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Red Nose Response
Newsletter
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June 2010-Volume 4 Issue 2
Editor: Barbara Bird
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Greetings Red Nose
Responder!
Flooding, tornados, the upcoming hurricane season, the
Gulf Oil disaster, it just goes on and on. Many parts of our country are
in the process of mopping up, salvaging belongings, rebuilding and
cleaning up. We know that some of you, our responders, have been impacted
by these events and we want to hear from you, what your needs are and
what you have been able to do.
Tornadoes blasted the Midwest as clowns were arriving home
from the April COAI convention in Houston. Torrential rains and flooding
have done monumental damage in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and
Mississippi.
You are our eyes and ears. Let us know how we can help.
Editor Barbara "Sparky" Bird
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Can't do balloons? Not interested in
giving stickers?
 Here
is a great idea for administering Soft Assistance. Napkin paper roses are
a wonderful item to hand out to people, whether it is when they are about
to give the gift of life at a blood drive or after a disaster event. The
napkin roses come in an assortment of colors and are easy to create.
Michael Mode, President
of Big Lightbulb, Inc., is also the founder of Napkin Rose (an origami
creation from a napkin). His website is http://www.napkinrose.com. (If you are interested, I believe he is currently running
specials for purchase of a DVD and the napkins.) It dawned on me that
many people are uplifted with a token of consideration/compassion. I have
found the napkin rose has been a wonderful way to "show" that
compassion without saying a word. It brings smiles and it brings tears
from the heart that says so much more.
I am now training Red
Cross volunteers in making the roses and instructing how and when to
present them. They are perfect for soft assistance application. I carry
them in my wallet at all times. They come in handy, too, outside the
realms of disasters, bringing smiles to wait staff at restaurants,
cashiers at grocery stores, bank tellers, and many more.
You never know
when you are creating a memory.
Bob "Bunky"
Gretton, RNR President
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 Dianna
" Li'l Smidgen" Hale, RNR Board Secretary and a resident in
Alabama, wrote this in regard to the tornadoes in Mississippi and
Alabama. She said she was in Columbia, Missouri when the tornadoes were
creating havoc in St. Louis the end of April and then traveled home
through more damage. She reported the damage in various locations and the
local responses in those areas.
"Bottom line that
I've learned with working with my local Red Cross is that each chapter is
independent and just because I've done the training for Morgan County, I
can't just go into Marshall County on my own as a responder."
This is sound advice.
We suggest that you let them get to know you before they need you. You
may or may not have access to Red Cross training. The kind of help we
give best is not as first responders or shelter workers. If you can do
that, you are there as a relief volunteer first, not as a RNR responder
and clown. Comic relief comes later.
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You aren't surprised, are you?
 We
are so happy to tell you that the one who has led the parade in cutting
through red tape, finding comic ways to teach and then use all those
talents as a Red Cross volunteer while at the same time being president
of RNR and surviving other honors (who said anything about COAI Clown of
the Year 2009? Not him!) has accepted the role and challenge of RNR
Director of Education.
We are eternally
grateful Bob. As one of the advisors said "With Red Nose Response
you have proven to everyone that you are very capable of being the front
man for a major clown organization. You have made all of us proud"
So true!
Bob will continue to
work to bring all the tools of soft response to our large organization in
ways that responders can adopt or adapt.
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 After
nearly five years of dedication to maintaining the RNR web site Clayton
"Pabo" Robertson has notified us that as of Dec. 31, 2010 he
has to resign the position of webmaster. Pabo is also the webmaster for
the International Shrine Clowns. And he does this outside of his day job!
We are on the prowl
(lookout) for another webmaster, someone with experience with web design
and maintenance. As with all of our leadership positions, your time is
donated.
Do you know of a good
candidate for Red Nose Response webmaster? You can send us a message at info@rednoseresponse.org.
WebMaster
position needed
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The RNR presence at COAI and WCA
We had 14 new
responders sign up at the recent COAI convention in Houston. We also had
a lot of clowns attend the workshop class held by Bob and Teresa Gretton
and then we hosted a hospitality room.
In addition RNR was
represented at the WCA convention in Winnipeg, Canada which took place
just before the start of the Houston convention.
Convention goers at
both events found Red Nose Response pencils in their goody bags.
Obviously a convention presence is important to tell people about RNR and
we hope to keep it up and increase the number of places we can show our
Power Point, give out goodies and tell our story. If you are attending a
clown convention or workshop, let us know. Volunteer to spread the
enthusiasm.
Be sure to visit us at
Southeast Clown Association (SECA) in Jacksonville, FL Sept. 8 to Sept
12, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Red Nose Response
will host another hospitality room at SECA.
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How about this Clown Nose Club at Penn
State?
 We
thought you would find this interesting. It came to us in an email. You
never know where your friends and allies come from but who would have
guessed it would be Penn State?
"My name is Jeff
Hamilton and I am the treasurer of the Penn State University Clown Nose
Club! Our club heard about the Red Nose Response and is very interested
in becoming a part of this wonderful organization.
A little bit about the
Clown Nose Club... We spread happiness through unconventional, positive
social risk taking. We love all people, all the time, unconditionally,
for absolutely NO reason in State College, PA. We are not, however,
associated with clowns. The red nose is moreover a symbol of joy we use
to make others happy.
Perhaps a better club
name would be "Red Nose Club". We are totally interested in
joining the Red Nose Response, as I mentioned, and would LOVE for you
guys to come visit us and take us through the proper training via Red
Cross so we could help your group out wherever you should go! We are all
about service, so let me know what the next step is in this
journey."
We responded to this
young man and he offered the follow up information.
When we graduate, we
plan to pass on control of the Clown Nose Club to members who truly live
to make others happy. We were hoping to have the training (if possible at
all) done next Fall semester, so that incoming freshmen in Fall 2010 will
also be trained. But, the Clown Nose Club was formed and completely run
by Penn State freshmen, so we will all be deeply involved with this club
for the next four years. We put happiness out front all day every day,
and we wouldn't have it any other way."
I for one think we
should support, encourage and, yes, train these soon to be sophomores at
Penn State. They may not be clowns but they have the hearts of clowns.
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Stay tuned to see what the next big announcement might be
coming from Red Nose Response.
In the meantime, in order to be properly dressed for any
RNR clown event why not shop our store for your logo gear and more.
Shop Our Store
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Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Informed
 Attendees
at recent conventions have been delighted and informed when Bob and
Teresa Gretton present "Don't Clown Around With Disaster
Preparedness". We have many times urged all of our responders to be
prepared themselves in the event of a disaster and then to spread that
information in a comic and memorable way to their family and community.
The Red Cross has a
one-page document that lists everything you need to know titled "Be
Red Cross ReadyŽ". Follow the link at the end of this article or go
to http://72.3.171.147/#SITE (copy and paste this link to your browser) for an
interactive site that helps you determine how much you need of basic
items based upon your household. You will find that under Create Your Own
Emergency Preparedness Kit.
Please be as safe and
ready as possible. You are not ready to help others if you have not
prepared yourself.
Once you have a kit you
can offer to teach this to the community, using clown props and silly
interpretations of preparedness. This approach actually is better retained
than a straight lecture. Did you see Bob eating animal cracker dog bones
out of a bag of dog food as he talked about preparing for your pets'
needs in a disaster?
Send Bob a request for
more ideas to illustrate "getting a kit" by sending an email to
him at Bob@rednoseresponse.org.
I'm sure you can be equally creative with "Get a Plan".
Let us know what you have come up with so we can share
with other responders. Send your stories to info@rednoseresponse.org.
Create Your Own
Kit
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She worked the shelters and the call
center
 Sara
"SaranDipAKnee" Offutt, of White Creeks, TN has been an active
responder for a long time. She ordered a shipment of "Hug A
Bears" that she distributed in her community. Now she has reported
to us about some of her work following the flooding. Here is part of her
story...
"I went a third
time and worked, (cleaning) and chatting with clients flooded out of
their homes and was so impressed as I chatted with other Red Cross
volunteers as many of them came in from other states and were committing
two to three weeks of service here in the Nashville area and surrounding
communities. On the third work day I did not whip out the nose, paint
faces or do manicures. Simply a work and fellow shipping day. The area
shelters are closed around here. I believe they may still be open in
other counties.
I worked the phone
lines yesterday (Friday) for the first time. These are the ones set up
specifically to aid flood victims. I was quite concerned as to how to
handle remembering all the information and what to tell them but all the
names and numbers they can call for assistance is right there. You can
tell how relieved they are from the sounds of their voices and the
gratitude. They expressed that they are very grateful to and for The Red
Cross as well as all the other agencies that help. I enjoyed doing that
but was not sure I would as I do like shelter work and interacting with
the clients in shelters. So I signed up to go in 3 afternoons next week.
At the end of the week they expect to close the extra phone lines
answering flood victims questions. Of course the regular workers will
still be there to assist any more callers but they expect the rush of
calls to slow down."
Thank you Sara from the
Board and your fellow responders.
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The story from another responder
 Eileen
"I-Lean"Wallach lives in Kingston Springs, TN. She is a mental health
worker for the Red Cross, a Humor Therapist and a caring clown. She
manages to mix all those skills and helped the hard working volunteers
that came to the Nashville area from all over the country to assist in
Tennessee.
She tells us "Not
only did we serve those that need our help but we helped each other out
too."
Nashville is putting
together a Mental Health cooperative for disasters since the floods, a
group that will be ready on call with licensed health professionals to be
able to work with victims of disasters as it happens, in conjunction with
the Red Cross. She says one still must go through the Red Cross
foundations class but at least they now have a call list.
The photo of the
flooding in Nashville, in the header of this newsletter, was supplied by
Eileen.
Thank you Eileen from
the Board and your fellow responders.
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 Don't
you love it when a clown gets her photo taken? Here we have RNR Board
advisor, Teresa Gretton, climbing back into the Emergency Response
Vehicle (ERV) after a benefit show at a military base.
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Find us on the FaceBook page
Obviously the primary
way we have communicated with our responders is through this e-zine,
However, we have a Facebook page, which, when maintained and updated can
be just about the quickest way to communicate with our responders. We'd
like to see a more exciting place to visit and give FB friends a chance
to chat and share experiences in their communities. We are looking for
your help.
Any ideas to liven it
up? One advisor suggested that it would be great if someone could create
a fun RNR app for Facebook (game, etc that is still relevant to what we
do). Are you interested?
Any other ideas?
We would like to have
the Facebook page remain focused on RNR activities, needs, notices and
alerts instead of blogging about what one had for dinner this evening.
The Facebook coordinator would be an advisory role to the RNR Board of
Directors and would work closely with one of the Board members.
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Jeffery Potts (Bungles
the Clown) posted this note on Facebook after a fire at his home,
"Just a note to all my Facebook friends...tonight my family is safe,
but my home is destroyed...The house succumbed to the flames...not sure
of the cause. God is good and our family will grow immensely from this
tragedy. Not sure when I'll be able to post again. Thanks to all who have
been here to help. "
Bungles has a young
family and we are happy that they are safe but the loss is immeasurable
when all of your belongings and treasured items are gone... If you know
Bungles, and many do from the recent convention in Virginia as well as
his long involvement in clowning, send him positive thoughts.
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Our fellow responder and friend, Steve
Kissell
 Innumerable
clowns have been entertained and educated at the Family Entertainers
Workshops and we would like to share information about upcoming ones with
you.
Clown Jam in Branson,
MO is being held this year from July 14 to July 18, 2010.
Circus Magic West Coast
is in San Diego, CA on Sept. 17 and 18, 2010.
Kentucky Clown Derby
2010 will be in Clarksville, IN (that's almost in Kentucky) from Nov. 3
to Nov.7, 2010.
For more information
about these and other workshops and for registration be sure to use the link
here to contact Steve.
Family
Entertainers Workshops
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Thank you for your support and encouraging words.
You are our eyes and ears "Sending Smiles to the
Rescue".
Bob Gretton, President
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