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April
17, 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 8Oakland,
CA
Red Cross honors local heroes
Three East
Bay citizens with links to the Oakland Diocese have been honored as community
heroes by the American Red Cross. Rosa Acosta, a Catholic who helps victims
of domestic violence, Charles Woo, a coach at Moreau Catholic High in
Hayward, and Millie Burns and the Katrina outreach team at Catholic Charities
of the East Bay were among 12 Alameda County honorees cited by the Red
Cross for heroic events in homes, schools, and workplaces.
Rosa Acosta was honored for saving an eight-month-old baby from choking
last December, working steadfastly for what seemed like an eternity to
dislodge an object from the baby’s throat. It was, in Acosta’s
words, the most difficult and most rewardng experience of her life.
Acosta teaches CPR and emergency preparedness as a Red Cross trainer and
promotes CPR training among teens and adolescents through local schools.
She is the founder of Morada De Mujeres Del Milenio, a program to assist
Latino women and children who are victims of domestic violence, and the
Welcome Home Baby program.
Charles Woo received his award for saving the life of a member of the
Moreau High swim team who collapsed in the water during practice at Chabot
College. Coach Woo back-boarded the 200-pound team member out of the water
and began CPR while getting a call in to 911 and instructing the other
swimmers to leave the area. When paramedics arrived, they used a defibrillator
nine times to revive the swimmer.
Woo also tended to his team’s collapse in spirit by having the students
write messages to their recovering teammate. When the swimmer was well
enough, Woo had him visit the team so that everyone could join in the
recovery process.
Millie Burns, deputy director of Catholic Charities of the East Bay, accepted
the Red Cross award for initiating and implementing her agency’s
outreach services to survivors of Hurricane Katrina who arrived in the
East Bay.
Initially, CCEB expected about 50 families, but eventually the agency
served about 300 families. Burns solicited funds from Catholic parishes
and linked 39 families to parish groups through an Adopt-A-Family program.
These groups provided furniture, clothing, job prospects, money and friendship.
Other honorees included Alameda County firefighter Jeffrey Ramsey for
his search and rescue work during Katrina, Cal Steam Company employees
for their holiday gift program, Ho-hin Choy for numerous volunteer activities
within the Asian community, and Jan Kehoe for organizing 42 blood drives
in the past five years.
Rosa
Acosta
Millie Burns
Charles Woo
