37 American Red Cross Facts: A True Contribution To Society!

Did you know that the American Red Cross is one of the oldest and most respected humanitarian organizations in the world?

It is a non-profit organization that was established on May 21, 1881. For over 140 years, they have provided disaster relief and emergency assistance to those in need.

This organization was formed by Clara Barton, an American nurse, to mark the success of the International Red Cross in the European continent. Barton remained the president of the Red Cross till 1904.

Under her watch, the agency provided service to families and individuals during the 1889 Pennsylvania flood and the 1900 tidal wave disaster in Texas. It also supplied medicine and food to the US army during the 1898 Spanish-American War.

This article will discuss 17 amazing facts about the American Red Cross. They have a long and impressive history of helping people in times of need!

History Of The American Red Cross

In this section of the article, we will discuss the history of the American Red Cross and give you specific facts that will provide you with a better understanding of the organization.

The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton. She was known to be a nurse during the Civil War and saw the need for an organization that could provide medical assistance to those who were wounded in battle.

After the war, she continued her work with the Red Cross, providing relief to victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods.

To form the American National Red Cross, Clara Barton convened a meeting at the House of Senator Omar D. Conger on May 12, 1881.

The meeting was attended by 15 respected personalities, including Conger and William Lawrence. The latter one went on to become the organization's first vice president.

It was at the English Evangelical Lutheran Church situated in Dansville where the first local chapter of the American Red Cross was established in 1881.

Even though Barton was the agency's founder, she failed to form a trusted staff and effective fundraising programs. Mabel Thorp Boardman, the second president of the Red Cross, brought in significant developments and made it what it is today.

Work Done By The American Red Cross

This section will discuss the services, including donations, supplies, shelter, and support, that American Red Cross has been providing for nearly one and a half centuries. '

To begin with, it is said that the American Red Cross supplies nearly 45% of the donated blood in the country. The organization sells this tremendous amount of blood to regional suppliers and hospitals.

In addition to that, in the year 2004, on the campus of California State Polytechnic University, the organization achieved its largest blood processing facility in the country.

When it comes to NAT or nucleic acid testing, the American Red Cross was the first blood bank in the country to implement such technology.

Rather than only observing the body's responses to the diseases like hepatitis and HIV, this process detects the genetic materials of these diseases.

The organization has its own blood laboratory in Rockville, Maryland, for research. It is said that more than $25 million is spent every year for research purposes.

Research shows that leukocytes in blood products can lead to organ failure and death. As a result, the American Red Cross implements the leukoreduction procedure on a regular basis to make sure that all their blood products are leukoreduced.

Apart from that, the American Red Cross also provides cellular therapies. It is a process through which the blood cells of a blood donor or a patient are collected and treated.

In 2007, when the state of Florida was hit by a gigantic tornado, a large-scale disaster relief operation was conducted by the American Red Cross. It opened seven shelters for individuals and families affected by the disaster and provided 40,000 packaged meals.

More than 400 volunteers worked relentlessly in this disaster relief program and succeeded in saving numerous lives.

The Social Objective Of The American Red Cross

Here, in this section, we will take a look at how the red cross workers and volunteers provide services to the US armed forces and civilians.

For more than a century, the American Red Cross has been providing communities and families with several disaster relief recovery programs. For example, any person affected by natural disasters receives monetary, educational, and medical supplies from this organization.

In addition to that, the organization functions 365 days a year, and apart from blood donations and monetary assistance, it also provides disaster victims with food, blankets, shelter, clothing, and medical supplies.

The American Red Cross is also known for providing free services to the US military (both emergency and non-emergency). The most notable of these is communication service.

It also collaborates with the Department of Veterans Affairs and aids service members and their families. Along with that, the American Red Cross also provides various free services in military hospitals.

However, the organization is not connected with war prisoners (the International Committee of the Red Cross handles that).

The Red Cross Volunteers also provide support (like financial assistance, medical treatment, and shelter) to thousands of people who suffer from natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, or home fires every year.

The organization also operated the American Red Cross Club Mobile Service during World War II in order to provide food and a connection home to the service members.

The agency also enrolled 7.5 million volunteers, 104,000 nurses, and 39,000 paid staff during the war.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower praised the American Red Cross for its extraordinary service during World War II.

The American Red Cross also played an essential role in the Russian civil war. When the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, the Red Cross followed the instructions of President Wilson and supplied food and material relief to Bolshevik opponents.

Did you know...

There are so many facts about the American Red Cross that we could not fill all of them in the previous sections. So, the rest of them will be discussed here.

The first significant response from the American Red Cross to an international civilian disaster came in 1908 when the Strait of Messina suffered from a tsunami and earthquake.

The organization sent $1 million to Italy through the State Department. They also marked their shift away from the International Red Cross Movement through this response.

However, on several occasions, the organization, as a part of the International Red Crescent Movement) has been seen to be involved with various international projects like malaria programs in Africa and disaster relief programs in South Asia (as a response to the 2004 tsunami).

Apart from that, the organization and its volunteers are always ready to help people whenever a natural disaster strikes. For example, the Red Cross mobilized to set up relief camps when New Orleans was threatened by Hurricane Katrina.

In order to provide for victims of similar natural disasters, the organizations also conduct blood drives frequently.

Even though it is not an official government agency, the American Red Cross was chartered in 1905 by the US Congress for providing relief on national and international levels in the time of peace and to work on reducing human suffering caused by floods and fire, storms, and famine.

The American Red Cross is also famous for providing training services. Its aim is to make one person per family well-trained in first aid and CPR. Every year, the agency teaches life-saving skills to tens of thousands of people (sometimes millions).

In 2017, through their courses on CPR, AED, and First Aid, the Red Cross trained a record 2.26 million people on how to save lives through these treatments.

Some other courses offered by the American Red Cross are Advanced Life Support, Asthma Inhaler Training, Wilderness and Remote First Aid, Basic Life Support, California Child Care, Lifeguarding, Nurse Assistant Training, and Safety Training for Swim Coaches, and Emergency Medical Response.

It is also said that the majority of the volunteers who work for this agency are trained in a specific way that allows them to mobilize at a moment's notice and respond to any kind of disaster that hits the country.

Even though it is said to be a non-profit organization, there is money involved in this company. The American Red Cross has over 20,000 employees who need to be paid.

However, the business practices of the Red Cross are entirely transparent, and when it comes to its spending, the company hides nothing from the public.