75 years
ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt first proclaimed March as Red Cross Month
to raise awareness of the organization and its critical humanitarian mission.
During Red Cross Month the goal is to inspire people across the country to be a
hero by giving blood, or becoming a volunteer. You can also #help1family on
Giving Day which is on March 28th by making a financial donation to
help provide hope and relief to people who need it most.
This March,
the Red Cross salutes everyday heroes who make a difference in their local
communities by donating blood or platelets to support hospital patients,
volunteering to help a family devastated by a disaster, taking a first aid or
CPR class to help in an emergency situation, and providing comfort to a member
of the military, a veteran or their family.
On average, each year the Red Cross
responds to nearly 64,000 disasters
across the country providing hope and comfort to people in need. The Red Cross collects nearly 4.9 million units of blood from more
than 2.8 million volunteer donors to
meet the needs of patients at hospitals and transfusion centers across the
country.
The American Red Cross is asking everyone to
join us in supporting families impacted by disaster and #help1family on GivingDay- Wednesday, March 28th. Giving Day is a 24-hour fundraising
campaign supporting the work of the Red Cross, helping people across the
country in need of emergency support.
Here in the
Western New York Region, volunteer heroes who deliver and help year-round
power your local Red Cross. For example, during Hurricane Harvey, local
volunteers have provided immediate financial assistance for more than 573,000 affected households, served
more than 4.5 million meals and
snacks, provided over 414,800 overnight
stays in shelters with partners, and distributed over 1.6 million relief items like diapers, cleaning supplies, coolers
and comfort kits.
This March, become a hero in your local
community by joining with the Red Cross to give back to those in need. Provide
hope after a disaster and #help1family by making a financial donation at
redcross.org/givingday. Donations can help provide urgent relief such as food,
blankets and other essentials to people who need it most.
Red Cross
events to look forward to coming up in the months of March and April are the
Red Cross Fire and Ice Gala in Rochester. This event will take place on April
14th. The Early Bird BASH tickets are also on sale now until March31st and this event will take place on June 1st.
-Angela Lorusso
Communications Intern
