It’s Red Cross Month!
Every March, the American Red Cross celebrates Red Cross Month to honor the more than 300,000 volunteers who help us fulfill our mission across the country, as well as the legacy of our founder, Clara Barton. It’s a tradition that began with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The 32nd president proclaimed March Red Cross Month in 1943 to raise awareness of the organization’s humanitarian mission. Ever since WWII, every United States president has followed suit by issuing an official proclamation to recognize March as Red Cross Month.
This March, we’re making Clara the centerpiece of our celebration with Cutout Clara — a paper illustration of our founder that can be featured in photographs and shared on social media platforms.
This concept originated in the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) team. The team envisioned Cutout Clara as a tool that could help them show how they support service members, veterans and their families around the world. Overtime, Cutout Clara became a fun and interactive way for volunteers to raise awareness of the full scope of Red Cross efforts to provide disaster relief, international services, lifesaving blood, training and certification as well as support for military families. To date, Cutout Clara has made appearances across the globe alongside many Red Cross volunteers and staff working tirelessly to deliver our humanitarian mission. While you’re out in your community this March, we hope you’ll bring Cutout Clara along to help showcase our mission in action.
If you’d like your very own Cutout Clara, email us at socialmedia [at] redcross [dot] org.
