PROVO -- As she leaves her job after nine years at the Mountain Valley Red Cross Chapter, Kathy Miller is worried about 32 elderly people in Utah County.

Those 32 people may lose a critical link to the outside world when she goes."Who will take care of them for us?" Miller asked. "That's just one of the things we do. We call the elderly every day, at least once a day, for 365 days a year. I coordinate that and make sure it happens."

Miller said some of them just want to know someone will notice if they aren't able to answer the phone.

Others like the daily contact with a person who's willing to spend a few minutes simply talking to them.

Volunteers help man the phones and keep the system, known as TeleCare, operating through holidays and weekends.

Miller oversees the calling and spearheads the ongoing effort to enlist new help so the routine is unbroken.

Some of the volunteers are Brigham Young University students who will return from the Christmas holiday to discover the chapter has all but shut down. They'll be dismayed, she said.

"I've talked to one organization who may take it on," Miller said. "We may be all right. I hope so because in this county we take pride in the fact that we don't forget the elderly."

Miller said other chapters of the Red Cross have the option of picking up the TeleCare program but generally have not done so.

"We're the only ones I know of who've done this," she said, choking back tears.

Miller's last day in the office was Wednesday, because the chapter can no longer afford to keep four of its five-person staff employed.

A serious money crunch is causing the board of directors to consider closure, and unless donations rise dramatically, that closure is nearly certain.

The executive director resigned last week, and the future looks bleak.

If the closure happens, the central and southern Utah region that includes Millard and Juab counties as well as Utah County, will become the largest geographical area in the United States without a local chapter.

Assignments and duties will be picked up from Salt Lake City and the area will become a service center rather than part of a chapter's focal responsibility, officials said.

Miller said the situation is tough on the small family of employees who see their jobs as completely service-oriented, involved in everything from sending news of a new baby to a Desert Storm soldier to saving a diabetic old man who hung up suddenly during his TeleCare call.

"I also go out on disaster calls," Miller said. "I'm bilingual and I remember one Spanish family that was flooded in Eureka. I went along as an interpreter, and that was kind of special. I couldn't take away the flooding but I could help them understand what we could do to help."

Val Petersen, a board member and spokesman for Utah Valley State College, said the Mountain Valley Chapter has, on the average, assisted one in 20 people in the county during just the past year. That's above the national average.

The list includes:

195 families helped through military emergency communications.

Seven families reunited through International Tracing Services.

18 community volunteers trained to be ready to assist in major disaster relief.

9,173 people trained in vital lifesaving skills such as first aid and CPR.

7,087 people taught to swim, lifeguard and operate small watercraft safely.

463 people educated about the prevention of HIV and AIDS.

32 elderly contacted daily through the phone program.

143 families registered with utility assistance.

"The Red Cross is vital for the community. We provide service and assistance for a large part of the community and we are committed to maintaining those services," said Bruce Woolley, board chairman.

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Woolley said the chapter is committed to rebuilding family lives from disaster situations, reconnecting families during disasters and reuniting people through our military and international services.

"In order for us to continue providing these services, we need the community's support through donations to the Red Cross," he said. "We are an essential link in community services and we need the community to help us provide that support."

The chapter needs a working budget of approximately $600,000 for each year, said former executive director Walter Barrus. The Red Cross is not government funded, depending entirely on donations for operating costs.

Those interested in donating to or volunteering at the chapter should call 373-8580.

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