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The American National Red Cross

Contact Information
The American National Red Cross
2025 E St. NW
Washington, DC 20006
DC Tel. 202-303-4498
Toll Free 800-435-7669

Type: Private - Not-for-Profit
On the web: http://www.redcross.org
 Employees: 35,000
Employee growth: 0.0%

A specialist in dealing with events beyond its control, The American Red Cross offers disaster relief and other humanitarian services through more than 700 chapters nationwide. Although it was chartered by Congress in 1905, the American Red Cross isn't a government agency. The not-for-profit organization relies on the efforts of about 1 million volunteers. Aside from helping victims of about 70,000 disasters large and small each year, the American Red Cross teaches CPR and first aid courses; provides counseling for US military personnel; and maintains some of the largest blood and plasma banks nationwide. The group is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending June, 2006:
Sales: $6,008.6M
One year growth: 53.3%

Officers:
Chairman: Bonnie McElveen-Hunter
CFO: Robert P. (Bob) McDonald
EVP, Chapter and International Operations: R. Alan McCurry

 
 
Company History: American Red Cross

Incorporated: 1881
NAIC: 621991 Blood and Organ Banks; 62423 Emergency and Other

The American Red Cross is a nonprofit agency with a long history of providing relief to individuals affected by war and natural disaster. It was first formed in order to aid men wounded on the battlefield. It evolved into a network of approximately 1,300 local chapters of volunteers who respond to flood, fire, earthquake, and drought. The American Red Cross has played an enormously important historical role in supporting American troops in the two world wars and in ensuing conflicts. It has also been instrumental in organizing relief in countless natural disasters, from the Johnstown Flood to the Great San Francisco Earthquake to many more recent catastrophes. The organization's national presence and prestige allow it to spearhead fundraising drives to benefit stricken communities, and it also often serves as the distribution network for funds or goods raised by other organizations or donated by the government. Though the Red Cross was formed in response to war and disaster, it also developed a coherent peacetime mission, including teaching first aid and life-saving, and running blood banks. The Red Cross controls about 50 percent of the blood services market in the United States. About half the organization's revenue comes from the sale of its blood products. The rest comes from charitable donations from individuals and corporations. It also receives money through the charitable fundraising organization United Way.

The American Red Cross dates its formal beginning to 1881, but it was active before that. Its roots lie in Europe, where the International Red Cross was founded in Geneva in 1864. The impetus for the founding of the international group was a book published in 1862 by a Swiss businessman, Jean Henri Dunant. Dunant witnessed the horrific aftermath of a battle between Austrian and French forces near the Italian village of Solferino when he was traveling in the vicinity for business. Some 30,000 to 40,000 dead and wounded men lay on the battlefield, with no one to care for them. Dunant was so struck by the carnage that he wrote a book about what he had seen, and pleaded for the formation of volunteer civilian groups to aid wounded soldiers. Dunant spearheaded a group that soon formed the International Committee of the Red Cross. Though the United States sent an observer to the inaugural Red Cross conference, the U.S. did not at that time ratify what became known as the Geneva Convention. The United States was in the midst of its own Civil War, and paid little attention to this event in Switzerland. Yet battlefield relief for the wounded was vitally important. Clara Barton, a former schoolteacher and patent office clerk, became a one-woman force behind the Red Cross in the United States. Though she was not trained as a nurse and was a single woman of modest means, Barton had friends in high places in Washington, through her Patent Office work. She began a crusade to bring supplies and aid to the Civil War wounded, and went herself to the front lines, driving a mule-wagon of supplies, serving hot soup, and nursing, all as needed. After the war, she organized a search for missing prisoners of war. When ill health sent her to Europe for a rest, she became acquainted with the work of the Red Cross there. When she returned to the United States, she lobbied for a Red Cross in her home country, becoming a noted speaker all across the nation. With the war over in the United States, Barton had the idea of instituting the Red Cross as a disaster relief organization. Nothing like this existed at the time. Barton became the American representative of the International Red Cross in 1881, and in 1882, Congress finally ratified the Geneva Convention.

In its earliest years, the American Red Cross existed almost solely through the energy of Clara Barton. She shaped its mission, and it was her political connections that made things work. She was an extraordinarily driven and hands-on person. The Red Cross did little without her direct involvement. One of the organization's first major disaster relief efforts was the Johnstown Flood of 1889, which drowned over 2,000 people and displaced most of Johnstown, Pennsylvania's 30,000 residents. Barton and her small staff went to Johnstown immediately, and stayed for five months. The Red Cross raised cash, disbursed goods, and oversaw the building of temporary housing with donated lumber. The Red Cross became increasingly skilled at handling this kind of disaster, and the organization won great praise for its domestic work. The limits of the organization's duties were not clearly spelled out, however, and the Red Cross extended itself to wherever Clara Barton felt called. The Red Cross sent wheat to Russia to aid starving peasants in 1892, and Barton sailed to Turkey in 1896 to negotiate aid for the violently oppressed Armenians. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, the exact duties of the American Red Cross were not clear, leading to conflict with the Army Medical Corps. Though the Red Cross was usually seen as ultimately helpful, it was also criticized for overstepping bounds and sometimes for its accounting practices. Congress officially chartered the American Red Cross in 1900, but the group was nevertheless plagued with factionalism and lack of focus. Clara Barton was elected president-for-life of the Red Cross in 1901, but resigned in 1904 after an aborted investigation into diversion of funds.

The group reincorporated under a new Congressional charter in 1905, which made it a semi-governmental agency with some of its governors appointed by the President of the United States. The Red Cross developed a 'peacetime' program around this time, defining a role for itself when neither war nor natural disaster threatened. It began training people in first aid and running courses in water safety. By 1917, the Red Cross had spread to 267 chapters across the United States. It had working funds of about $200,000 and a paid staff nationwide of 167 people. The group was exceedingly active in World War I, enrolling millions of volunteers to sew and knit clothing, roll bandages, and package food and supplies. The Red Cross sent thousands of nurses and ambulance drivers into the war, and raised millions of dollars in donations. After the war, the group was criticized for allegedly mismanaging funds and for taking on duties that properly belonged to the government. The Red Cross restated its mission in 1922, dedicating itself first to military welfare and to disaster relief. Promotion of public health was its third area of concern. In addition, the group spelled out its intention not to duplicate the work of other agencies. Membership grew and spread through the 1920s and 1930s, though the size of chapters and their level of funding varied considerably from place to place. By 1941, total American Red Cross membership had grown to over nine million people. During World War II, membership swelled dramatically. Members were counted as anyone who donated a dollar or more to the organization. There were over 36.6 million members by 1945, which was more than 25 percent of the U.S. population. The group had close to 4,000 chapters, and during World War II the Red Cross raised more than $666.5 million.

The Red Cross began operating blood banks in 1937. In 1940 it began a 'Plasma for Britain' project to send blood to British soldiers. This was the first mass blood donation campaign, and the first mass production of blood products. The plasma campaign was overseen by a pioneer of blood bank science, Dr. Charles Drew. Drew, an African American, was a noted founder of blood storage technology. The U.S. military asked the Red Cross to provide blood for battlefield transfusion when the United States entered the war. Drew directed the Red Cross program for eight months, but resigned in outrage because the Red Cross continued to comply with the military's request that the blood of black and white donors be segregated. The Red Cross continued to segregate blood by race until 1950. During World War II, the Red Cross collected blood from over six million donors. Running blood banks became one of the most important missions of the Red Cross over the next 50 years. In 1948, with the war behind it, the Red Cross established a National Blood Donor Program to provide blood to hospitals. Blood was collected by local chapters, and processed through 28 regional blood centers. Over the next decades, Red Cross researchers pioneered key aspects of blood bank technology. A Red Cross researcher discovered how to process blood for an anti-hemorrhaging agent, and Red Cross scientists also crafted a method to process the clotting agent needed by hemophiliacs. The Red Cross's donated blood was at first given without charge to hospitals, but in the 1950s it began charging enough to recoup its costs. By the end of the 1970s, the Red Cross managed about half the nation's blood supply. It continued to hold this market share. By the early 2000s, sale of blood products accounted for about half the group's operating revenue, and the Red Cross provided just over half the blood products used in the United States.

The Red Cross continued its services to soldiers during the Korean War and after. Besides running blood banks, its peacetime mission largely consisted of disaster relief. Each year the organization set aside a specific sum in its budget to pay for its disaster relief work. Extra money was put in a reserve fund. Then, in case of extreme need on the heels of a particularly devastating disaster, the group mounted fundraising drives. Chains of disasters often spelled financial peril for the organization. For example, hurricanes, floods, and tornados of unprecedented strength in 1955, 1956, and 1957 all but wiped out the Red Cross's reserves. The group relied on extra fundraising campaigns to make up its losses. In 1985, the group budgeted $17 million annually for disaster relief. A succession of hurricanes that year forced the Red Cross to spend about $48 million, putting it severely over budget. In the mid-1980s, the Red Cross ran fundraising campaigns by mailing out so-called 'disastergrams,' which asked for money for victims of the latest catastrophe. Much of the charity's money came from the umbrella fundraising organization United Way. Money brought in by disastergram went to a general disaster fund. After the earthquake in San Francisco in 1989, the Red Cross allowed donors to specify that they wanted their money to go only to victims of a specific incident. This helped fend off allegations, which had been raised since Clara Barton's time, that money raised for a specific cause might end up being spent elsewhere.

The Red Cross spent an increasing amount of money on disaster relief through the 1980s. It started the decade spending about $50 million, and by 1989 was spending over $100 million. This spiked to over $224 million in 1990. Although the organization provided relief on a massive scale, it was often criticized for the way it carried out its duties. By the early 1990s, the group considered cutting back its services, since so much of its budget was taken up with extraordinary disaster expenses. In 1991, Elizabeth Dole, who had held cabinet posts as Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Transportation, became president of the American Red Cross. Dole vowed to turn the organization around. The Red Cross was financially troubled because of its recent massive spending on disaster relief. In addition, the Red Cross had been plagued since the mid-1980s with questions about the safety of its blood supply. The Red Cross used a test manufactured by Abbott Laboratories in the mid-1980s to test donated blood for the AIDS virus. Despite known problems with the Abbott test, it continued to use it into 1986. People who contracted AIDS through tainted blood transfusions later sued both Abbott and the Red Cross. The biomedical services division, as the Red Cross's blood bank operations were called, was cited repeatedly in the 1980s and early 1990s for problems with its record-keeping. A report by a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigator made public in 1990 recorded dozens of incidents of sloppy record-keeping and computer errors. The FDA investigator told a Congressional committee that ensuring the safety of the nation's blood supply was made difficult by the Red Cross's problems. The investigator also found Red Cross officials insufficiently concerned about mending its ways. When Dole took over the Red Cross, she announced a $120 million overhaul of the biomedical division's record-keeping, and scheduled improvements to staff training and blood testing. Eventually the revamping of the Red Cross's blood banks cost around $287 million. But the changes apparently did not go quickly enough. In 1993, the FDA filed suit against the Red Cross to force it to agree to make reforms. The Red Cross and the FDA settled the suit with a court-ordered consent decree outlining what the organization would do to improve. The Red Cross spent some $170 million to $180 million on computer systems, and built eight regional blood testing laboratories in a move to centralize its operations. The cost of these changes put the biomedical services division in the red. By the late 1990s, the division was in debt by about $300 million.

During this period, the Red Cross was nearing completion of its expensive overhaul of its biomedical services division. The division had evolved from a string of mainly autonomous regional blood centers to a much more centralized organization. An article in Modern Healthcare from June 22, 1998 averred that the division 'looks and feels more like a drug company.' The Red Cross had remade its blood banks, significantly improving the safety of its products. But the makeover had been very expensive. By 1998 the Red Cross was said to have about 46 percent of the nation's blood supply market share, or almost half of the $2 billion industry. The Red Cross vowed to increase its market share, aiming for 65 percent over the next three years. This move was made specifically to enhance the blood division's finances. In 1995, the division brought in $937 million, but was in the red by $113 million. For 1997, the division brought in $1.1 billion, but still ran a deficit. The Red Cross began a campaign of tough competition, moving into markets that had traditionally been served by other companies. Its main competitor was a loose network of community blood banks that operated under the umbrella of America's Blood Centers, or ABC. Blood banks had operated as virtual local monopolies since the 1970s, so that either the Red Cross, an ABC clinic, or a hospital blood bank, would serve a particular community. In the mid-1990s the Red Cross began moving into towns where it had been shut out of before, such as Kansas City, Dallas, and Phoenix. It was often only able to secure a tiny market share, for example 5 percent in Kansas City within two years of entering that market. But the Red Cross had changed the way blood products were marketed by introducing such direct competition. Some doctors and hospitals found that the new competitiveness brought prices down, while others worried that organizations vying for donors would ultimately scare the donors away. The new relationship between the Red Cross and its competitors became so acrimonious that the charity, ABC, and two other blood banking societies engaged a professional mediator to allow them to talk about their differences. The industry leaders formed a working group called the Blood Forum, and hoped to come up with rules that would allow them to compete gracefully. But the level of hostility was so high that an ABC official quoted in Modern Healthcare (June 22, 1998) claimed the Blood Forum was '... as bad as putting the Arabs and Israelis in the same room.'

Aside from its problems with its biomedical services division, the Red Cross continued to strain to respond to unusual catastrophes in the 1990s. Flooding in the Midwest in 1993 led to the organization's largest relief effort ever, when over 20,000 workers assembled to combat the water damage. The Red Cross's most expensive disaster relief operation came just five years later, when Hurricane George in 1998 cost the charity over $100 million.

Elizabeth Dole left the Red Cross in 1999 to pursue a run for president of the United States. Her successor was the first physician to head the agency in a hundred years, Bernadine Healy. Dr. Healy had been director of the National Institute of Health, had taught at Johns Hopkins University, and had unsuccessfully run for the Senate. On taking over the Red Cross, Healy had to deal with the organization's ongoing fiscal and regulatory problems. She aimed to cut administrative positions to contain costs and streamline management. She also wanted the group to spend more money on research and development. At the end of 2000, the FDA again announced that the Red Cross was not doing enough to ensure the safety of its blood products, and Healy moved to borrow $100 million to fund improvements. But the FDA acted more aggressively than it had in the past, and asked to be allowed to fine the Red Cross, which it said had been out of compliance with FDA regulations since 1985. Healy claimed to be amazed at the seriousness of the FDA's allegations of sloppiness, since the Red Cross was supposed to have made drastic improvements in its blood operations after 1993. Healy was also faced with the ongoing problem of sour relationships with its competitors. In 2001 a California blood bank brought an antitrust suit against the Red Cross, alleging that the group artificially lowered prices in its region in order to drive other blood banks out of business. Into the 2000s the charity seemed to be facing the same difficulties that had beset it since the 1980s.

Principal Divisions

Biomedical Services; Disaster Services; Armed Forces Emergency Services; Health and Safety Services; International Services; Community Services.

Principal Competitors

America's Blood Centers.

Further Reading

Babcock, Charles R., and Judith Havemann, 'Managing an Agency and Image,' Washington Post, February 16, 1999, p. A01.

Burton, Thomas, 'Panel Probes Early Abbott AIDS Test; Decision by Red Cross Is Questioned,' Wall Street Journal, June 28, 1993, p. A11C.

Hensley, Scott, 'Out for Blood,' Modern Healthcare, June 22, 1998, p. 26.

------, 'Rising to the Challenge,' Modern Healthcare, May 1, 2000, p. 80.

Hurd, Charles, The Compact History of the American Red Cross, New York: Hawthorn Books, 1959.

Jones, Laurie, 'FDA: Red Cross Record-Keeping May Hurt Blood Safety,' American Medical News, July 27, 1990, p. 1.

Kaufman, Marc, 'FDA Finds Problems with Red Cross Blood,' Washington Post, December 2, 2000, p. A04.

Mulvihill, Kathleen, 'Hectic Year Drains Red Cross's Fund for Disaster Relief,' Christian Science Monitor, December 3, 1985, pp. 3, 4.

Reitman, Judith, Bad Blood: Crisis in the American Red Cross, New York: Kensington Publishing Corp., 1996.

Sebastian, Pamela, 'Red Cross Is Strained By Disasters Even As It Revamps Its Programs,' Wall Street Journal, September 15, 1992, pp. A1, A10.

Tanner, Lisa, 'Battling for Blood Business,' Dallas Business Journal, March 21, 1997, p. 3.

Taylor, Mark, 'Red Cross Faces Antitrust Lawsuit,' Modern Healthcare, January 1, 2001, p. 20.

— A. Woodward


 
US Military History Companion: American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has served the U.S. military since 1898. Founded on 21 May 1881 by Clara Barton, who had done humanitarian work in the Civil War, the society is part of the more than 175‐member International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.

The movement was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 1863. Despite centuries of war in Europe and the Civil War raging in America, the humanitarian aspects of war had been largely ignored by most governments. Swiss entrepreneur Jean Henri Dunant brought about a change in that attitude when he volunteered to help the wounded, after a battle between French‐Italian and Austrian armies in northern Italy in June 1859. His Memory of Solferino (1862) graphically portrayed the agonies of the 40,000 neglected wounded, influencing governments to consider establishing voluntary relief societies to supplement the work of army medical units.

In February 1863, the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, precursor to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was established. In October 1863, the first Red Cross societies were formed and a red cross was adopted as a neutral symbol; and in 1864, twelve governments signed the first Geneva Convention. The United States acceded to the treaty in 1882 after years of lobbying by Clara Barton.

The four Geneva Conventions protect the wounded and sick on the battlefield (1863), shipwrecked military personnel (1906), prisoners of war (1929), and civilians (1949). Protocols added in 1977 protect civilians caught in internal conflicts. ICRC primarily monitors the conventions.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement follows seven fundamental principles: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity, and Universality. In addition to the societies, it consists of the Geneva‐based ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which was founded in 1919 by American Henry P. Davison to address peacetime needs.

During the Spanish‐American War, American Red Cross nurses and volunteers served in Cuba, the Philippines, and at U.S. camps. In 1911, President William H. Taft authorized the organization as “the only volunteer society” to render aid to the military in wartime. The U.S. Army began providing transportation and subsistence for attached Red Cross personnel in 1912. The Red Cross sent 8,000 workers to Europe during World War I, providing medical, recreational, and welfare services. It operated fifty‐eight domestic and overseas base hospitals for the military, twenty‐four of them in France. Eight million volunteers at home provided welfare services and produced supplies.

During World War II, the American Red Cross collected 14 million units of blood and produced blood plasma, but provided no other medical services. Aided by 7.5 million volunteers at home, some 40,000 staff worldwide supplied emergency communications, welfare and recreational services, and produced 28 million food packages for U.S. and Allied prisoners of war.

Similar services were provided during the Korean War and the Vietnam War, with the military meeting its own blood needs in Vietnam. The Red Cross continues to staff U.S. bases in Europe and elsewhere; it accompanied military units on missions to Somalia, Haiti, the Persian Gulf, and Bosnia.

In 1998 the American Red Cross had over 1,300 volunteer‐led chapters, providing disaster relief, meeting half of the nation's blood needs, and conducting community programs designed to help Americans prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Over 30,000 staff and 1.4 million volunteers supplied support. The nongovernmental, nonprofit organization has had a congressional mandate since 1900 to provide disaster relief, and emergency communication between the military and their families. A fifty‐member board of governors, eight appointed by the U.S. president, governs the American Red Cross. Past presidents include Clara Barton, William Howard Taft, and George Marshall.

[See also Bosnian Crisis; Caribbean and Latin America, U.S. Involvement in the; Persian Gulf War.]

Bibliography

  • Foster Rhea Dulles, The American Red Cross—a History, 1950.
  • Hans Haug, Humanity for All, 1993
 
US Military Dictionary: American Red Cross

The U.S. branch of the 175-member International Red Cross movement. Clara Barton, who gave humanitarian aid in the Civil War, lobbied for the United States to join the movement, and it did in 1881. After the American Red Cross served in the Spanish-American War (1898), President William H. Taft in 1911 authorized it as the only volunteer society for aiding the military in wartime, and in 1912 the U.S. Army began to provide transportation and support to Red Cross workers. During World War I 8, 000 American Red Cross workers served in Europe. The society operated fifty-eight base hospitals and ran forty-seven ambulance companies, receiving support from 8 million volunteers in the United States. In World War II the American Red Cross's medical services were limited to the collection of 14 million units of blood, but it also provided 28 million food packages for U.S. and Allied prisoners of war and supported mail services for prisoners. Similar work continued during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, with the military providing its own blood supplies in Vietnam. In recent years, in addition to providing disaster relief and supporting public health and safety campaigns in the United States, the American Red Cross has accompanied U.S. armed forces to combat areas including Somalia, Haiti, the Persian Gulf, and Bosnia.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

 
US History Encyclopedia: American Red Cross

Clara Barton and associates founded the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C., on 21 May 1881. Barton first learned of the Swiss-inspired International Red Cross Movement while in Europe following the Civil War. Returning home, she campaigned for an American society and for ratification of the Geneva Convention protecting the war injured, which the United States ratified in 1882.

Barton led the Red Cross for twenty-three years, during which time it conducted its first domestic and overseas disaster relief efforts, aided the U.S. military during the Spanish-American War, and campaigned successfully for the inclusion of peacetime relief work as part of the International Red Cross Movement—the so-called American Amendment that some Europeans initially resisted.

The Red Cross received its first congressional charter in 1900 and a second in 1905, the year after Barton resigned from the organization. This charter—which remains in effect today—obligates the Red Cross to provide aid to the sick and wounded in war, give relief to and serve as a medium of communication between members of the American armed forces and their families, and provide national and international disaster relief and mitigation.

Prior to World War I, the Red Cross introduced its first aid, water safety, and public-health nursing programs. With the advent of war, the organization experienced phenomenal growth under the leadership of the banker Henry P. Davison and a War Council appointed by P resident Woodrow Wilson. The number of local chapters grew from 107 in 1914 to 3,864 in 1918, and membership jumped from 17,000 to more than 20 million adult and 11 million Junior Red Cross members. The public contributed $400 million in funds and material to support Red Cross programs, including those for U.S. and Allied forces and civilian refugees. The Red Cross staffed hospitals and ambulance companies and recruited 20,000 registered nurses to serve the military. Additional Red Cross nurses helped combat the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918.

After the war, the Red Cross focused on service to veterans and enhanced its programs in safety training, home care for the sick, accident prevention, and nutrition education. Major disasters also called for relief efforts, including the Mississippi River floods of 1927 and severe drought and economic depression during the 1930s.

In World War II, the Red Cross again provided services to the U.S. military, Allies, and civilian war victims. It enrolled more than 71,000 nurses for military service, prepared 27 million packages for U.S. and Allied prisoners of war, and shipped more than 300,000 tons of supplies overseas. At the military's request, the Red Cross also introduced a national blood program that collected 13.3 million pints of blood for use by the armed forces.

After World War II, the Red Cross initiated the first nationwide civilian blood program, which now supplies nearly 50 percent of the blood and blood products in this country. The Red Cross played an increasing role in biomedical research and expanded into the banking and distribution of human tissue. During the 1990s, it undertook a massive modernization of its blood services operations to increase the safety of its blood products. It continued to provide services to members of the armed forces and their families, including during the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. The Red Cross also entered new fields, such as civil defense, CPR/AED training, HIV/AIDS education, and the provision of emotional care and support to disaster victims and their survivors. It helped the federal government form the Federal Emergency Management Agency and serves as its principal supplier of mass care in federally declared disasters.

While closely associated with the federal government in the promotion of its objectives, the Red Cross is an independent, volunteer-led organization, financially supported by voluntary public contributions and cost-reimbursement charges. A fifty-member, all-volunteer board of governors leads the organization. The president of the United States, who is honorary chairman of the Red Cross, appoints eight governors, including the chairman of the board. The chairman nominates and the board elects the president of the Red Cross, who is responsible for implementing the policies and programs of the board. The American Red Cross works closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross on matters of international conflict and social, political, and military un-rest. As a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which it helped found in 1919, the Red Cross joins more than 170 other national Red Cross organizations in bringing aid to victims of disasters throughout the world.

Bibliography

Dulles, Foster Rhea. The American Red Cross: A History. New York: Harper, 1950. Reprint, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1971.

Gilbo, Patrick F. The American Red Cross: The First Century. New York: Harper and Row, 1981.

Hurd, Charles. The Compact History of the American Red Cross. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1959.

Pryor, Elizabeth Brown. Clara Barton: Professional Angel. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.

Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

Humanity. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battle-field, endeavors, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation, and lasting peace amongst all peoples.

Impartiality. It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class, or political opinions. It endeavors to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.

Neutrality. In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all, the Movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial, religious, or ideological nature.

Independence. The Movement is independent. The National Societies, while auxiliaries in the humanitarian services of their governments and subject to the laws of their respective countries, must always maintain their autonomy so that they may be able at all times to act in accordance with the principles of the Movement.

Voluntary Service. It is a voluntary relief movement not prompted in any manner by desire for gain.

Unity. There can be only one Red Cross or one Red Crescent Society in any one country. It must be open to all. It must carry on its humanitarian work throughout its territory.

Universality. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, in which all Societies have equal status and share equal responsibilities and duties in helping each other, is worldwide.

 
Wikipedia: American Red Cross
A WWII-era poster encouraged American women to volunteer for the Red Cross as part of the war effort.
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A WWII-era poster encouraged American women to volunteer for the Red Cross as part of the war effort.

The American Red Cross (also known as the American National Red Cross) is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States, as part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Today, in addition to domestic disaster relief, the American Red Cross offers compassionate services in five other areas: community services that help the needy; support and comfort for military members and their families; the collection, processing and distribution of lifesaving blood and blood products; educational programs that promote health and safety; and international relief and development programs.

Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of more than 800 chapters and Blood Services regions, now broken up into divisions, dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. More than a million Red Cross volunteers and 30,000 employees annually mobilize relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, train almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchange more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is also the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide.

The American Red Cross is headquartered in Washington, D.C. In April 2007, Mark W. Everson was named Chief Executive. This followed US legislation that clarified the role of the American Red Cross' Board and senior management, and a year with an interim Chief Executive in the wake of difficulties after Hurricane Katrina.[1]

Founders

WWI Red Cross rally at the University of Virginia, May 1917.
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WWI Red Cross rally at the University of Virginia, May 1917.
The headquarters of the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. was built in 1917 and dedicated "in memory of the heroic women of the Civil War". It is now a museum.Coordinates: 38°53′41.4″N, 77°2′23.1″W
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The headquarters of the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. was built in 1917 and dedicated "in memory of the heroic women of the Civil War". It is now a museum.
Coordinates: 38°53′41.4″N, 77°2′23.1″W
WWI poster "The Spirit of America".
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WWI poster "The Spirit of America".

The American Red Cross was established on May 21, 1881 by Clara Barton, in Dansville, New York who became the first president of the organization. Barton first organized a meeting on May 12 of that year at the home of Sen. Omar D. Conger (R, MI) [2] Fifteen were present at this first meeting, including Barton, Conger, and Rep. William Lawrence (R, OH) (who became the first vice-president [3]).

Jane Delano (1862-1919) was the founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service.

Clara Barton

Clara Barton (1821-1912) had already had a career as a teacher and federal bureaucrat when the American Civil War broke out. (She started teaching around the age of 15 or 16.) After working tirelessly on humanitarian work during and after the conflict, on advice of her doctors, in 1869, she went to Europe for a restful vacation. There, she saw and became involved in the work of the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian War, and determined to bring the organization home with her to America.

When Clara Barton began the organizing work in the U.S. in 1873, no one thought the country would ever again face an experience like the Civil War. However, Barton was not one to lose hope in the face of the bureaucracy, and she finally succeeded during the administration of President Chester A. Arthur on the basis that the new American Red Cross organization could also be available to respond to other types of crisis.

As Barton expanded the original concept of the Red Cross to include assisting in any great national disaster, this service brought the United States the "Good Samaritan of Nations" label in the International Red Cross. Barton naturally became President of the American branch of the society, known officially as the American National Red Cross. John D. Rockefeller gave money to create a national headquarters in Washington, DC, located one block from the White House.

Clara Barton led one of the group's first major relief efforts, a response to the Great Fire of 1881 (Thumb Fire) in the Thumb region of Michigan, which occurred on Sept 4-6, 1881. Over 5000 were left homeless. The next major disaster dealt with was the Johnstown Flood which occurred on May 31, 1889. Over 2,209 people died and thousands more were injured in or near Johnstown, Pennsylvania in one of the worst disasters in United States history. She resigned from the American Red Cross in 1904.

Services

Blood

The American Red Cross supplies roughly 44% of the donated blood in the United States. Independent community-based blood centers supply 50% and 6% is collected directly by hospitals. In December of 2004, the American Red Cross completed their largest blood processing facility in the United States in Pomona, California on the campus grounds of the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Tissue services

For more than twenty years, the American Red Cross provided allograft tissue for transplant through its Tissue Services Program. It cared for thousands of donor families who gave the gift of tissue donation and helped more than 1 million transplant recipients in need of this life saving or life-enhancing gift of tissue. At the end of January 2005, the American Red Cross ended its Tissue Services program in order to focus on its primary missions of Disaster Relief and Blood Services.

Plasma services

A leader in the plasma industry, the Red Cross provides more than one quarter of the nation's plasma products. Red Cross Plasma Services seeks to provide the American people with plasma products which are not only reliable and cost-effective, but also as safe as possible.

In February 1999, the Red Cross completed its "Transformation," a $287 million program that: re-engineered Red Cross Blood Services' processing, testing and distribution system; and established a new management structure.

Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT)

On March 1, 1999, the American Red Cross became the first U.S. blood banking organization to implement a Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) study. This process is different from traditional testing because it looks for the genetic material of HIV and hepatitis C (HCV), rather than the body's response to the disease.

The NAT tests for HIV and HCV have been licensed by the Food and Drug Administration. These tests are able to detect the genetic material of a transfusion-transmitted virus like HIV without waiting for the body to form antibodies, potentially offering an important time advantage over current techniques.

Leukoreduction

A person's own leukocytes (white blood cells) help fight off foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses and abnormal cells, to avoid sickness or disease. But when transfused to another person, these same leukocytes do not benefit the recipient. In fact, these foreign leukocytes in transfused red blood cells and platelets are often not well tolerated and have been associated with some types of transfusion complications.

The Red Cross is moving toward system-wide universal prestorage leukocyte reduction to improve patient care.

Research

The Red Cross operates the Jerome H. Holland Laboratory, based in Rockville, Maryland. Each year, the Red Cross invests more than $25 million in research activities at the Holland Laboratory and in the field.

Cellular therapies

One technique the Red Cross has identified strong potential for treating people in new ways is through cellular therapies. This new method of treatment involves collecting and treating blood cells from a patient or other blood donor. The treated cells are then introduced into a patient to help revive normal cell function; replace cells that are lost as a result of disease, accidents or aging; or used to prevent illnesses from appearing.

Cellular therapy may prove to be particularly helpful for patients who are being treated for illnesses such as cancer, where the treated cells may help battle cancerous cells.

Johnson & Johnson suit over Red Cross image

Further information: Emblems of the Red Cross#Current controversies over the use of the Red Cross emblem
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According to the American Red Cross on August the 7th 2007[4], Johnson & Johnson have filed suit against the American Red Cross over its sublicencing of the Red Cross image for the production of first aid kits and similar products, which are alleged to compete with Johnson & Johnson. The suit also asks for the destruction of all currently existing non-Johnson & Johnson Red Cross Emblem bearing products and demands the American Red Cross pay punitive damages and Johnson & Johnson's legal fees.

Since 2004, the Red Cross has worked with several licensing partners to create first aid, preparedness and related products that bear the Red Cross emblem. All money the Red Cross receives from the sale of these products to consumers is reinvested in its humanitarian programs and services. "For a multi-billion dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a criminal statute that was created to protect the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross - simply so that J&J can make more money - is obscene," said Mark Everson, the chief executive of the charity[5]. Johnson & Johnson responded, stating that the Red Cross's commercial ventures were outside the scope of historically well-agreed usage, and were in direct violation of federal statutes[6]. Johnson & Johnson's usage of this image is prohibited by the Geneva conventions, which do not allow for the exemption allowed for by US law.[7]

Court ordered consent decree

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took court action against the American Red Cross in response to deficiencies in their tracking and procedures for ensuring the safety of the blood supply. The consent decree outlines some of the violations of federal law that the American Red Cross engaged in before 1993.[8] Fines were imposed in the millions of dollars.

In response to the decree, Red Cross Biomedical Services now has: a standardized computer system that efficiently maintains the blood donor database; a network of eight, state-of-the-art National Testing Laboratories (NTLs) that test about 6 million units of blood collected by the Red Cross's 36 blood regions; the Charles Drew Biomedical Institute, which allows for the Red Cross to provide training and other educational resources to Red Cross Blood Services' personnel; a highly qualified Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs Department, which helps to ensure compliance with FDA regulations in every Red Cross Blood Services region; and, a centrally managed blood inventory system to ensure the consistent availability of blood and blood components in every Red Cross Blood Services region throughout the country.

In an agreement with the American Red Cross the Consent Decree was amended in 2003 with penalties for specific violations.

The FDA can impose penalties after April 2003 up to the following maximum amounts:

  • $10,000 per event (and $10,000 per day) for any violation of an ARC standard operating procedure (SOP), the law, or consent decree requirement and timeline
  • $50,000 for preventable release of each unit of blood for which FDA determines that there is a reasonable probability that the product may cause serious adverse health consequences or death
    • $5,000 for the release of each unit that may cause temporary problems, up to a maximum of $500,000 per event
  • $50,000 for the improper re-release of each unsuitable blood unit that was returned to ARC inventory
  • $10,000 for each donor inappropriately omitted from the National Donor Deferral Registry, a list of all unsuitable donors

The Food and Drug Administration has continued to apply pressure and fines to the American Red Cross in order to enforce compliance with regulations. The most recent, $4.2 million, in September 2006.[9]

Segregated Blood

Throughtout WWII and afterwards the American Red Cross maintaned a segregated blood supply. Not only was blood segregated by "White" and "Colored", but the "White" blood was further segregated into "Christian" and "Hebrew." President Eisenhower ordered that the national blood supply no longer be segreagated. The Red Cross was one of the major forces opposing the merging of the blood supply. The head of the Red Cross told Eisenhower that the South did not want any mixed blood, producing Eisenhower's famous reply, "OK then the South won’t get any blood!" (Source: Blanch Weisen Cook, C-SPAN 3 History, September 28, 2007) The Red Cross and the national blood supply has been American ever since.


Red Cross Health and Safety services

The American Red Cross has become a household name for providing first aid, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Automated external defibrillator (AED), water safety and lifeguarding training throughout the United States. The training programs are primarily aimed at laypersons, workplaces, and aquatic facilities. Annually, the American Red Cross teaches around 12 million Americans these skills, ranging from youth to professional rescuers. In 2005, the American Red Cross co-lead the 2005 Guidelines for First Aid, which aims to provide up-to-date and peer-reviewed first aid training material. Many American Red Cross chapters also sell first aid kits and other related equipment.

Disaster Services

Each year, the American Red Cross responds immediately to more than 70,000 disasters, including house or apartment fires (the majority of disaster responses), hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents, explosions, and other natural and man-made disasters.

Although the American Red Cross is not a government agency, its authority to provide disaster relief was formalized when, in 1905, the Red Cross was granted a congressional charter to "carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing the same." The Charter is not only a grant of power, but also an imposition of duties and obligations to the nation, to disaster victims, and to the people who support its work with their donations.

American Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting people's immediate emergency disaster-caused needs. When a disaster threatens or strikes, the Red Cross provides shelter, food, and health and mental health services to address basic human needs. In addition to these services, the core of Red Cross disaster relief is the assistance given to individuals and families affected by disaster to enable them to resume their normal daily activities independently.

The Red Cross also feeds emergency workers of other agencies, handles inquiries from concerned family members outside the disaster area, provides blood and blood products to disaster victims, and helps those affected by disaster to access other available resources. It is a member of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and works closely with other agencies such as the Salvation Army and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service with whom it has Memorandums of Understanding.

The American Red Cross also works hard to encourage preparedness by providing important literature on readiness. Many chapters also offer free classes to the general public.

A major misconception by the general public is that the American Red Cross provides medical facilities, engages in search and rescue operations or deploys ambulances to disaster areas. As an emergency support agency, the American Red Cross does not engage in these first responder activities; instead, these first responder roles are left to local, state or federal agencies as dictated by the National Response Plan. The confusion arises since other Red Cross societies across the globe may provide these functions; for example, the Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross) runs a national ambulance service. Furthermore, American Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) look similar to ambulances. These ERVs instead are designed for bulk distribution of relief supplies, such as hot meals, drinks or other relief supplies. Although American Red Cross shelters usually have a nurse assigned to the facility, they are not equipped to provide medical care beyond emergency first aid.

Disaster Services Human Resources system

The Disaster Services Human Resources (DSHR) system enrolls volunteers from individual American Red Cross chapters into a national database of responders, classified by their ability to serve in one or more Activities within Groups. Responders must complete training requirements specific to the Activities they wish to serve in, as well as the basics required of all Disaster Service volunteers, which include a background check as well as training in First Aid, CPR/AED and Red Cross internal training.

National Response Plan

As a National Response Plan direct service provider, the American Red Cross feeds and shelters victims of disasters. In addition to fulfilling this role, the American Red Cross is responsible for coordinating federal efforts to address mass care, housing, and human services under Emergency Support Function 6 with FEMA. The American Red Cross is the only charity to serve as a primary agency under any Emergency Support Function. The plan gives the American Red Cross responsibility for coordinating federal mass care assistance in support of state and local efforts. The American Red Cross also has responsibilities under other Emergency Support Functions, such as providing counseling services and working with the federal government to distribute ice and water. FEMA’s responsibilities include convening regular meetings with key agencies and coordinating the transition of service delivery from mass care operations to long-term recovery activities, among other responsibilities.[10]

September 11 controversy

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Red Cross, like many charitable organizations, solicited funds and blood donations for Red Cross activities for the victims of the attacks. Dr. Bernadine Healy, the president of the American Red Cross, appeared on telethons urging individuals to give generously.[citation needed] However, according to America's Blood Centers, the nonprofit consortium that provides the other 50% of the United States blood supply, no national blood drive was needed, since localized blood drives in the affected areas would be sufficient to meet the demand. The American Red Cross felt that the terrorist attacks were a sign of increased instability and urged people to donate blood, even though it wasn't needed at that time. In the end, some blood was destroyed unused [citation needed].

Also, the American Red Cross created the Liberty Fund that was ostensibly designed for relief for victims of the terrorist attacks. However, when the fund was closed in October, after reaching the goals of donations, only 30% of the $547 million received was spent. Dr. Healy announced that the majority of the remainder of the money would be used to increase blood supply, improve telecommunications, and prepare for terror attacks in other parts of the country.

In February 2002, The New Yorker magazine reported that American Red Cross representatives were visiting upscale apartment buildings in wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods and distributing donated money (up to three months' rent or mortgage payments) to New Yorkers who had been "displaced, traumatized, or merely inconvenienced" by the terrorist attacks, without any regard to whether the recipients were actually in financial need.

Many donors felt that they had donated specifically to the victims of the September 11 attacks and objected to Healy's official plan for the diversion of funds. Survivors complained of the bureaucratic process involved in requesting funds and the slow delivery of the checks to meet immediate needs. Congressional hearings were called and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer investigated the Red Cross. In the end, the American Red Cross appointed former U.S. senator George Mitchell to handle distribution of the funds. Dr. Healy was forced to resign for her role in the situation, and the Red Cross pledged that all funds would go to directly benefit the victims of the September 11 attacks.[11] Healy received a severance payment of $1,569,630.[12] In the end, out of the $961 million received, 71% went as cash assistance to those directly affected, 15% went for long term mental care and hospital care for the victims and people in the affected region, and 10% went for immediate disaster relief like shelters, food, and health care. The remaining 4% went for administration.

Significant changes to Red Cross fundraising collection and policy have since been implemented after the Liberty Fund debacle. Numerous watchdog organizations, such as Charity Navigator, have since given high praise to the improved system of honoring donor's intent and minimizing administration costs.

Blood donation controversy

There are those that accuse the Red Cross of discriminating against gay men because of a 1992 FDA recommendation (AKA it is NOT an FDA policy) that the Red Cross has adopted for its own regulatory purposes, which bars them from donating blood if they have had "homosexual sexual contact" any time since 1977.[13][14] "Red Cross chapters in Ohio, including Cleveland and Columbus, report that an increasing number of gay-affirming churches and civic organizations are refusing to host bloodmobiles, to avoid the appearance of supporting discrimination."[15]

2005 Hurricanes

The 2005 Hurricane Season proved to be the most challenging disaster response the American Red Cross had ever seen in its history. Forecasting a major disaster before the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, the organization enlisted 2,000 volunteers throughout the nation to be on a "stand by" deployment list.

According to the American Red Cross, during and after the Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita, they opened 1,470 different shelters across and registered 3.8 million overnight stays. A total of 244,000 Red Cross workers (95% of whom were non-paid volunteers) were utilized to provide sheltering, casework, communication and assessment services throughout these three hurricanes. In addition, 346,980 comfort kits (which contain hygiene essentials such as toothpaste, soap, washclothes and toys for children) and 205,360 clean up kits (containing brooms, mops and bleach) were distributed. For mass care, the organization served 68 million snacks and meals to victims of the disasters and to rescue workers. The Red Cross also had their Disaster Health services meet 596,810 contacts, and Disaster Mental Health services met 826,590 contacts. Red Cross emergency financial assistance was provided to 1.4 million families, which encompassed a total of 4 million people. Hurricane Katrina was the first natural disaster in the United States that the American Red Cross utilized their "Safe and Well" family location website. [16][17]

On February 3, 2006, 5 months after Katrina's landfall, the American Red Cross announced that it had met its fundraising goals, and would no longer engage in new 2005 Hurricane relief fundraising. The National organization urged the public to help other charities engaged in hurricane relief work, or to donate to their local Red Cross chapters. An American Red Cross statement was issued saying that 91 cents of every dollar donated specifically for the Hurricane Katrina disaster will go directly to disaster relief. This overhead is considered low for such a large organization.

Hurricane Katrina controversy

In March 2006, investigations of allegations of fraud and theft by volunteers and contractors within the American Red Cross Katrina operations were launched by the Louisiana Attorney-General and the FBI.[18] In response, the American Red Cross increased its internal and external education of the organization's fraud and waste hotline for confidential reporting to a third party agency.[citation needed] The organization also elected to implement a background check policy for all volunteers and staff, starting in 2006.[citation needed]

In April 2006, an unnamed former American Red Cross official leaked reports made by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the British Red Cross. Such reports are typical in a large-scale disaster relief operation involving other national Red Cross societies to solicit their input, but are usually confidential and not released to the general public. These particular reports were particularly critical of American Red Cross operations in Hurricane Katrina affected regions, although the British Red Cross report highly praised the American Red Cross volunteers in their efforts.

Other Disaster Responses

Comair Air Crash

In response to the crash of commuter aircraft Comair Flight 5191, the Bluegrass Area Chapter and the American Red Cross Critical Response Team (CRT) members were dispatched to the scene. This was the worst air disaster within the United States since American Airlines Flight 587. Family and Friends reception centers were established near the arrival and departure airports and in Cincinnati, site of the Comair headquarters. Local chapters in Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and California provided health, mental health and spiritual services to family members and friends of the victims not present in Lexington. Volunteers also staffed the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Lexington, the incident command post at the airport site and the State EOC. As of August 29th 2006, 400 meals had been served by the American Red Cross to family and friends of those involved in the crash, in addition to rescue workers. The Red Cross provided emotional and spiritual support to the family members of the victims at a local hotel. Additionally, the Red Cross organized and provided a Memorial Service at the Lexington Opera House for family and friends of the victims. [19]

2007 Florida Tornadoes

In response to the Central Florida Tornado of February 2007, the American Red Cross began a large scale disaster relief operation. At least seven shelters have been opened in the disaster affected region, with Southern Baptists starting to provide food. 40,000 pre-packaged meals are being sent by the American Red Cross, and across the nation, almost 400 Red Cross volunteers are being deployed to assist with the local relief efforts. The organization has also deployed more than 30 Emergency Response Vehicles for community food and supply distribution. [20]

2007 Kansas Tornadoes

The American Red Cross immediately responded to the May 2007 Tornado Outbreak in central Kansas by setting up emergency shelters for hundreds of displaced residents and started the distribution of food, water and relief supplies. [1] The 'Safe and Well' family notification website for locating missing loved ones was also activated. [2]

Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Following the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, the American Red Cross of the Twin Cities Area Chapter responded with their Disaster Action Team to provide families and rescuers food, information and comfort. A family service center was set up close to the accident site, along with deploying mental health counselors to numerous locations.[21] Donations contributed for this cause totaled US$138,368 and covered the cost of Red Cross services[22] but not $65,000 in unexpected expenses.[23] Weather conditions and the collapse placed 70% of Minnesota counties in federal primary or contiguous disaster areas during August 2007.[24] As of 2007-08-24 the Red Cross needed Disaster Relief Fund donations for the flooding in the Midwestern United States including Minnesota that followed a prolonged drought.[25] On 2007-08-08, the Twin Cities chapter lowered the United States, state of Minnesota and Red Cross flags to half-staff indefinitely.[26]

International Services

The American Red Cross, as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and its nearly 100 million volunteers, educates and mobilizes communities to overcome life-threatening vulnerabilities. The core focus areas of the American Red Cross International Services Department are global health, disaster preparedness and response, and Restoring Family Links and International Humanitarian Law dissemination. The American Red Cross is involved with many international projects, such as the Measles Initiative, malaria programs in Africa, disaster responses worldwide, and relief efforts in response to the 2004 South Asia tsunami.

American Red Cross international disaster response and preparedness programs provide relief and development assistance to millions of people annually who suffer as a result of natural and human-made disasters around the world. To respond quickly and effectively, the American Red Cross has pre-positioned emergency relief supplies in two warehouses managed by the International Federation in Dubai and Panama, which are used to respond to disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, the 2005 Pakistan/South Asia earthquake, ongoing crises in Africa and hurricanes in the Caribbean and the Americas. An Emergency Response Unit (ERU) is another method with which the American Red Cross responds to international emergencies. An ERU is made up of trained personnel and pre-packaged technical equipment that is crucial in responding to sudden, large-scale disasters and emergencies in remote locations.

American Red Cross International Services global health initiatives focus on reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and combating infectious diseases. Through cost-effective, community-based health interventions, the American Red Cross targets large numbers of people in need and focuses on accessibility and equity of care, community participation, and integration with other community development initiatives, such as water and sanitation projects and food and nutrition programs. An example of its health programming is the Measles Initiative, launched in 2001, as a partnership committed to reducing measles deaths globally, with the goal of cutting measles deaths by 90% by 2010 compared to 2000. Leading these efforts are the American Red Cross, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF and the World Health Organization. During its first five years (2001-2005), the Initiative supported the vaccination of more than 217 million children in Africa, saving 1.2 million lives. Through these efforts, measles cases and deaths have dropped by 48% worldwide and by 60% in Africa, where measles deaths and disability are highest. Building on its success in Africa, the Initiative has expanded into Asia. The Initiative increasingly provides additional complementary life-saving health interventions in its campaigns, including vitamin A, de-worming medicine and insecticide-treated bed nets for malaria prevention. The Measles Initiative has mobilized more than $308 million to support campaigns in more than 43 countries in Africa and Asia.

In December 2006, the American Red Cross joined as a founding partner of the Malaria No More campaign, which was formed by leading non-governmental organizations to inspire individuals, institutions and organizations in the private sector to support a comprehensive approach to end malaria, a devastating but preventable disease The American Red Cross role in Malaria No More is to support local Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers in Africa who are educating families and communities about malaria prevention and treatment, such as proper and consistent use of insecticide-treated bed nets. The American Red Cross provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to its partners to fight malaria in even the most difficult-to-reach communities.

The American Red Cross handles international tracing requests and searches for families who have been separated by war or natural or man-made disaster and are trying to locate relatives worldwide. This is not a genealogical service but one that attempts to re-establish contact between family members separated at a time of war or disaster. Restoring Family Links services also provide the exchange of hand-written Red Cross Messages between individuals and their relatives who may be refugees or prisoners of war. At any given time, the American Red Cross Restoring Family Links program is handling the aftermath of 20-30 wars and conflicts. The world-wide structure of Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross make this service possible. When new information from many former Soviet Union archives became available in that 1990s, a special unit, named the Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center, was created to handle World War II and Holocaust tracing services.

As part of its mission, American Red Cross International Services has a mandate to educate the American public about the guiding principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) for conduct in warfare as set forth by the Geneva Conventions of 1949. In doing so, American Red Cross International Services provides support to American Red Cross chapters nationwide in their IHL dissemination efforts, offering IHL courses and providing training opportunities for IHL instructors. It is also working toward the implementation of the Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) program in the United States.

Armed Forces Emergency Services

Although not a government agency, the American Red Cross provides important services to the United States military. The most notable service is emergency family communications, where families can contact the Red Cross to send important family messages (e.g. death in the family, or new birth). In such, the Red Cross can also act as a verifying agency of the situation. The American Red Cross works closely with other military societies, such as the Veteran's Administration, to provide other services to soldiers and their families. The American Red Cross is not involved with prisoners of war; rather, these are monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross, an international rather than national body.


World War 2 is their memory of the American Red Cross selling "comfort items" such as toothpaste and cigarettes to the troops. The American Red Cross acknowledges that they did indeed sell such items, and the unfortunate repercussions have marred the agency's name for many years. In response to such allegations, the American Red Cross responded:[27]

  • At the request of the Secretary of War, the American Red Cross charged a nominal fee for coffee and doughnuts, as well as for lodging, barber and valet services, in stationary military installations overseas. It did not charge in mobile facilities such as Clubmobiles.
  • This request was made because other agencies working overseas were compelled to charge for similar items. Giving these items free to U.S. service members would, it was feared, demoralize Allied troops.
  • The official War Department recommendation was made in a letter dated May 20, 1942, written by Mr. Stimson, Secretary of War, and addressed to the Chairman of The American National Red Cross.

Clara Barton National Historic Site

In 1975, Clara Barton National Historic Site was established as a unit of the National Park Service at her Glen Echo, Maryland home near Washington, D.C. The first National Historic Site dedicated to the accomplishments of a woman, it preserves the early history of the American Red Cross and the last home of its founder. Clara Barton spent the last 15 years of her life in her Glen Echo home, and it served as an early headquarters of the American Red Cross as well.

The National Park Service has restored eleven rooms, including the Red Cross offices, parlors and Miss Barton's bedroom. Visitors to Clara Barton National Historic Site can gain a sense of how Miss Barton lived and worked surrounded by all that went into her life's work. Visitors to the site are led through the three levels on a guided tour emphasizing Miss Barton's use of her unusual home, and come to appreciate the site in the same way visitors did in Clara Barton's lifetime.[28]

Celebrity Cabinet

Every year, the American Red Cross establishes a "National Celebrity Cabinet", started in 2002 as part of the "Entertainment Outreach Program" to help the ARC highlight initiatives and response efforts.

The public figures are described as being "on-call" to help the Red Cross by donating their time to lend their names to various projects.[29]

2007 members include Kristen Bell, Zach Braff, Pierce Brosnan, Jackie Chan, George Foreman, Vivica Fox, The Rock, Eli Manning, Dr Phil McGraw, Julianne Moore, Jane Seymour and Daddy Yankee.[30]

References

  1. ^ Strom, Stephanie (2007-04-18), American Red Cross Announces New Chief, The New York Times, <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/us/18cnd-cross.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin>. Retrieved on 2007-04-18
  2. ^ The Federal Charter of the American Red Cross, American Red Cross website. Retrieved 2007-04-18
  3. ^ McCormick, K. Todd A Brief History of Logan County, Ohio, Logan County Museum website. Retrieved on 2007-04-18
  4. ^ http://www.redcross.org/pressrelease/0,1077,0_314_6907,00.html
  5. ^