American Red Cross - Washington, D.C.

Facts About the American Red Cross


You must never so much think as whether you like it or not, whether it is bearable or not; you must never think of anything except the need, and how to meet it.” -Clara Barton

American Red Cross

American Red Cross

Recently, I was invited to spend time with the American Red Cross. Like many of the others traveling there with me, I didn’t fully understand the scope of what exactly the organization does on a day-to-day basis.

In fact, they do so much more to help people than they can even speak about. Some relief efforts they provide are never talked about or included in their fundraising.

They just do it because it’s the right thing to do.

They don’t take sides; they simply help. They fulfill their mission set forth by their founder, Clara Barton.

I talked for hours upon hours when I arrived home to my family. I wanted to tell them everything I had learned and showed them the Deluxe Personal Safety Emergency Pack I received.

Deluxe Personal Safety Emergency Pack

The pack is designed to support one person during a short-term emergency situation and goes back to just one thing the Red Cross does: disaster preparedness.

Mostly, I wanted them to be excited too! I wanted them to understand how my mom, their MaMaw, had years added to her life through blood transfusions during her 7 year battle with cancer.

Blood donations are a huge part of the services the Red Cross provides.

I wanted them to hear about the 627 lives saved since the Red Cross started the Home Fire Campaign.

I wanted them to know about the way they look past politics to simply make sure people are prepared for disasters.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief

In fact, one of the pillars we began our visit with was “truth-telling” and the dangers of rumors and misinformation that social media now helps fuel.

With that, let’s go over a few facts about the American Red Cross:

  • Red Cross logged 10 MILLION volunteer hours in 2018
  • 372,000 current volunteers
  • respond to more than 62,000 disasters each year (mostly home fires)
  • 1.8 MILLION smoke detectors installed and 1.4 MILLION kids educated through their Home Fire Campaign
  • have Red Crossers (volunteers) in every VA hospital across the country
  • manage 6.6 MILLION units of blood & blood products; providing 40% of the nation’s blood
  • volunteers carry out 90% of the humanitarian work of the organization

And this is really just the tip of the iceberg. They even have International teams in 10 different countries. There relief efforts extend beyond borders, cultures, and religions.

Basically, they stick to the 4 pillars of their Mission Statement and do their best to fulfill it;

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.​

As Brad Kierserman, Vice President for Disaster Operations and Logistics, put it, “The mission is easy to remember because it’s something we actually do.”

American Red Cross volunteer statue

They live it out through the efforts to help others. I simply love that! The best part is, they make it easy for you and I to help too.

Sign up today with your local chapter to be an American Red Cross volunteer!

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