The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
He explained that they prevent and alleviate human suffering in our local community, across the United States and globally. They don't only provide services during a disaster but also long-term, making sure that the communities come back operating existence. This is done mostly through volunteers at all levels and, of course, it is the financial generosity of the donors that makes these services available.
The American Red Cross has five areas of service:
Disaster Cycle Services prepare for, and respond to, help people recover from house fires, local flooding or tornadoes. Volunteers provide comfort, shelter and food. They also help with other resources to help with recovery such as if they need clothing or medicines. They also respond to large scale disasters connecting people with services including connecting with FEMA. The Red Cross acts as a bridge to recovery.
Biomedical services are blood services. The Red Cross collects and distributes 40% of the nation's blood supply. The blood is used for treatment and transfusions and many emergency needs.
Training Services they provide include CPR, AED and First Aid as well as baby sitting. There are some classes available online while others are conducted in person.
International - The American Red Cross can play a major role helping families in the United States locate relatives that are overseas, possibly displaced by disaster.
Service to the Armed Forces means that they help members of the military reach their families such as in the case of a death in the family or otherwise cope with the challenges of military service.
Mentioned earlier, The American Red Cross is a volunteer-led organization with 90% of the work being done by volunteers. In Nebraska and Iowa alone in a year's time, they report these figures:
2102 Volunteers
1333 Home Fires and other disasters responded to
6462 Smoke alarms installed
2912 Homes made safer through the home fire campaign
3808 Services provided to Armed Services
85,132 people trained in CPR, AED, First Aid, Caregiving and Aquatics
167,269 units of blood donated
Michael outlined some of the volunteer positions. The Disaster Action Team is the area needing the most volunteers. For every disaster there is a dispatcher who contacts a team of Runners to provide, or find, assistance for those affected by disasters.
In the blood services area they use Donor Ambassadors. This is the check in table. These volunteers ensure the best experience for the donor as possible. They want the donors to return so they provide swift check in and courteous service throughout.
Click here for Red Cross Overview and Volunteer Opportunities.
Michael encouraged us all to go to The American Red Cross website for valuable information: www.redcross.org.
He also invited us to contact him directly: michael.fleming2@redcross.org.