In one of my first days here, my supervisor explained to me,

“You know, the great thing about the Red Cross is that there is no Red Cross. It’s made up of communities that help one another in times of need.”

I think that outlook is particularly important to remember in light of our President and CEO’s resignation last week. 

While this unfortunate situation has dominated the news about the Red Cross over the past 6 days, let’s not forget all the good work that continues regardless of who is or is not sitting in the President’s office.

Some examples:

A young volunteer was profiled for MTVu:

But Call Me Betsy shows how donating blood can be a bonding experience:

… our office opted to give bodily fluids for the holidays. [...] The donation process was not bad at all.  [...] The really weird thing is seeing your co-workers’ blood or other odd things, like Joe was across the room from me lying on the gurney with his feet facing me. I thought, Huh, so that’s what the bottom of Joe’s shoes look like. As we were nibbling on our cookies after donating, we had a collective moment of hysteria. [...] The experience also brought Stephanie and I together.

The Muncie Free Press blog is getting prepared:

What is this blog about today? The Importance of being American Red Cross Ready and being prepared to go when called.

… and chapters across the country are responding to home fires. In Bellingham, WA, in Cleveland, OH,  in Fort Worth, TX, in Worcester, MA, and in many other locations around the country. Please visit the Red Cross home fires resource page to learn how to prevent one of your own.

We’re busy carrying out the mission of the organization.

Filed under: Disaster Response, Health & Safety, Leadership, Preparedness, Video