On March 1st, President Barack Obama proclaimed March as Red Cross Month across the United States. The annual Presidential Proclamation, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt began in 1943, highlights the month in a way that allows the organization to publically thank Americans for their past support, promote existing Red Cross programs and services, and recruit new volunteers and blood donors.
March as Red Cross Month also provides the Red Cross with an opportunity to recognize our country’s every day heroes, so today I’d like to shine a spotlight on a few of my personal Red Cross every day heroes.
- A Red Cross volunteer who, after losing someone extraordinarily close to him, found a new companion in the Red Cross and now gives his whole heart to strengthening his chapter’s local and national Emergency Services teams.
- A Red Cross volunteer who, despite her busy schedule as a wife, mother of two, and full-time employee, finds time to coordinate public affairs during the aftermath of local and national disasters.
- A Red Cross volunteer who first joined the organization as a 18-year-old college freshman required to complete court-ordered community service hours, but remained a loyal member of her chapter’s Blood Services volunteer team long (nearly 10 years) after she fulfilled her required commitment.
- A Red Cross volunteer who first joined the organization as a 14-year-old youth team member and over the course of the next eight years grew through the ranks to become president of her collegiate American Red Cross Club and a member of the American Red Cross National Youth Council.
- A Red Cross blood donor who began donating shortly after his 17th birthday, donated nearly every eight weeks for years, and recently reached the 13-gallon mark.
- And last but not least, a future Red Cross volunteer who last summer generously donated half of the profits from his lemonade stand to the Red Cross.
Who are your Red Cross heroes?
Note: all of the volunteers mentioned above are real people with whom I have had the privilege of working throughout the last 11 years.