The American Red Cross is recognizing the country’s everyday heroes during Red Cross Month.
“March is Red Cross Month, the perfect time to honor our Red Cross volunteers, blood donors and financial contributors who bring hope to people facing life’s emergencies,” said Gary Strong, CEO for the Red Cross Gold Country Region. “During Red Cross Month, we thank them for their tremendous support.”
March has been recognized as Red Cross Month for more than 70 years. All of the nation’s presidents during those years have designated March as Red Cross Month to recognize how the American Red Cross helps people across the country and around the world.
The Red Cross depends on local heroes to fulfill its mission. Every eight minutes, Red Cross disaster workers respond to a community disaster, providing shelter, food, emotional support and other necessities to those affected. It provides 24-hour support to members of the military, veterans and their families at home and around the world. It must collect nearly 14,000 donations of blood every day to meet patient needs. It trains millions of people in first aid, water safety and other lifesaving skills. And it supports the vaccination of children around the globe against measles and rubella.
In fiscal year 2016, the Red Cross Gold Country Region assisted 1,396 families affected by local emergencies, provided 3,257 services to military members and their families and trained 39,263 people in lifesaving skills.
“It’s easy to become a Red Cross community hero,” said Robin Friedman, Regional Disaster Program Officer for Gold Country Region. “Be ready for an emergency by creating a preparedness plan for your home. Test your smoke alarms and tell your neighbors to do the same. Or sign up to be a Red Cross volunteer or make a financial donation.”
More information about how people can support the organization is available on redcross.org. The Red Cross is not a government agency and relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs.
The Red Cross Gold Country Region, based in Sacramento, hosts two chapters, the Northeastern California Chapter and the Sierra-Delta Chapter. The chapters provide services to 24 counties and more than 4.4 million people. Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties are part of the Sierra-Delta Chapter. In 2017, the Gold Country Region marks 100 years of service with a number of celebrations. To find out more visit www.redcross.org/goldcountry.
