Red Cross Opens Office in Cookeville

The American Red Cross has opened a satellite office in Cookeville to better serve the residents of the Upper Cumberland Region.
The Nashville Area Chapter oversees services to 36 counties, including Putnam, DeKalb, Clay, Jackson, Overton, and White.
The new office will be located at One South Jefferson, Suite 201, Cookeville, in the old First National Bank building on the square and will be managed by Cookeville native, Mary Frank Madera (Swaim).
Madera returns to Middle Tennessee after serving the Chattanooga Area Chapter of the American Red Cross as Director of Development. Ms. Madera has held executive positions with diverse nonprofits including United Way, Cheekwood and TPAC. She is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University, the inaugural class of Leadership Putnam, and a 17-year Rotarian and current member of the Cookeville Rotary.
“I am so happy to be back home in Cookeville,” says Madera. “The Red Cross mission to prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters and other emergencies has never been greater.”
On its very first day, the Red Cross provided a canteen effort for volunteers in the Overton County search and rescue, assisted a retired Staff Sergeant through their Services to Armed Forces, and extended financial assistance to a family of three whose house had burned down the night before.
Madera hopes past volunteers will come by and say hello. “We need their experience not only to serve during crisis but to help us grow our services across the Upper Cumberland—ensuring that the Red Cross is there for our neighbors in their time of greatest need.”
The new office plans to also offer Lifesaving Skills Courses including CPR, First AID and Babysitter’s Training as well as volunteer orientation classes for Upper Cumberland residents who wish to become a trained Red Cross volunteer. The vision of the Nashville Area Red Cross is to recruit and train 10,000 volunteers throughout the region, making Middle Tennessee the safest and most prepared region in the country. This satellite office is another step towards that goal, as the Red Cross increases its presence in the Upper Cumberland.
The Red Cross Cookeville Office will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8 am – 4pm and can be reached at (931)528.3475.
For media inquiries, please contact Jill Gorin, Spokesperson for the Nashville Area Red Cross, at (615) 456-2250.
The Red Cross provides services to victims of disaster, such as a residential fire, flood, tornado and other emergencies. Other services include CPR/AED/First Aid training, services for our armed forces and their families, including mental health counseling and communication in the case of a death, birth, illness or emergency, and tracing for families separated from their loved ones due to civil unrest in their native country.
About the Nashville Area Red Cross: The Nashville Area Regional Chapter oversees 36 counties and six Red Cross community chapters in Middle Tennessee. The 17 counties served directly by the Chapter include: Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, DeKalb, Dickson, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, Van Buren, White and Wilson counties. The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disaster and helps people prevent, prepare and respond to emergencies. The American Red Cross is not a government agency. All disaster assistance is free, and is funded solely by local donations. To make a gift, call (615) 250-4264.