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 Rosie Taravella, Regional CEO, Western and Central New York 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 our presidents have designated March as Red Cross Month to recognize how the American Red Cross helps people across the country and around the world.
The Central New York Chapter has a number of activities planned for Red Cross Month, including participation in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Syracuse on March 11; a flag raising ceremony on March 13 at 10 am at City Hall, and a chapter blood drive on March 16 from 9 am until 2 pm.
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 Central New York Chapter installed 904 smoke alarms at no cost as part of the Home Fire Campaign, responded to 215 local emergencies, assisted 765 military families, trained 11,816 people in lifesaving skills and people from this area donated 38,967 units of blood.
“It’s easy to become a Red Cross community hero,” said Taravella.“Be ready for an emergency by creating a preparedness plan for your home. Test your smoke detectors 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.