It’s American Red Cross Month, when the Red Cross honors the more than 300,000 people who volunteer to make its lifesaving mission possible. For nearly 80 years, U.S. presidents have proclaimed March as Red Cross Month to recognize people giving back through the organization’s lifesaving mission — which is powered by more than 90% volunteers.
Committed to helping all those in need, Red Cross volunteers provide emergency support, such as disaster relief, lifesaving blood, critical services for military families and veterans, lifesaving skills like CPR, international aid and so much more.
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
- Providing comfort to a member of the military, a veteran or their family
What does the Red Cross do?
- Responds to more than 60,000 disasters across the country providing hope and comfort to people in need.
- Trains and provides information to more than 5 million people in first aid, water safety and other skills that help save lives.
- Collects more than 4 million units of blood from nearly 2.6 million volunteer donors to meet the needs of patients at hospitals and transfusion centers across the country.
- Provides more than 513,000 support services to military members, veterans and their families.
- Helps nearly 250 million people outside the U.S. through disaster management and disease prevention efforts.
Red Cross Celebrates Heroes in Our Community
This month, three celebrations will take place throughout Iowa and Nebraska to recognize local citizens who display courage, compassion and unselfish character. These Heroes events will be held virtually for the first time and are open to anyone wishing to attend.
March 9 – Noon – Heroes in the Heartland (Omaha, Nebraska)
March 11 – 7:30 a.m. – Everyday Heroes (Dubuque, Iowa)
March 24 – 7:30 a.m. – Heroes of the Heartland (Des Moines, Iowa)
Heroes is the signature event for the Red Cross. It is an opportunity to ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Honorees are nominated by peers and the general public, then selected by a committee of community members. They include individuals who have dedicated their lives to serving others or answered a call to action to help someone in need.
These celebrations are the primary fundraising events for the Red Cross. Funds raised support the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, helping the organization continue to prepare for, prevent and respond to disasters. This event ensures that the Red Cross can offer help and hope to those in our community affected by emergencies.
Virtual Red Cross Resiliency Workshops Provide Comfort and Calm
One year ago, Dr. Carol Deel was sitting in a room with military and veteran families teaching them how to strengthen their natural resiliency. She gave them tips for communicating clearly and demonstrated stress-reducing breathing exercises. With more than 25 years of experience in family therapy, Dr. Deel taught mental wellness through in-person Red Cross workshops. Flash forward to today – Dr. Deel now finds herself online and teaching these same crucial coping methods virtually.
Workshops that were once all in-person could no longer meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now one year and a skillful pivot later, the Red Cross has transitioned in-person courses to all virtual workshops. These courses are vital, especially now, to assist and equip military and veteran families as together they cope with the challenges of military and veteran life. Courses available for adults range from “Coping with Deployments,” “Effective Communication” and “Stress Solutions,” which all focus on family communication and stress management skills. “Creating Calmness in Stressful Times” and “Family Laugh and Learn” are courses for both adults and children that seek to provide age-appropriate coping mechanisms and family reconnection.
Taught by Red Cross volunteers who are licensed mental health professionals, these free workshops are available online for military and veteran families across the globe. For more information about Resiliency Workshops or to sign up for one, contact your local Red Cross office, visit redcross.org/saf or click on the Resiliency tab in the Red Cross Hero Care app.