COLUMBUS (WCMH) — March is designated as Red Cross Month. For nearly 80 years, U.S. Presidents have made the designation to recognize the people giving back through its life-saving mission.
“We’ve seen the greatest number of multi-billion-dollar disasters in a single year,” said Cory Paul, the Central Ohio Chapter Executive of the Red Cross.
Pair that sobering fact, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2020 was a challenging one for the American Red Cross.
“It’s been a tough year,” Paul added.
A year where trained Red Cross disaster mental health volunteers engaged in over 53,000 conversations, according to the Red Cross.
“Families overwhelmed, people have stepped up to provide comfort and care through the American Red Cross,” said Paul.
The Red Cross also says in the last year more than 70,000 people across the country became new Red Cross volunteers.
“We rely on volunteers, about 90% of our workforce is volunteers, so for every one of those staff persons, we have about 10 to 15 volunteers doing the work for the community,” said Paul.
However, Red Cross organizers say they still need more volunteers, such as blood donor ambassadors.
“That first smiling person, well, they’re going to be wearing a mask, but they’re smiling with their eyes, to welcome you to that blood drive, and to kind of direct you through that process,” said Paul.
They also need disaster response volunteers.
“Those are folks who take a little bit of training and are ready, kind of on-call for that next large disaster,” said Paul.
Whether it is responding to a single-family house fire in Columbus or severe flooding that recently occurred in Kentucky, Red Cross volunteers give comfort when the community needs it most.
“We’re really looking at volunteer work and the need of the community, each one of those needs is matched up with a volunteer,” said Paul.
During the month of March, Red Cross organizers encourage people to volunteer, give blood, make a monetary donation, or take a CPR or First-Aid Class.
“If you’re compelled to step in and help your community and serve in a humanitarian fashion, then the Red Cross might be it,” said Paul.
For more information, visit: https://www.redcross.org/
