Red Cross Urges People to Volunteer | Community Spirit

This National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, the Red Cross is celebrating its dedicated volunteers and partners. These volunteers power the Red Cross, making it possible for the organization to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.

The Red Cross is also encouraging people who have been thinking about volunteering to take the plunge. People wanting to make a difference should contact their local Red Cross chapter to learn about getting involved. Right now the Red Cross especially needs people who want to volunteer and donate blood.

“Volunteers are central to the work of the Red Cross in our local community and in communities across the country, said Scott R. Salemme, regional chief executive officer, American Red Cross, Columbia Region.  “On average, the Red Cross has 15 volunteers for every one employee.  These volunteers are people in action—whether providing comfort to a family whose home has been destroyed by a fire or getting an emergency message to a member of the military whose father is critically ill.”

American Red Cross volunteers...

• Teach first aid, CPR, swimming and other lifesaving skills.
• Respond to disasters and reconnect families separated by disasters or conflict.
• Save lives by giving blood, or by sponsoring or volunteering at blood drives.
• Help veterans, members of the military and their families in the U.S. and overseas.

Red Cross volunteers are united by their service and the feeling that in changing others’ lives, their lives are also changed. To volunteer, contact the Columbia Region at Columbiaregionredcross.org or at (803) 540-1200.