Bon Air Baptist Church transformed itself into a disaster-relief center yesterday during what was described as the largest Red Cross practice exercise ever in Virginia. In the aftermath of the “disaster”—a flaming, chemical-filled train traveling through Richmond—about 200 “evacuees” poured into the Chesterfield County church to be assisted by nearly 100 volunteers.

Bon Air Baptist Church transformed itself into a disaster relief center yesterday during what was described as the largest Red Cross practice exercise ever in Virginia. In the aftermath of the “disaster”—a flaming train filled with chemicals traveling through Richmond—about 200 “evacuees” poured into the church to be assisted by nearly 100 volunteers.

In the seven weeks since Haiti’s devastating earthquake, the Red Cross has helped 166 victims of house fires, given meals to 257 firefighters and 235 stranded travelers, and provided patients with 1,400 trips to life-sustaining medical appointments—all in Richmond. It can’t happen without local dollars going to local charities, which is why the Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross has started a Heroes for the Red Cross campaign for local donors. Each hero pledges to raise $1,000 to support the local chapter.

Local response to the earthquake in Chile has not reached the magnitude of the response to Haiti, in part because requests for aid haven’t been as urgent, participants said at a Chile Community Forum yesterday. The forum, which was organized by the Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross, was open to anyone with an interest in relief efforts after Chile’s magnitude-8.8 earthquake.

A five-member mission group from Richmond and a Virginia Military Institute graduate from Chesapeake are expected to leave Haiti today and return to the U.S. late tonight. The group, a joint mission of St. Bridget Catholic Church and the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, flew yesterday from Hinche, about 50 miles from Port-au-Prince, to Cap-Haitien on Haiti’s northern coast. They were expected to fly today to Turks and Caicos, an island group to the north, and then to the U.S., landing tonight at 11:30 at Richmond International Airport.

There I was on my long-awaited vacation to San Francisco, admiring the Golden Gate Bridge, when I stepped over a guardrail, fell and broke my leg. The airlines treated me terrifically en route back home to Richmond. At every layover, airline employees scooted me about the terminals so I would not miss my next flight. It was my first experience in a wheelchair. And it made me uncomfortable.

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin helps kids prepare for emergencies by assembling first-aid kits. Hamlin appeared at St. Joseph’s Villa in Henrico County Thursday morning.

Jacqueline Clara “Jean” Cali Willingham loved to plant flowers in her yard as well as a love of nature and the beauty of simple pleasures in her children’s hearts. For 20 years beginning in the mid-1980s, she also shared her love of nature at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, then in its infancy. She worked at early plant sales, supported the early promotion of the garden in the community and led tours of the Bloemendaal House on the garden grounds.

The Greater Richmond chapter of the American Red Cross is providing food and shelter to 41 Chesterfield County residents, including 28 children, who were displaced by an apartment fire Monday. The 41 residents of the Bermuda Run Apartments are staying through Thursday at a Chester-area hotel, “and we’re helping everybody with food,“ Red Cross spokesman Bill Harrison said.

The American Red Cross is helping 16 Richmond residents forced out of their homes by fire or flooding in the past couple of days. Volunteers for the organization’s Greater Richmond Chapter are assisting 10 people displaced by a fire Wednesday night in two North Side apartments and six people affected by flooding in an apartment complex yesterday morning.

The American Red Cross is getting ready for hurricane season, but it needs more volunteers in case disaster strikes in the Richmond area. The nonprofit organization’s Greater Richmond Chapter will conduct a mock disaster drill today from 10 a.m. to noon at Bon Air United Methodist Church, 1645 Buford Road. The Red Cross already has volunteers trained for today’s drill. They will use the organization’s emergency response vehicle to deliver cots, blankets, comfort kits and other emergency supplies to the church. Volunteers also will set up a shelter in the church social hall, rehearse interviewing disaster victims, and run a canteen to feed Richmond firefighters.

Kathy Weber limped to the podium, held back tears and, her voice quavering, told how she and her two sons escaped a fire by jumping from a third-story window. “We lost two dogs, we lost our car, we lost everything,“ Weber said, still hobbled by a badly sprained ankle. “The doctors cut the clothes off our backs.“ The saving grace out of the personal disaster, she said, was the Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross, which has helped Weber and her sons Charles, 19, and Christian, 16, in a multitude of ways since the March 8 fire at Honey Tree Apartments in western Henrico County.

The American Red Cross Greater Richmond Chapter held its annual fundraising breakfast today, attracting a smaller crowd than in the past. 

As many as 50 people were facing a second night in a church emergency shelter after fire destroyed their homes in a South Richmond apartment complex. By midafternoon yesterday, the Greater Richmond chapter of the American Red Cross had confirmed that 34 former residents of the Rock Creek Apartments would need shelter again tonight at Ramsey Memorial United Methodist Church. The Red Cross had not interviewed all of the people who were displaced after the fire destroyed the 24-apartment complex on Broad Rock Boulevard late Sunday night.

Katherine Davenport was at work selling cars Nov. 12 when she received the call about her son, Jason, who was deployed in Iraq. “My first question was, ‘Is he alive?‘“ the mother of three said. “The guy starts telling me about the attack, and I said, ‘Is he alive?‘ I don’t know how many times I said, ‘Is he alive?‘ before he finally said, ‘Yes, he’s alive’.“