As we close down the year (and some say the decade) we are eagerly anticipating the future and all the ways technology will enhance our ability to fulfill the mission of the American Red Cross.

But…

Tradition tells us we should reflect a bit on our past, so here are the 10 blog posts from this humble site that you all visited the most this year:

1. Fort Hood Shootings: The tragic events of this day led many of you to this post. We wanted to make sure you had the most updated information about where to donate blood and how to use our Safe & Well site and you all made the post a community of sharing.
2. Holiday Mail for Heroes: Well, we’ve heard you loud and clear. You really like this program where you can send holiday cards directly to service members, their families, and veterans. We love being able to connect you all together in this way and we’re looking for more ways to do it even better in the future.
3. Target’s Bullseye Gives Facebook Contest: Thank you for visiting this post in droves and activating your networks to vote for us on Facebook. Your kind votes won $792,000 for our mission.
4. Bites for Blood: Fans of True Blood got together to create this site. HBO found it and pledged $10,000 if you all got 500,000 virtual bites from True Blood characters. And you did it.
5. CPR LOLs: You can’t get enough of the LOLCat CPR.
6. American Samoa Relief Efforts: The earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Samoa earlier this year had you all clicking to find out how you can help. You are extraordinary in times of disaster.
7. 6 Degrees of Red Cross: We played a little of the Kevin Bacon inspired game with you all. Actually, we’re always playing this game, so click through and let us know your connection.
8. I Saved a Whole Cat: This triple blood donor did some feline math to measure his contributions this year – and you guys loved it.
9. Vaccine Questions? We’ve Got Answers: H1N1 (swine flu) was a big topic this year and we’re so thankful that you all trusted us and our Chief Nurse Sharron Stanley to guide you through the sometimes confusing pandemic.
10. Home Fires Map: The daily work of the American Red Cross is astounding. We respond to an average of 200 home fires every single day across the country. So we mapped all of them to give you an idea of their magnitude.

Honorable Mentions

• We are so thankful to Robin Parker from the Oregon Trail Chapter for her timely and informative Weekly Worldwide Wrap-up that has kept us in the know throughout 2009.
• We are proud to have launched Cross the Globe podcast headed up by our own Mat Morgan.
• We welcomed the insights of our President and CEO Gail McGovern to the blog.
• Twitter was a big part of our collective lives.

Thanks for reading in 2009 and let us know what you’d like to see in 2010!

Filed under: Blood, Development, Disaster Response, Health & Safety, Holiday, International, Mapping, Preparedness, SAF, Volunteers