This is a sponsored post on behalf of the American Red Cross.
A few weeks ago, while preparations for Hurricane Dorian were being made, I shared “How to Help During Natural Disasters.” that included tangible ways to help during a disaster. Many of us feel helpless when we hear about the devastation of natural disasters and wonder what we can do. By becoming a volunteer with the American Red Cross you are able to turn your compassion into action by preventing and relieving suffering in your own community or wherever disaster strikes.
The Red Cross is More Than Disaster Relief
Disaster preparedness and relief is such an important part of The American Red Cross, but during my time in Washington D.C. at the organization’s headquarters, what amazed me was the life-saving programs I didn’t know existed. There is an abundance of volunteer opportunities within the organization. Check them out here.
Home Fire Campaign: In an effort to prevent the amount of home fires and fatalities, the home fire campaign is made of up volunteers, often in conjunction with local fire departments, who canvas at-risk neighborhoods to install free smoke alarms. To date, volunteers have installed 1.8 million smoke alarms in 15,900 communities with a confirmed 627 lives saved.
Preparedness: The Pillowcase Project: Over 1 million kids have learned about disaster preparedness, which no doubt has contributed to lives saved. During The Pillowcase Project, in which volunteers teach in 3rd to 5th grade classrooms, students receive a pillowcase to decorate and then take home to use as a personal emergency supplies kit. Students learn about how to prepare for a locally relevant disaster, practice what to do if a disaster occurs, and afterwards, they share the information and skills they have learned with their family and friends.
Individual Disasters: There are American Red Cross volunteers on-call 24 hours a day 365 days a year to respond to individual disasters. They respond to 62,000 disasters per year, most of which are single family home fires.
Services to Armed Forces: Where the military is, the Red Cross is too.
The Red Cross helps members of the military, veterans and their families prepare for, cope with, and respond to, the challenges of military service.
Every day, the American Red Cross provides 24/7 global emergency communication services and support in military and veteran health care facilities across the country and around the world.
Restoring Family Links: This program helps reconnect families separated internationally as a result of conflict, disaster, migration or other humanitarian emergency.
International Services What I love about the American Red Cross is that they aim to prevent and alleviate suffering here in the United States and around the world. Over 2 billion children have been vaccinated through measels and rubella campaigns. 185 million people have benefitted from American Red Cross International assistance. 29 million people in at-risk communities put on the map through their Missing Maps program (This is a really awesome program that you can volunteer from home!)
Health and Training Certification: I’m sure many of you are familiar with and probably have even taken an American Red Cross CPR, First Aid or Water Safety class, but were you aware of their life-saving apps? One thing many of us always have with us is or phones, but we don’t always have the training or knowledge necessary in an emergency. Everyone should download the Red Cross mobile apps for expert information when you need it most.
Roll up your sleeves and donate life-saving time, money and blood. Sign up to become an American Red Cross volunteer today!
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