Every March, the American Red Cross celebrates Red Cross Month and Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes recognized the occasion Monday with a proclamation.
March was first proclaimed as Red Cross Month 71 years ago by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since 1943, every president, including President Obama, has made the designation since. The Red Cross is synonymous with helping people, and has been doing so for more than 130 years. Everyday heroes lend a hand to those in need in communities across the country. Whether it’s helping disaster victims get on the road to recovery, giving blood to help a hospital patient, stepping forward to assist someone having a heart attack or to save a drowning child, or simply brightening the day of an injured service member who is in a hospital far from home.“The American Red Cross works to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies,” Haynes said in reading the proclamation. “Our community depends on the American Red Cross, which relies on donations of time, money and blood, to fulfill its humanitarian mission.”
The Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters a year nationwide, providing shelter, food, emotional support and other necessities to those affected. It provides 24-hour support to members of the military, veterans and their families – in war zones, military hospitals and on military installations around the world; collects and distributes about 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply and trains more than seven million people in first aid, water safety and other life-saving skills every year.
The Red Cross is not a government agency and relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work. An average of 91 cents of every dollar given to the Red Cross is invested in helping people in need.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the local chapter of the Red Cross.
Pictured is Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes reading the proclamation Monday to several local Red Cross volunteers.
