New van is a lifesaver for Sacramento-area Red Cross

For too long, Sacramento-based Red Cross volunteers did lots of packing before driving to distant places in Northern California to teach lifesaving. Mannequins used for CPR training had to be stuffed into the volunteers' cars, along with class manuals and other equipment.

No more.

Three weeks ago, the Sacramento Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross accepted a new Dodge Sprinter van that will facilitate the teaching of lifesaving in the far reaches of the chapter's nine-county area. Boasting the latest automotive accouterments, the van came equipped with all the tools needed to take lifesaving and disaster-preparedness classes on the road – everything from portable chairs and tables to heart-stimulating defibrillators and, of course, several dummies.

"This van will make it easier for our instructors because it will be loaded and ready to go" to wherever a class is scheduled, Martin G. Cicero, director of health and safety services for the Sacramento-based chapter, said last week.

"We really appreciate this gift," he said.

The van and its contents were donated to the Red Cross by the Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders of the Sacramento-Sierra Region.

"The purchase of this vehicle was made possible by the hard work and dedication of the phenomenal women leaders in the community who dedicated their time and donated money to this worthy cause," Brenda Crum, chairwoman of the local Tiffany Circle Society, said in a prepared statement.

Each of the group's 15 women donated $10,000, said Crum, a retired Granite Bay businesswoman. The $150,000 more than paid for the van and its equipment, with the leftover cash also destined for the Red Cross, Crum said.

"As a group of women leaders, we are very proud of our accomplishments," Crum, 56, said in an interview.

The amazing part is that the group has only just begun. The story commenced in 2006 when Crum took early retirement from the business world, after she and her husband, George, sold their West Sacramento-based Crum & Crum Enterprises. Crum & Crum, a grocery logistics firm, distributed products to major supermarkets in the United States and Canada.

Days into retirement, Brenda Crum publicly announced that during her "sunset years," she hoped to give back to the community by aiding the Red Cross in some way. After her comments were printed in early 2007 in a magazine catering to retirees, Crum was contacted by the Sacramento Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross.

"The chapter found me, and it said, 'We have a project for you,' " Crum recalled.

The project: to launch the first local chapter of the Tiffany Circle Society of Women's Leaders, a nationwide philanthropic group that had backed the Red Cross for years.

"In June, 2007, I and Susanna Ross, a Red Cross staff person with the Sacramento Sierra Chapter, went to Washington, D.C., for training on how to implement the Tiffany's Circle here," Crum said. "We were there for three days. The training was conducted by Red Cross leaders.

"We came back and started with one Tiffany's Circle member – me," Crum added.

By and by, other women joined – until there were 15. Along the way, the group created a five-member steering committee led by Crum, its volunteer chairwoman. In April, the group raised about $6,000 at its first fundraiser, a wine-tasting interior design gala at Pottery World in Rocklin. Proceeds from the event, which drew more than 140 women, were earmarked for Tiffany Circle's administrative expenses.

Eventually, the Red Cross suggested "gift ideas" for the group. One of them was a donation to further the Red Cross' educational outreach.

"We took that idea and modified it to be the Tiffany Mobile," Crum said.

The side of the white van reads: "Tiffany Circle – Society of Women Leaders + American Red Cross." On the back of the van, in black handwriting, are inscribed the names of the 15 women who made the van possible.

"We believe there is a serious unmet need for our training classes in locations that are not convenient to our chapter offices," Julie Van Dooren, CEO of the local Red Cross chapter said in a press release.

To prevent losses, the equipment is usually removed from the van overnight.

The Sacramento Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross serves Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Tuolomne, east Yolo and east Nevada counties.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Edgar Sanchez, (916) 321-1088.