News release from the American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana:
American Red Cross Honors Volunteers During National Volunteer Week
(April 8, 2016) — National Volunteer Week is April 10-17 and the American Red Cross, Northeast Indiana Chapter is honoring its volunteers who give their time to help people in need.
Nearly 330,000 volunteers serve the organization nationally, helping staff blood drives, volunteering at veteran’s hospitals, teaching people lifesaving skills such as First Aid and CPR, responding to home fires in the middle of the night and so much more. The Northeast Indiana Chapter services 11 counties with the support of over 350 local volunteers.
“We want to take this time during Volunteer Week to thank our volunteers for their service,” said Monica Herbst, Volunteer Services Manager for the Northeast Indiana Chapter “They help us fulfill our lifesaving mission every day, and we are overwhelmed with gratitude for their service. We couldn’t deliver this amazing mission without them.”
Last year, the Northeast Indiana Chapter Red Cross volunteers provided food, shelter, comfort and hope to 625 local clients who faced emergency situations. They trained 17,376 people in lifesaving skills, educated over 1,500 children how to prepare for and cope with disasters through the pillowcase project, and provided services to 920 military members, veterans and their families.
Volunteer blood donors, who rolled up their sleeves in the Northeast Indiana Chapter, donated 41,671 pints of blood in 2015. Each pint given could save up to three lives. Every two seconds in the United States someone needs blood; so the demand is great. Thank you to all our generous blood donor volunteers!
The Red Cross invites the public to be a part of the lifesaving work it does and to sign up to volunteer and donate blood. People can go to redcross.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities and how to submit a volunteer application. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, people should visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.
The Red Cross Home Fire Campaign offers another way to volunteer and help reduce the number of home fire injuries and deaths locally. Volunteers are going door-to-door in neighborhoods at high risk for fires to install free smoke alarms and teach people about home fire safety. Since the Home Fire Campaign started, it has been credited with saving a number of lives. Volunteers have already installed hundreds of thousands of smoke alarms in more than 4,100 cities and towns across the United States.
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org.