Congratulations to Osas Otasowie, the L.A. Region Faith Based Coordinator, for receiving a 2014 National America Red Cross Presidential Award for Excellence. This prestigious award is presented once a year to a select group of volunteers and employees who demonstrate superior job performance. Osas and the other recipients were honored on Feb. 18, at a National Award and Recognition dinner in Washington, D.C. Read more about Osas below.
Starting from scratch, Osas Otasowie, the faith-based coordinator for the Los Angeles Region, has developed partnerships with 86 faith-based organizations (FBOs) in only three years. These FBOs represent hundreds of groups that participate in education, community outreach or group volunteer opportunity, CPR/first aid training and blood drives.
As a result of her hard work, Osas, along with other partner organizations, received the 2013 John D. Solomon Award in the category of “Preparing the Whole Community.” It recognizes outstanding state and local partnerships with faith-based and community organizations in disaster preparedness. Osas was recognized for her work collaborating with local agencies to help implement the first-ever Teen CERT program in the high-risk neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles. Through the program, the LA Region, along with the LA City Fire Department, LA Police Department, Department of Public Health, chaplain of the Watts Gang Task Force, and other organizations, hosted an event to provide skill development, career training opportunities and preparedness training with CPR and first aid.
Additionally, Osas runs a unique faith-based affiliate program, supporting faith based organizations, members and leaders through free Red Cross programs and services. In FY14, the program served 75 faith-based affiliates and 1,096 preparedness participants, with 3,224 pints of blood collected through the partnership.
