Red Cross Month Sheds a Light on Ways to Make a Difference

March is Red Cross Month, and the American Red Cross is asking people across the country to become a hero by giving blood, becoming a volunteer, or making a donation to #help1family on Giving Day, March 28. 

“The Red Cross is powered by our volunteer heroes who give of their time, talents, and compassion to fulfill our vital humanitarian mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. “They are people from your neighborhood who donate blood, who teach first-aid and CPR classes, who support those in need at what may be the worst time in their lives. We honor them during Red Cross Month and ask you to consider joining us and making a difference.”

March was first proclaimed Red Cross Month in 1943 by President Franklin Roosevelt to raise awareness of the organization and its humanitarian mission. Roosevelt’s last radio talk to the nation on March 20, 1945 was in support of the Red Cross War Fund. He died 23 days later, on April 12, 1945. 

This year, the Red Cross salutes all the heroes who make a difference in their communities by donating blood or platelets, volunteering to help people impacted by a disaster, taking a first-aid or CPR class to help in an emergency, or providing comfort to a member of the military, a veteran, or their family.

Home fires are the most common disasters that the Red Cross responds to each year. Volunteers drop everything — at any time of the day or night — to help people who have lost everything. “These are the moments when I can witness strangers helping other strangers in their greatest moments of need,” said Red Cross volunteer Cindy Huge.

The Red Cross has been helping people in need for more than 130 years. And much of its work is accomplished through the work of our volunteers. The Red Cross:

• Responds to nearly 64,000 disasters across the country, providing hope and comfort to people in need;
• Trains and provides information to nearly 5.9 million people in first aid, water safety, and other skills that help save lives;
• 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;
• Provides nearly 391,000 support services to military members, veterans, and their families; and
• Helps more than 181 million people outside the U.S. through disaster-management and disease-prevention efforts. 

Giving Day is a 24-hour fund-raising campaign supporting the work of the Red Cross, helping people across the country in need of emergency assistance. Donate by visiting redcross.org/givingday, or by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10. For more information on how to help, call your local Red Cross chapter or visit redcross.org.