March is Red Cross Month

For 66 years, March has been designated Red Cross Month, a time set aside to recognize giving individuals and to get involved with the American Red Cross.

In addition to collecting and distributing nearly half the nation’s blood supply, the Red Cross offers health and safety training, serves as a vital emergency communication link between military personnel and their families at home, teaches disaster preparedness and provides relief to victims of disasters of all types and sizes.

The Red Cross is about people – hundreds and thousands of people who volunteer their time and talent, and donate money, plus millions more who donate blood.

You can help spread the word to your friends and neighbors with Red Cross Month advocacy materials. Share these tools with those who want to help enrich their community and make a real difference in peoples’ lives by getting involved with the Red Cross.

Learn how Personal Health Record forms can help you and your family

Certain immunizations and medications may cause blood donation deferral. To help you and Red Cross staff determine whether you are eligible to give blood, you can use the personal health record form available in the Healthy Living section of the website.

Helping others may have saved his life

Sixteen-year-old David Sczesny wanted to help save lives by donating blood at a Red Cross blood drive last summer. That decision to help others by giving the gift of life may have saved his own. To read more about David’s story, visit this link.

In November, David’s mom helped organize a blood drive and bone marrow donor registration event which resulted in over 90 pints of blood donated through the Red Cross and more than 550 people registering as potential bone marrow donors.

Visit this link to find out if you are eligible to donate blood. If you’d like to register to become a bone marrow donor, visit this link.

National Day of Service

In the spirit of a new administration and the legacy of a servant leader, Americans rolled up their sleeves to help others on this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Nearly 150 people in the Mid-America Blood Services Division registered to give blood at USAService.org. Nationwide the Red Cross collected more than 21,000 blood donations on the King Day of Service, the highest number of donations on this day in the last five years. Here are some ways you can get involved with your local Red Cross.

National Volunteer Week

This year, National Volunteer Week is April 19 – 25. National Volunteer Week offers one more occasion to thank some of the American Red Cross’ most valuable assets — our volunteers — and to recognize the myriad ways they help improve our communities.

To learn more about National Volunteer Week, sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation, visit this link. To learn about volunteer opportunities with the Red Cross, visit us online.