The University of Wisconsin-Superior was recently named International Services Partner of the Year by the Red Cross. The award recognizes the mutually beneficial partnership of UW-Superior and the Red Cross.

“UW-Superior is deeply committed to community engagement and public service, and we were honored to receive this meaningful recognition from the Red Cross,” said Katelyn Baumann, UW-Superior outreach program manager for the Link Center and co-chair of Academic Staff Senate. “UWS’s over ten-year partnership with the Red Cross supports both organizations missions and increases collaborations through unique educational events like our bi-annual Red Cross Day, which includes the Refugee Exhibition, hands-only CPR training, card writing for veterans and more.”

During the celebration of Red Cross Day and its multiple events open to the campus and greater community, volunteers from the local Red Cross chapter join UW-Superior staff from several departments throughout the day. In one of the larger events, UW-Superior students teach fellow students, faculty, staff, and community members about refugees and international humanitarian law and the Red Cross with “Refugee for 75 Minutes.” The exhibit provides an interactive model to help participants learn about the technical and humanitarian aspects of this topic, factors that cause people to become refugees and to gain an understanding of refugees’ hopes and fears.

“We are now approaching ten years of UW-Superior and the Red Cross partnering in providing international humanitarian law training to both students from the campus and to young people and the community more broadly,” said Dan Williams, executive director of the American Red Cross serving Northern Minnesota. “This non-political training benefits all of us and our communities.  It makes our young people more savvy consumers of news and gives them a level of understanding of the circumstances of people who often have had a much different life experience than their own.

“The collaboration by Katelyn Baumann, the Yellowjacket Union and others to allow us to hold a Red Cross Day and highlight the work of students in educating their peers on refugee issues for the last three semesters has been amazing,” said Williams. “I have been fortunate to know Dr. Haji Dokhanchi for those ten years, and while he is an incredible asset to the Red Cross across a footprint that extends through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota and beyond, it is the entire campus community that makes this work possible.

“I think back to recognizing UWS as our Service to the Armed Forces Partner of the Year in 2017 and think of all the collaborative impact we have had on the military and veteran community since then; and I think of how far we can still go with our work building on the understanding of international issues,” said Williams.