Red Cross Asks Oregonians To Join During Red Cross Month
  

March is Red Cross Month, and the American Red Cross is asking people to join them in helping those in need by volunteering their time, making a donation, taking a class or giving blood.

“When someone provides a hot meal to a disaster victim, gives blood, takes a first aid class, or helps someone in the military, they join the Red Cross,” said Maree Wacker, Regional Executive for the Oregon Red Cross. “We want to say ‘thank you’ to all who support us. That support enables us to provide help and hope to those who need our assistance.”

For nearly 100 years, U.S. Presidents have called on people to support the American Red Cross and its humanitarian mission. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to proclaim March as Red Cross Month in 1943. Since that time, President Obama and every president since have issued proclamations designating March as Red Cross Month. Oregon Governor Kitzhaber has also issued a Red Cross Month proclamation -- view it at www.oregonredcross.org/proclamation.

The Red Cross has been helping people for 130 years, responding to disasters, assisting members of the military, teaching lifesaving skills, and serving as one of the largest blood suppliers in the United States. In Oregon, the Red Cross responded and provided assistance to more than 550 families affected by disasters last year; assisted with more than 2,600 emergency communications for military families; trained more than 98,000 Oregonians in life-saving skills; and collected more than 103,000 blood donations.

“We work very diligently to help those in need,” Wacker said. “Whether out on a disaster, alongside our troops, at a blood drive or in a first aid class, Red Cross workers touch the lives of millions of people every year.”

The Red Cross is not a government agency and relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work. “When people join the Red Cross by volunteering, donating blood, taking a course or making a contribution, they enable us to continue our work, both here at home, and around the world,” Wacker said.

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In Oregon, the American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disaster every 20 hours; supplies more than 90 percent of Oregon's blood; teaches thousands of Oregonians lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization - not a government agency - and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.oregonredcross.org or join our award-winning blog at www.oregonredcross.org/blog.