Red Cross welcomes new executive director
COSHOCTON – The American Red Cross welcomed its new executive director during an open house held on Oct. 23 that was attended by volunteers and Lyn Mizer, United Way Director.
Matt Riddle became passionate about nonprofit work after his father passed away from cancer in 2015.
“I’d been working in the corporate field for a long time, but that changed my outlook,” he said.
Riddle worked for the Red Cross in Columbus doing fundraising for a year and is excited to start his new adventure as director over 13 counties.
“I get to touch the Red Cross’ mission everyday and be more on the front lines,” Riddle said.
He is originally from Cleveland, but now lives in Zanesville. His office is located in Norwich, but Riddle plans to have a presence in Coshocton.
“Coshocton has been on my radar since I took this job,” he said. “We need to be more active here. It’s important that we are visible.”
A new program Riddle would like to introduce to the area is smoke alarm installation.
“If you don’t have one, you can call and we will install it,” he said. “I’d like to work with Coshocton Fire and go door to door checking to see if people have them or if they need us to check theirs.”
Another passion of Riddle’s is the pillowcase project. He is an instructor for the program, which is geared toward third through fifth graders and helping them be prepared for disasters like fires.
“We go into the classroom and talk to them for an hour about being prepared for disasters like fires,” Riddle said. “They learn and practice skills that they can then take home and share. They also get a pillowcase that they can decorate. They take it home and put things like a flash light and batteries, toothbrush and toothpaste and their favorite toy in it. If something happens they can grab the pillowcase and get to safety. This program has been a proven way to save lives.”
However, to make these programs and others work, the local Red Cross needs the community’s help.
“We need more volunteers who are passionate about any of the Red Cross’ five lines of service,” Riddle said.
Those areas are: Disaster relief, blood services, health and safety, international, and armed forces.
“We can do a lot of great things here,” Riddle said.
To learn more about the Red Cross and how you can volunteer locally, contact Riddle at 740-844-2017 ext. 5, 740-260-5166 or e-mail mathew.riddle@redcross.org.
Category: Clubs & Organizations
