-olds how to supervise children and will include feeding tips, information on age-appropriate games and how to handle bedtime and discipline issues.

The course will include résumé writing and business card development.

The class will run from 4 to 9 p.m. May 1 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 2 at 2355 Portola Road.

Students are trained to supervise children, receive tips on feeding them and age-appropriate games, and learn how to handle bedtime and discipline issues. The course also covers resumé writing and business card development.

Ventura City Fire officials responded to a structure fire just after 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1500 block of Raccoon Court.

First arriving units put out the fire within 10 minutes. The fire started in an upstairs laundry room and was strengthened by combustible clothing within the area.

The first session is on Friday, May 1 and runs from 4 to 9 p.m., and continues on Saturday, May 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each student will receive certificates in Babysitting, CPR for children and infants and First Aid.

One of the goals of the teleconference is to increase sensitivity by helping professionals acknowledge how their own cultural values and assumptions influence the delivery of care. Effective strategies and programs to work with end-of-life issues with culturally diverse populations will be discussed.

The campaign offers Ventura County residents and businesses an opportunity to help the local chapter raise needed funds to serve our community in times of disaster.

The large, multi-colored quilt will feature the names of individuals who have donated or who are recognizing the memory of a family member who may have benefitted from the American Red Cross. The quilt is being made by Connie Hall, a volunteer at the American Red Cross of Ventura County.

American Red Cross Building: 836 Calle Plano in Camarillo.

This month we will be drinking, talking and touring the first Red Cross chapter in the country, and the first non-profit entity in Ventura County to go green. The new 11,000 square foot building, donated by Peter Plotkin in honor of his late wife who was a Red Cross nurse and volunteer, is the first "green" Red Cross facility in the United States. The building is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified with a silver certification and is the first Red Cross chapter in the country to have this designation.

Registration and a putting contest will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by a Texas Scramble (shotgun start) at noon.

The fire, reported at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, started in a closet of a bedroom at a single-family residence that had been illegally converted into a duplex, investigators said. Eighteen people lived at the rental property, authorities said, including 11 children.

Registration and a Putting Contest will begin at 10:30 a.m. followed by a Texas Scramble (shotgun start) at 12 noon. The cost is $140 donation per player, which includes green fees, cart, Red Cross Earthquake Kit, awards and lunch. The deadline for entry is April 10.

At Agassiz Middle School in Fargo, where the American Red Cross is running a temporary shelter, the 34 shelter residents and the handful of volunteers were starting to “hunker down inside,” said Dave Bratz, a volunteer shelter manager from Camarillo. The snow had just started, around noon, when Bratz was interviewed by phone from inside the shelter.

The new 11,000-square-foot building was donated by Peter Plotkin in honor of his late wife, who was a Red Cross nurse and volunteer.

The American Red Cross of Ventura County quickly responded to the fire, setting up shelter for the 35 displaced people. The Red Cross was joined immediately by the Latino community as well as local businesses in assisting the victims.

Norma Juarez, a marriage and family therapist and the clinical director of the 10-bed residential treatment facility, Gabby’s Place, called the outpouring of offers to help “wonderful.”

No one was injured in the 4:22 p.m. blaze, but the two-story Victorian-style house suffered major fire damage and likely will have to be torn down, Ventura County Fire Department Engineer John Foy said.

The two-session class will teach supervising children, feeding tips, age-appropriate games, bedtime and discipline issues. The course will cover resume writing and business card development. The first day will include CPR for children and infants. The second day will include first aid.

When completed, the large, multicolored Quilt of Caring will contain squares with the names of individuals who've donated to the American Red Cross and family members who've benefited from or supported the organization.

Several area businesses are participating in the month-long celebration creating opportunities for the local chapter to receive donations to help serve Ventura County residents throughout the year. Element Coffee in Camarillo participated in the celebration on March 7, donating 20% of the proceeds received that day to the American Red Cross of Ventura County.

“Quilts and the American Red Cross have a 130-year history; in the early days of the organization, there were women across the country making quilts,” said Chris Johnson, CEO of the American Red Cross of Ventura County.

The campaign is symbolic of the historic foundation of volunteerism within the organization when quilters used to make quilts to warm disaster victims, refugees and others in need, he said.

“The signature quilts were also used as fundraising efforts, especially during times of war,” he said. “These quilts signify strength, comfort, Americana and all the things people think of when they think of the Red Cross.”

With the help of her 85yearold mother, who visited during the holidays, Hall recently finished the top layer of the quilt, which hangs temporarily in the lobby of the new American Red Cross building in Camarillo.

Offered for the first time to the general public, the Babysitters Training Class is a 1 ½ day course designed for 11-17 year olds. Youngsters will learn how to supervise children, obtain feeding tips, get information on age appropriate games, and learn how to handle bedtime and discipline issues. The course will also cover resume writing and business card development.

The American Red Cross of Ventura County has been named one of the highest performing chapters in the country by the National American Red Cross.

The Ventura County Chapter was one of only three chapters in California to receive the recognition and the only one, and first-ever in Southern California, to receive the designation. Only 45 chapters throughout the United State were honored out of more than 800 chapters nationally.

To receive the honor, the Ventura County chapter had to meet or exceed a comprehensive set of performance standards.

Chapters are judged on strict performance standards, including service quality, effectiveness, fundraising efficiency, volunteer satisfaction, readiness and responses, preparedness and health safety and financial management.

The evaluations are obtained through quarterly and annual reporting.

Fire officials said the fire was in an empty apartment of a six-unit complex.

A think plume of black smoke could be seen for miles as fire fighters raced to the apartment minutes after 2 p.m

The Betty R. Plotkin center is at 836 Calle Plano on the east end of Camarillo. The building was donated by Peter Plotkin in honor of his late wife, who was a Red Cross nurse and volunteer.

With 15 employees and 1,500 volunteers in the county, the Red Cross will use the new facility for disaster relief and aquatic safety, first aid and CPR training, among other things. The group’s old headquarters was on Portola Road in Ventura.

The Ventura County Chapter was one of only three chapters in California and the first in Southern California to receive the recognition. Only 45 chapters throughout the entire United States were honored out of more than 800 chapters nationally.

The Ventura County Chapter was one of only three chapters in California to receive the recognition and the only one, and first-ever in Southern California to receive the designation. Only 45 chapters throughout the entire United State were honored out of over 800 chapters nationally.

Recognized in the Best Supporting Volunteer category, Chris Johnson, CEO of the American Red Cross of Ventura County, received the award on behalf of the Red Cross during the public forum that honored a number of individuals and agencies throughout Ventura County in various categories.

The fire was reported at 9:24 a.m. in a single-family home in the 800 block of Falmouth Street. When firefighters arrived, flames were burning the back of the home, which was being remodeled, said Capt. Ron Oatman of the Ventura County Fire Department. A woman and child were in the home when the fire broke out were able to escape on their own, Oatman said. The woman was treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation.

The fire was reported at 9:24 a.m. in a single-family home in the 800 block of Falmouth Street.

When firefighters arrived, flames were burning out of the back of the structure, which was open for remodeling, said Capt. Ron Oatman of the Ventura County Fire Department.

When firefighters arrived, the fire had burned through the red tile roof on the second story of the Los Robles Apartments in the 300 block of Rolling Oaks Drive, he said.

Jacqui Irwin, former Thousand Oaks mayor, was appointed to the city's planning commission in 2003 and elected to the Thousand Oaks City Council in 2004.

She has served on several City Council committees, including the Crime Prevention Task Force, Lynn/Olsen Road Traffic and Capital Facilities Committee. She serves on the Cal State Channel Islands Dean's Leadership Advisory Committee and has also been the chair of the American Diabetes Tour de Cure Bike Ride for the last four years.

"As a partner of the Office of Emergency Services and the county it's extremely rewarding to know the incredible work of volunteers and staff is recognized," Chris Johnson, ARC of Ventura County chief executive officer, said earlier this week.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services gave the award to Johnson during a Ventura County Board of Supervisors' forum. last month that honored individuals and agencies throughout the county.

Police and Fire Department investigators were still working to determine the origin of the fire in the 1700 block of Spence Street, but they believe it was arson, the Simi Valley Police Department reported.

The fire was reported at 3:15 a.m. in a garage in the 1500 block of Campbell Avenue.

When they arrived, firefighters saw flames burning through the roof of the home's garage, fire officials said.

The program is for third- to fifth-grade children, who will learn all types of emergency training. Highlights include the four-step Emergency Action Plan where kids learn what to do in an emergency, how and when to get help and what to do when help arrives. In addition, students will be trained in water safety, learning ways to prevent drowning and using safety precautions and rescue procedures for water activity. The fire safety segment will help kids understand how to prevent fires, the importance of controlling air flow to fire and developing ways to prevent burns.

The fire was reported at 4:09 a.m. in the 500 block of Avenida de la Plata. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the building and a small fire in a bedroom, said Bill Nash, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

American Red Cross of Ventura County, has a variety of life-saving gifts such as First Aid Kits, Short Wave Radio with a flashlight and cell phone charger, Water Safety items, Emergency Preparedness Kits, Pet First Aid handbooks in addition to other selections including clothing, calendars and supplies. Prices range from as low as $5.

The first fire was reported at 9:52 p.m. Monday in an apartment complex in the 300 block of Sunset Drive in Silver Strand near Oxnard. Firefighters kept the blaze contained to the complex’s garage, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

Shortly after 8 a.m., Ventura County firefighters responded to a house in the 2600 block of Bitternut Circle for what turned out to be an attic fire. The origin of the fire is not believed to be suspicious, said Simi Valley Police Lt. Greg Riegert.

Nobody was injured in the blaze, but the Red Cross was called to help the residents who were displaced by the fire, which caused substantial damage, Riegert said.

Two adults were displaced by a fire in their mobile home on the edge of Santa Paula late Wednesday. Firefighters responded about 11:22 p.m. to the home in the 1500 block of Telegraph Road and found it in flames, the Ventura County Fire Department reported. The fire was extinguished at 11:52 p.m., officials said.