Support the Red Cross

Help can’t wait when disaster strikes. Whether a family needs shelter, food or a sympathetic ear, generous donations to the American Red Cross help ensure they never face a crisis alone.

The need for this support is constant. In 2024, local Red Cross volunteers responded to 52 home fires in northwestern Pennsylvania and assisted more than 150 people who were affected.

Your donation can provide relief and care, such as:

• $5 for a blanket to wrap around a person’s shoulders.

• $11 for a nutritious meal, snack and drink.

• $24 for comfort kits, each with supplies like a toothbrush, comb and shampoo, for two families of four.

No gift is too small — and we can do so much when we come together. Join our community movement by donating today at redcross.org/GivingDay. Your gift will be part of our annual Giving Day on March 26, which aims to rally 30,000 individuals to help people affected by disasters big and small.

Mary Rogers, executive director, American Red Cross, Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter

The home care crisis

Every day, more than 400,000 of our fellow Pennsylvanians — our elderly parents, disabled children and chronically ill friends — struggle to find the consistent, in-home care they desperately need.

That’s because Pennsylvania caregivers and nurses are rapidly leaving to work in other states and other industries for one simple reason: year after year, our elected leaders in Harrisburg have failed to adequately invest in our caregivers.

Now, every one of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states — including West Virginia — pays caregivers at least $4.53 more per hour through Medicaid than we do.

The home care crisis isn’t just about dollars and cents, it’s about real people suffering. Each month, more than 112,500 care shifts go unfilled. Picture an older woman waiting for help to get out of bed, or a disabled veteran who needs assistance with basic daily tasks. These aren’t strangers — they’re our parents, our grandparents, our children, our veterans, our neighbors — and when they can’t get in-home care, they often end up in hospitals or nursing homes — far more expensive options that many don’t want.

The home care crisis doesn’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican. It affects all of us. I was deeply disappointed that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s recent annual budget proposal largely ignored this crisis. We need our elected officials to finally address this crisis before more of our vulnerable neighbors suffer.

Catharine J. Rambler, vice president of development and strategy, Angels on Call, Erie