National Volunteer Week – Red Cross Offers Big Thank You to Our Volunteers

It’s National Volunteer Week and the American Red Cross honors our hundreds of thousands of volunteers who help the organization achieve its mission of helping people in need.

More than 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce is volunteers. Last year, more than 300,000 individuals volunteered their time to support the mission of the Red Cross. These heroes help

staff blood drives, volunteer at veterans’ hospitals, teach people lifesaving skills such as First Aid and CPR, respond to large disasters and tens of thousands of home fires and so much more.

Volunteers enable the Red Cross to respond to an average of more than 60,000 disasters every year. They help train more than 4.5 million people in Red Cross lifesaving skills; help provide more than 513,000 services to military members, veterans and their families; and to reconnect more than11,000 families separated by war or disaster around the world. In addition, as many as 2.6 million volunteer donors give blood every year.

Please consider becoming a Red Cross volunteer to help families in need. Visit redcross.org/VolunteerToday to learn more, including about our most-needed volunteer positions:

• Blood donor ambassadors and transportation specialists: Blood donations are essential to the health of our communities and blood donor ambassadors are a vital part of this work by welcoming visitors and taking their temperatures before entering Red Cross facilities and blood drives. Visitors could include potential blood donors, people seeking help, training course participants and Red Cross employees and volunteers. We also have a high priority need for transportation specialists to help deliver blood from our facilities to local hospitals.
  
• Disaster Action Team: Each day, people are forced from their homes due to fires, storms and other disasters. Join the team that responds to more than 60,000 emergencies every year — the vast majority of which are home fires. Our volunteers help families with their immediate needs, ensuring they don’t face tough times alone. If you are team-oriented and want to make a difference, please consider joining the Disaster Action Team and apply now. We supply all the training you need.
• Volunteer from home (other virtual positions): Help from the comfort of your own home through a wide range of virtual opportunities. Learn more.
  

STAYING SAFE DURING PANDEMIC Everyone’s safety is our top priority, and we are working with public health officials to help keep our communities and volunteers safe during COVID-19. When considering volunteer opportunities, review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for people who are at higher risk for severe illness, consult your health care provider and follow local guidance.

You can also sign up to become a volunteer blood or platelet donor. To schedule an appointment to donate blood or platelets, people can download the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.