The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
humanitarian
Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the designated US affiliate of the
and the United States movement to the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
.
The organization offers services and development programs.
History and organization
Founders
Clara Barton
Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very ...
established the American Red Cross in
Dansville, New York on May 21, 1881, and was the organization's first president. She organized a meeting on May 12 of that year at the house of
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Omar D. Conger
Omar Dwight Conger (April 1, 1818July 11, 1898) was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan.
Conger was born in Cooperstown, New York, and moved with his father, the Rev. E. Conger, to Huron County, Ohio, in 1824. He p ...
(
R,
MI). Fifteen people were present at the meeting, including Barton, Conger and
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
*Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
*House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
*Legislator, someon ...
William Lawrence (
R,
OH) (who became the first vice president). The first local chapter was established in 1881 at the
English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Dansville.
[ ''Note:'' This includes
an]
''Accompanying photographs''
Jane Delano
Jane Arminda Delano (March 12, 1862 in Montour Falls, New York – April 15, 1919 in Savenay, Loire-Atlantique, France) was a nurse and founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service.
Personal life
A descendant of one of the first settlers to ...
(1862–1919) founded the
American Red Cross Nursing Service The American Red Cross Nursing Service was organized in 1909 by Jane Arminda Delano (1862-1919). A nurse and member of the American Red Cross, Delano organized the nursing service as the reserve of the Army Nurse Corps to be ready just before the ...
on January 20, 1910.
Clara Barton
Barton founded the American chapter after learning of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1869, she went to Europe and became involved in the work of the
International Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
during the
Franco-Prussian War. She was determined to bring the organization to America.
![Clara Barton1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Clara_Barton1.jpg)
Barton became President of the American branch of the society, known as the American National Red Cross in May 1881 in Washington. The first chapters opened in upstate New York, where she had connections.
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
and four others donated money to help create a national headquarters near the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. The abolitionist
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
, a friend of Barton's, offered advice and support as she sought to establish the American chapter of Red Cross. As Register of Deeds for the District of Columbia, Douglass also signed the American Red Cross's original Articles of Incorporation.
![USA-American National Red Cross0](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/USA-American_National_Red_Cross0.jpg)
Barton led one of the group's first major relief efforts, a response to the 1881
Thumb Fire The Thumb Fire took place on September 5, 1881, in the Thumb area of Michigan in the United States. The fire, which burned over a million acres (4,000 km²) in less than a day, was the consequence of drought, hurricane-force winds, heat, the af ...
in Michigan's Thumb region. Over 5,000 people were left homeless. The next major disaster was the
Johnstown Flood
The Johnstown Flood (locally, the Great Flood of 1889) occurred on Friday, May 31, 1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam, located on the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River, upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylv ...
on May 31, 1889. Over 2,209 people died and thousands more were injured in or near
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...
, in one of the worst disasters in U.S. history.
Progressive reform
Barton was unable to build up a staff she trusted and her fundraising was lackluster. She was forced out in 1904. Professional social work experts took control and made the group a model of
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...
scientific reform. New leader
Mabel Thorp Boardman
Mabel Thorp Boardman (October 12, 1860 – March 17, 1946) was an American philanthropist involved with the American Red Cross. She led the Red Cross in the United States following its receiving congressional charter in 1905 until World War I ...
consulted with senior government officials, military officers, social workers, and financiers.
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
was especially influential. They imposed an ethos of "
managerialism
Managerialism is the reliance on professional managers and organizational strategies to run a society. It may be justified in terms of efficiency, or characterized as an ideology. It is a belief system that requires little or no evidence to justif ...
", transforming the agency from Barton's cult of personality to an "organizational humanitarianism" ready for expansion.
Among the notable disasters of the Progressive Era that featured American Red Cross involvement was the sinking of the ''
RMS Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'' in 1912. The New York City chapter joined with the
Charity Organization Society
The Charity Organisation Societies were founded in England in 1869 following the ' Goschen Minute' that sought to severely restrict outdoor relief distributed by the Poor Law Guardians. In the early 1870s a handful of local societies were formed w ...
to provide funds to survivors and the dependents of those who perished.
Leadership
Recent presidents and CEO s include Gail McGovern,
Elizabeth Dole
Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford Dole (née Hanford; born July 29, 1936)Mary Ella Cathey Hanford, "Asbury and Hanford Families: Newly Discovered Genealogical Information" ''The Historical Trail'' 33 (1996), pp. 44–45, 49. is an American attorn ...
,
Bernadine Healy
Bernadine Patricia Healy (August 4, 1944 – August 6, 2011) was an American cardiologist and the first female director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
During her career, Healy held leadership positions at the Johns Hopkins Universit ...
, Mary S. Elcano,
Mark W. Everson
Mark Whitty Everson (born September 10, 1954) is an American politician who is currently the Vice Chairman of alliantgroup and served as the 46th Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 2003 until 2007. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner of th ...
and John F. McGuire.
In 2007, U.S. legislation clarified the role for the Board of Governors and that of the senior management in the wake of difficulties following
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. Members of the board of governors other than the chairman are elected at the annual meeting of chapter delegates. The board appoints the chief executive officer.
Ranking
As of November 2017, the American Red Cross scores three out of four stars at
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial s ...
and A− at
CharityWatch
CharityWatch, formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency ...
.
In 1996, the ''
Chronicle of Philanthropy
''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' is a magazine that covers the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, DC, it is aimed at charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in philanthropy. ''The Chroni ...
'', an industry magazine, released the results of the largest study of charitable and nonprofit organization popularity and credibility. The study showed that ARC was ranked as the third "most popular charity/non-profit in America" of over 100 charities researched, with 48% of Americans over age 12 choosing "Love" or "Like A lot" to describe it.
Notable members
Blood services
Blood donation
ARC supplies roughly 45% of the
donated blood in the United States, which it sells to hospitals and regional suppliers.
Community-based blood centers supply nearly 50% and approximately 5% is collected directly by hospitals. In December 2004, ARC completed its largest blood processing facility in the United States in
Pomona, California
Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyte ...
, on the campus grounds of
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the '' name'' section of this article for more info ...
.
File:American Red Cross® - panoramio.jpg, American Red Cross (Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
)
File:Children in the American Red Cross Children's Hospital, Villa Dini. Naples.jpg, Children in the American Red Cross
Tissue services
For more than 50 years, ARC provided
allograft
Allotransplant (''allo-'' meaning "other" in Greek) is the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs to a recipient from a genetically non-identical donor of the same species. The transplant is called an allograft, allogeneic transplant, o ...
tissue for
transplant
Transplant or Transplantation may refer to:
Sciences
*Transplanting a plant from one location to another
*Organ transplantation, moving an organ from one body to another
*Transplant thought experiment, an experiment similar to Trolley problem
*Tra ...
through sales in its Tissue Services Program. It cared for thousands of donor families who donated tissue and sold the tissue to more than 1 million transplant recipients. At the end of January 2005, ARC ended its Tissue Services program to focus on its primary missions of Disaster Relief and Blood Services.
Plasma services
A leader in the
plasma
Plasma or plasm may refer to:
Science
* Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter
* Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral
* Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics
Biology
* Blood pla ...
industry, ARC provides more than one quarter of the nation's plasma products. Red Cross Plasma Services provides plasma products that are reliable, cost-effective and as safe as possible.
In February 1999, ARC completed its "Transformation", a $287 million program that re engineered Red Cross Blood Services' processing, testing, and distribution system and established a new management structure.
As of 2011, ARC was no longer in the Plasma Services industry. It supplies
Baxter BioSciences with items for manufacturing plasma products.
Nucleic acid testing
On March 1, 1999, ARC became the first U.S. blood bank to implement a
nucleic acid test
A nucleic acid test (NAT) is a technique used to detect a particular nucleic acid sequence and thus usually to detect and identify a particular species or subspecies of organism, often a virus or bacterium that acts as a pathogen in blood, tissu ...
ing (NAT) study. This process is different from traditional testing because it looks for the
genetic material of HIV and
hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...
(HCV), rather than the body's response to the disease.
The NAT tests for
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
and HCV has been licensed by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA). These tests detect the genetic material of a transfusion-transmitted virus like HIV without waiting for the body to form antibodies, potentially offering an important time advantage over current techniques.
Leukoreduction
Leukocytes
White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and derived from mult ...
(white blood cells) help fight off foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses, and abnormal cells. In fact, these foreign leukocytes in transfused
red blood cells
Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek language, Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''k ...
and
platelets
Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby ini ...
are often not well tolerated and have been associated with some types of transfusion complications. Leukocytes in stored blood products can have a variety of biological effects, including depression of immune function, which can result in organ failure and death. Because whole blood is rarely used for transfusion and not kept in routine inventory, leukoreduced red blood supplies are critical. After collection, the whole blood is separated into red cells and plasma by centrifugal. A preservative solution is mixed with the red cells and the component is filtered with a leukoreduction filter. The shelf life of this product is 42 days.
ARC is moving toward system-wide universal prestorage leukocyte reduction to improve patient care. From 1976 to 1985, the FDA received reports of 355 fatalities associated with transfusion, 99 of which were excluded from further review because they were unrelated to transfusion or involved
hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...
or
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
. While the FDA has not yet made leukoreduction a requirement, ARC took a leading role in implementing this procedure with a goal of leukoreducing all blood products. More than 70% of ARC red blood cell components undergo prestorage leukoreduction, a filtering process performed soon after blood is donated.
Research
ARC operates the
Jerome H. Holland
Jerome Heartwell "Brud" Holland (January 9, 1916 – January 13, 1985) was an American university president and diplomat. He was the first African American to play football at Cornell University, and was chosen as an All American in 1937 and 1938 ...
blood laboratory in
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
. Each year, it invests more than $25 million in research activities at the Holland Laboratory and in the field.
Cellular therapies
ARC offers
cellular therapies; this treatment involves collecting and treating blood cells from a patient or other blood donor. The treated cells are introduced into a patient to help revive normal cell function, replace cells that are lost as a result of disease, accidents or aging, or to prevent illnesses from appearing.
Training services
Training Services is one of the five divisions of the American Red Cross, responsible for providing health and safety training to the general public as well as the workforce. In fiscal year 2017 the American Red Cross trained 2.28 million people how to save lives through their First Aid, CPR or AED courses, water safety and care giving programs. There are a wide variety of course offerings available:
* Administering Emergency Oxygen
* Advanced Life Support
* Anaphylaxis and Epinephrine Auto-Injector
* Asthma Inhaler Training
* Babysitter's Training
* Basic Life Support
* Bloodborne Pathogens Training
* California Child Care
* CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers
* Emergency Medical Response
* First Aid/CPR/AED (English and Spanish)
* Hands-Only CPR
* Learn to Swim
* Lifeguard Management
* Life guarding
* Longfellow's WHALE Tales
* Nurse Assistant Training
* Pediatric Advanced Life Support
* Responding to Emergencies
* Safety Training for Swim Coaches
* Title 22 (California First Aid for Public Safety Personnel)
* Water Safety
* Wilderness and Remote First Aid
In addition to basic level certifications in the above courses the American Red Cross also offers Instructor level courses and Instructor Trainer (IT) level courses. Instructor level courses are designed to teach participants how to become instructors for American Red Cross courses, whereas Instructor Trainer courses (also known as Instructor Trainer Academies) are designed to certify current instructors to become Instructor Trainers, or people who can teach Instructor level courses.
Training Services has an online store where you can purchase supplies including First Aid Kits, CPR key chains, flashlights, and emergency radios.
2018 mannequin change
In early 2018 all courses offered by the American Red Cross switched to BigRed mannequin. The investment cost $1.8 million and increased participants' understanding of the purpose of compressions during CPR.
Course offerings
There are three entities that can run American Red Cross courses; The American Red Cross, Authorized Providers, and Licensed Training Providers. The American Red Cross runs many of its own courses that can be conducted on land such as First Aid/CPR/AED and Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers. There are a number of courses that require aquatic facilities to run, such as Lifeguarding and Water Safety Instructor. These courses are generally left to Authorized Providers (colleges, government agencies, fire departments, community centers) and to Licensed Training Providers (LLC. or Inc.).
Scientific Advisory Council
The Scientific Advisory Council is a panel including over 50 nationally recognized medical, scientific, aquatics, and academic experts from across the United States.
Disasters service
![GF1997RedCross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/GF1997RedCross.jpg)
Each year, ARC responds to more than 60,000 disasters, including house or apartment fires (making up the majority), hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes,
hazardous materials
Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
spills, transportation accidents, explosions and other natural and man-made disasters.
Although ARC is not a government agency, its authority to provide disaster relief was formalized when, in 1905, it was granted a
congressional charter
A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress issued federal charters from 1791 until 1992 under Title 36 of the United States Code. The first charte ...
to "carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing the same." The charter is not only a grant of power but also an imposition of duties and obligations to the nation, to disaster victims and to the people who support its work with their donations.
Disaster relief focuses on emergency disaster-caused needs. When a disaster threatens or strikes, ARC provides
shelter
Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger.
Shelter may also refer to:
Places
* Port Shelter, Hong Kong
* Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations
* Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...
, food and health and
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
services (
Psychological First Aid
Psychological first aid (PFA) is a technique designed to reduce the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder. It was developed by the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (NC-PTSD), a section of the United States Department of Ve ...
) to address basic human needs. The core of American Red Cross disaster relief is assistance to individuals and families to enable them to resume their normal daily activities. The organization provides translation and interpretation when necessary, and maintains a
database of multilingual volunteers.
At the local level, ARC chapters operate volunteer-staffed
Disaster Action Team
A Disaster Action Team is the local disaster response unit in chapters of the American Red Cross.
American Red Cross chapters have Disaster Action Teams (commonly called "DATs"), which provide disaster relief services on an on-call basis. They ...
s.
ARC feeds emergency workers of other agencies, handles inquiries from concerned family members outside the disaster area, provides blood and blood products to disaster victims and helps those affected by a disaster to access other resources. It is a member of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and works closely with other agencies such as
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
and
Amateur Radio Emergency Service
In the United States and Canada, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a corps of trained amateur radio operator volunteers organized to assist in public service and emergency communications. It is organized and sponsored by the Ameri ...
with whom it has memorandums of understanding.
ARC works to encourage preparedness by providing important literature on readiness. Many chapters also offer free classes to the general public.
A major misconception among the general public is that ARC provides medical facilities, engages in search and rescue operations or deploys ambulances. Instead, first responder roles are left to government agencies as dictated by the
National Response Framework
The United States National Response Framework (NRF) is part of the National Strategy for Homeland Security that presents the guiding principles enabling all levels of domestic response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response ...
. Red Cross societies outside the U.S. may provide such functions; for example, the ''Cruz Roja Mexicana'' (Mexican Red Cross) runs a national ambulance service. Furthermore, American Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) look similar to ambulances. These ERVs instead are designed for bulk distribution of relief supplies, such as meals, drinks and other relief supplies. Although ARC shelters usually assign a nurse to the facility, they are not equipped to provide medical care beyond first aid.
Disaster Services Workforce
The Disaster Services Workforce (DSW) system enrolls volunteers from ARC chapters into a national database of responders, classified by their ability to serve in one or more activities within groups. Services include feeding and sheltering ("mass care") to warehousing, damage assessment, accounting, communications, public affairs and counseling. Responders complete training requirements specific to the services they want to offer, backgrounds, and first aid training.
National Response Framework
As a
National Response Framework
The United States National Response Framework (NRF) is part of the National Strategy for Homeland Security that presents the guiding principles enabling all levels of domestic response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response ...
support agency, ARC shelters, feeds and provides other types of emergency relief to victims of disasters. ARC is a co-lead with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(FEMA) for the mass care portion of Emergency Support Function 6. ARC and FEMA share responsibility for planning and coordinating mass care services with FEMA. ARC has responsibilities for other Emergency Support Functions, such as providing health and mental health services.
Disaster responses
1908 Messina earthquake
In 1908 an
earthquake and tsunami devastated the area surround the
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...
. The American public donated nearly $1 million to the American Red Cross which was sent to Italy via the
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
, alongside $800,000 in public funds.
The decision to use the State Department to distribute funds, rather than sending them directly to the
Italian Red Cross
The Italian Red Cross (IRC, it, Croce Rossa Italiana or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919.
History
Early h ...
, was indicative of the organization's shift away from the
International Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
movement and towards US interests. This was the ARC's first major response to an international civilian disaster.
In December of that year two Americans, Harry Bowdoin and Charles King Wood, were in
Taormina
Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...
when the earthquake occurred. Mr. Bowdoin was spending the winter in Taormina with his invalid mother and Mr. Wood was an artist who had lived in Taormina for several years. These two men entered upon the work of relief answering the call of the Red Cross.
10Afterwards, the Italian government conferred upon the two men the honorific of "Cavaliere"
11 Bowdoin and Wood were two of the twenty-one recipients of the American Red Cross silver medal for "specially meritorious service" for that year.
12
Before 1908, the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
had only rarely allocated funds for natural disasters; likewise, the level of funding given to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
was also unprecedented. The ARC's aid to Italy carried important diplomatic meaning for the U.S. due to the large number of Italian emigrants who left for the U.S. every year, and Italy's growing importance within Europe. ARC leaders viewed relief efforts in Italy as a way to demonstrate U.S. care for the nation. Alongside this, disaster relief was seen as a tool for social reform. A fundamental goal of the ARC's assistance was to address the perceived threat of pulverization within an area that a large proportion of U.S. immigrants came from.
Role in the United States occupation of Nicaragua
As a response to the Nicaraguan resentment of the
United States Occupation of Nicaragua
The United States occupation of Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933 was part of the Banana Wars, when the US military invaded various Latin American countries from 1898 to 1934. The formal occupation began in 1912, even though there were various other ...
, U.S. officials employed the use of humanitarian relief in attempt to improve relations. $10,000 dollars was given to the ARC by
Philander Knox
Philander Chase Knox (May 6, 1853October 12, 1921) was an American lawyer, bank director and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Knox served in the Cabinet of three different presidents and represented Pennsylvania in the United States ...
to provide relief in the form of blankets, clothing, and food to captured soldiers from
José Santos Zelaya
José Santos Zelaya López (1 November 1853 in Managua – 17 May 1919 in New York City) was the President of Nicaragua from 25 July 1893 to 21 December 1909.
Early life
He was a son of José María Zelaya Irigoyen, who was originally from ...
's army. ARC leaders believed that humanitarian relief would be more effective in fostering goodwill and creating stability than any other action. In 1912 the State and War Department became concerned with increasing reports of hunger within the country. As a result, Knox asked the ARC to supply food for non-combatants as well. American forces worked with the ARC to open railroads to distribute humanitarian supplies to
Managua
)
, settlement_type = Capital city
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Nicara ...
,
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
,
Léon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
, and other key cities.
Although the ARC was a non-governmental agency, its humanitarian efforts lined up with American foreign policy, becoming a useful diplomatic mechanism for softening the effects of American military intervention and securing its political interests.
Role in World War One
Prior to the United States entry into World War One, the American Red Cross was a neutral organization aiding both the allied and central powers. However, when the United States joined the allied powers, the American Red Cross aid to the central powers ended immediately. On May 10, 1917, President Wilson created the American Red Cross War Council to aid funding initiatives and direct the activities of the organization. Throughout the war, the Council raised $400 million.
The American Red Cross in the war was a quasi-state organization and a non-governmental organization, as it was not officially part of the United States Government. The American Red Cross in the war focused principally on overseas civilian aid and not domestic disaster relief. The American Red Cross spent "less than one million dollars on domestic disaster relief, in comparison to the $120 million devoted to relief overseas." The American Red Cross during the war provided food, employment, housing, and medical assistance to millions of civilians displaced by the war. During the course of the war, over one-third of the population of the United States joined the organization and in 1917 and 1918 alone around $400 million was raised. Amongst its initiatives was the
Pisa Village
The Pisa Village was a humanitarian housing project in Italy partially completed by the American Red Cross (ARC) during World War I.
The refugee situation following the Battle of Caporetto provoked an American concern of disorder and unrest. Mem ...
in Italy, a humanitarian housing project begun in 1918.
The power of the American Red Cross was soon recognized by the Government which began to see "the value of overseas aid as a tool of statecraft".
The American Red Cross was increasingly being used as an arm of the state to facilitate the realization of American foreign policy objects. Principally, the American Red Cross enhanced America's image abroad while also disseminating American practices and values throughout Europe.
It intervened in European health and welfare practices by introducing American methods. Moreover, after the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, President Wilson used the American Red Cross as a diplomacy tool to aid the White forces. Wilson believed that food was the "real thing" to combat Bolshevism and ordered the American Red Cross to distribute food and material relief to Bolshevik opponents in the Russian civil war. The American Red Cross, therefore, served the dual functions of assisting the realization of United States foreign policy objectives and promoting international humanitarianism.
At the end of the war the League of Red Cross Societies was created. This international society of national Red Cross organizations was spearheaded by the United States and sought the "improvement of health, the prevention of disease, and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world."
Interwar European reconstruction
Unlike European relief organization, which had to invest much of their time in fund-raising efforts, the American Red Cross's collaboration with
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
's
American Relief Administration
American Relief Administration (ARA) was an American relief mission to Europe and later post-revolutionary Russia after World War I. Herbert Hoover, future president of the United States, was the program director.
The ARA's immediate predeces ...
had funding on a different scale and well as popular and governmental support at its disposal. With its membership of over 33 million Americans in 1918 (20% of the U.S. population) and its designation as the official U.S. organization for foreign relief by the Geneva Treaty and Congressional mandate, the ARC was neither wholly private nor an official governmental organization. This quasi-governmental support allowed the ARC to secure credibility and support that was unattainable for other relief organizations such as the
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
or
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
.
The ARC's private funding allowed for more flexibility than government organizations, its leaders chose to support U.S. foreign policy in many ways but also often pursued aims that differed from that of the military or political policymakers. Hundreds of ARC workers pursued permanent reform of Italian social politics, rather than emergency relief they founded nursing schools, developed child welfare projects and waged anti-tuberculosis crusades. In introducing these American ideas about public health and social welfare, the ARC acted as what historian
Daniel T. Rodgers had referred to as 'brokers of ideas', who facilitated transatlantic exchange on the methods and philosophies of social reform. Work in the ARC allowed American citizens to contribute to transatlantic social reform discourse. ARC workers built upon and expanded the already existing Italian efforts for social reform. ARC reformers embraced a strategic cultural sensitivity as they attempted to work with Italians and help them to take control of their own social institutions. By presenting their reforms as mutual exchange rather than imposed change, ARC workers hoped Italians would willingly accept them. U.S. reformers in the ARC continued to believe in the necessity of American intervention in 'reforming' Italy.
Russian revolution
In July 1918 the ARC established a hospital at the entrance of
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
harbor, followed by eight more hospitals during that year. Vladivostok Refugee hospital was opened in early 1919 in former naval barracks and had up to 250 beds. The ARC provided drugs and medical supplies to Russian hospitals during the civil war.
Role in World War Two
In the 1940s during World War II, the Red Cross enrolled 7.5 million volunteers along with 39,000 paid staff
and more than 104,000 nurses for military service, prepared 27 million packages for prisoners of war, shipped more than 300,000 tons of supplies, and collected 13.3 million pints of blood plasma for the armed forces. By the time World War II ended in September 1945, American society contributed over $784 million in support of the American Red Cross.
2005 hurricanes
![FEMA - 15337 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 09-10-2005 in Texas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/FEMA_-_15337_-_Photograph_by_Andrea_Booher_taken_on_09-10-2005_in_Texas.jpg)
Forecasting a major disaster before the landfall of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, ARC enlisted 2,000 volunteers to be on a "stand by" deployment list.
According to ARC, during and after hurricanes Katrina,
Wilma and
Rita
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...
, they opened 1,470 shelters and registered 3.8 million overnight stays. 300,000 American Red Cross workers (82% unpaid) provided sheltering, casework, communication and assessment services throughout these events. In addition, 346,980 comfort kits (which contain hygiene essentials such as toothpaste, soap, washcloths and toys for children) and 205,360 cleanup kits (containing brooms, mops and bleach) were distributed. The organization served 68 million snacks and meals. Disaster Health services provided 596,810 contacts, and Disaster Mental Health services 826,590 contacts. Emergency financial assistance was provided to 1.4 million families, including 4 million people. Katrina was the first natural disaster in the United States that ARC utilized their "Safe and Well" family location website.
Comair Flight 5191
Following the crash of commuter aircraft
Comair Flight 5191
Comair Flight 5191 (marketed as Delta Connection Flight 5191 under a codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines) was a scheduled United States domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning of August 27, 2006, ...
, the Bluegrass Area Chapter and ARC Critical Response Team (CRT) members were dispatched. This was the worst air disaster in the United States since
American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. On November 12, 200 ...
. Family and Friends reception centers were established near the arrival and departure airports and in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, site of the Comair headquarters. Local chapters in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and California provided health and mental health services to family and friends not present in Lexington. Volunteers also staffed the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
.
2007 tornadoes
Florida
In response to the
Central Florida Tornado of February 2007
The 2007 Groundhog Day tornado outbreak was a localized but devastating tornado event that took place in central Florida early on February 2, 2007. Early morning temperatures had risen well above average for the season; combined with increased m ...
, ARC began a large scale disaster relief operation. At least seven shelters were opened. 40,000 pre-packaged meals were sent by ARC, and across the nation, almost 400 American Red Cross volunteers were deployed to assist with local relief efforts. The organization deployed more than 30 Emergency Response Vehicles for community food and supply distribution.
Kansas
ARC immediately responded to the
May 2007 Tornado Outbreak
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, Ma ...
in central Kansas by setting up emergency shelters for displaced residents and started the distribution of food, water and relief supplies.
Minneapolis bridge collapse
Following the collapse of the
I-35W Mississippi River bridge
The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile (875 m) downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneap ...
, the Twin Cities Area Chapter responded with their
Disaster Action Team
A Disaster Action Team is the local disaster response unit in chapters of the American Red Cross.
American Red Cross chapters have Disaster Action Teams (commonly called "DATs"), which provide disaster relief services on an on-call basis. They ...
to provide food, information and comfort. A family service center was set up, and mental health counselors deployed to numerous locations. Donations contributed for this cause totaled US$138,368 and covered the cost of services but not $65,000 in unexpected expenses. Weather and the collapse placed 70% of
Minnesota counties
There are 87 County (United States), counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are also several List of counties in Minnesota#Historical counties, historical counties.
On October 27, 1849, nine counties were established: Benton, Dahkotah, I ...
in federal primary or contiguous disaster areas during that August.
International services
ARC, as part of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
and its nearly 100 million volunteers, educates and mobilizes communities to overcome life-threatening vulnerabilities. ARC International Services Department focuses on global health, disaster preparedness and response,
Restoring Family Links
Restoring Family Links (RFL) is a program of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, more specifically the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies involving activities that aim to prev ...
and international humanitarian law dissemination. ARC is involved with international projects such as the
measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
Initiative,
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
programs in Africa, disaster response and relief efforts in response to the
2004 South Asia tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
.
Disaster preparedness and response
ARC international disaster response and preparedness programs provide relief and development assistance to millions of people annually who suffer as a result of natural and human-made disasters. To respond quickly and effectively, ARC has pre-positioned emergency relief supplies in three warehouses managed by the International Federation in Dubai, Malaysia, and Panama that are used to respond to disasters. An Emergency Response Unit (ERU) is another method with which ARC responds to international emergencies. An ERU is made up of trained personnel and pre-packaged equipment that is crucial in responding to sudden, large-scale disasters and emergencies in remote locations. American Red Cross ERUs specialize in providing emergency relief supplies and IT and Telecommunications for American Red Cross response operations.
Flood prevention in the Huai River valley
In 1911, the ARC initiated its first international disaster-prevention project in the
Huai River
The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...
Valley. The ARC hired engineers to redirect the Huai River to prevent the yearly flooding that ruined crops and caused famine. Key engineer within the project, C.D. Jameson, recommended a financial commitment to drainage, flood prevention, and land reclamation which he promised would result in 'the elimination of the suffering, starvation, and degeneration of several millions of people', which would substantially reduce 'unrest and lawlessness'. The plan's ambition to re-engineer the Chinese landscape was representative of the increasingly global ambitions of the ARC and the new direction the organization was taking prior to World War I.
Haiti
On January 12, 2010, a
magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
struck the
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
an coast 10 miles from the capital of
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
, causing massive damage, more than 200,000 deaths and displacing nearly 2 million people.
As of March 2011, ARC announced it had allocated $314 million for Haiti earthquake relief and recovery. ARC funded recovery projects to provide transitional homes, health services, disaster preparedness, water and sanitation improvements and livelihoods development. It provided funds for school fees for affected families. As of June 2011, ARC had raised approximately $484 million for Haiti relief and recovery efforts.
A series of reports by
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
and
ProPublica
ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010P ...
found that much of the money Americans donated never made it to help people in Haiti and promises to rebuild neighborhoods were never met.
Global health
ARC International Services global health initiatives focus on preventing and combating infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and
measles
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...
on a large scale. Through cost-effective, community-based health interventions, ARC targets people in need and focuses on accessibility and equity of care, community participation, and integration with other community development initiatives, such as water and sanitation projects and food and nutrition programs.
An example of ARC International Services health programming is the
Measles Initiative Measles & Rubella Initiative (MRI), launched in 2001, is a long-term commitment and partnership among leaders in public health and supports the goal of reducing measles deaths globally by 90% by 2010 compared to 2000 estimates.
Impact
Largely due ...
, launched in 2001, as a partnership committed to reducing measles deaths globally. The initiative provides technical and financial support to governments and communities on vaccination campaigns and disease surveillance worldwide. Leading these efforts are ARC, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
, the
United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, ...
,
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
and the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
. The Measles Initiative has supported vaccination campaigns in more than 60 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia. Since 2001, the initiative has helped vaccinate one billion children in more than 60 developing countries. The initiative supported the distribution of more than 37 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets for malaria prevention, 81 million doses of de-worming medicine, 95 million doses of polio vaccine, and 186 million doses of
vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably bet ...
.
In December 2006, ARC became a founding partner of the Malaria No More campaign. The campaign was formed by leading non-governmental organizations to inspire individuals, institutions, and organizations in the private sector to support a comprehensive approach to end
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
, a devastating but preventable disease. ARC supported local Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers in Africa who educated families and communities about malaria prevention and treatment, such as the proper and consistent use of
insecticide
Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...
-treated bed nets. ARC provided technical assistance and capacity-building support to its partners in difficult-to-reach communities.
International tracing requests
ARC handles international tracing requests and searches for families who have been separated. This service attempts to re-establish contact between separated family members.
Restoring Family Links
Restoring Family Links (RFL) is a program of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, more specifically the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies involving activities that aim to prev ...
services provide the exchange of hand-written Red Cross Messages between individuals and their relatives who may be refugees or prisoners of war. At any given time, ARC Restoring Family Links program is handling the aftermath of 20–30 wars and conflicts. The worldwide structure of Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross make this service possible. When new information from former Soviet Union archives became available in the 1990s, a special unit was created to handle
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
tracing services.
International humanitarian law
ARC International Services educates the American public about the guiding principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) for conduct in warfare as set forth by the
Geneva Conventions of 1949
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was first adopted in 1929, but significant ...
. In doing so, ARC International Services provides support to ARC chapters in their IHL dissemination efforts, offering courses and providing instructor training.
Service to the Armed Forces
![Poster-red-cross-volunteer-for-victory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Poster-red-cross-volunteer-for-victory.jpg)
ARC provides emergency and non-emergency services to the United States military. The most notable service is emergency family communications, where families can contact the Red Cross to send important family messages (such as a death in the family, or new birth). ARC can also act as a verifying agency. The agency operates
call center
A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...
s to provide these services. ARC works closely with other military societies, such as the
Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...
, to provide other services to service members and their families. ARC is not involved with
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
; these are monitored by the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
, the international body.
![Carney Airfield, Solomon Islands, Red Cross girl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Carney_Airfield%2C_Solomon_Islands%2C_Red_Cross_girl._August_1944.jpg)
One criticism of American Red Cross services to the military stems from stories about ARC charging troops during the Second World War and
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
token fees for "comfort items" such as toothpaste, coffee, donuts, and cigarettes and for off-base food and lodging. The fee suggestion had been made in a letter dated March 1942 from the Secretary of War
Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...
to Norman H. Davis, the chairman of ARC. The suggestion was that Allied soldiers were being charged money so Americans should be charged too so as to "ensure an equitable distribution among all service personnel of American Red Cross resources". The American Red Cross adopted the Secretary's suggestion as policy.
During World War II, ARC operated the
American Red Cross Clubmobile Service to provide servicemen with food, entertainment and "a connection home." In a June 18, 1945, address to Congress, General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
said of the American Red Cross service in World War II, "The Red Cross, with its clubs for recreation, its coffee and doughnuts in the forward areas, its readiness to meet the needs of the well and to help minister to the wounded has often seemed the friendly hand of this nation, reaching across the sea to sustain its fighting men." An account of one World War II American Red Cross Girl is recorded in ''Destination Unknown'' by Kathleen Cox; her mother, LeOna Cox, was recruited to American Red Cross Service by a fellow teacher at
Allegheny College
he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת
, mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1)
, faculty = 193 ...
. Another account of an American Red Cross World War II worker is related in letters by Evelyn Merritt Welden, compiled in the book ''How to Play During a War: A Free Spirit's Life in Letters'', by her son, Lynne Whelden.
![Great Lakes Naval Hospital 1966 - American Red Cross - Jennie Frankel and Terrie Frankel perform for wounded soldiers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Great_Lakes_Naval_Hospital_1966_-_American_Red_Cross_-_Jennie_Frankel_and_Terrie_Frankel_perform_for_wounded_soldiers.jpeg)
During the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
627 American women served in the ARC Supplemental Recreation Overseas Program. At the invitation of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
the "Donut Dollies" provided morale-boosting games to soldiers. Due to the mobility of the
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...
, Vietnam Donut Dollies were able to visit troops in forwarding operating positions. The 2008 documentary film ''
A Touch of Home: The Vietnam War's Red Cross Girls'' tells the story of these women. ARC also provided services to entertain wounded soldiers at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital during the Vietnam War.
In 2011, the Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) unit was reorganized and began receiving $24 million per year from Congress for operating expenses. Along with being downsized there was a consolidation into four regional locations (San Diego, California, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, Louisville, Kentucky, and Springfield, Massachusetts). In 2012 the first stories began breaking about long call times and the poor quality of response from call takers, along with questions about whether money was being used appropriately. In 2015, the San Diego and Springfield locations were closed because an online option for families was implemented.
Controversies
Johnson & Johnson suit over Red Cross image
![Flag of the Red Cross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Flag_of_the_Red_Cross.svg)
On August 7, 2007,
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
(J&J) filed suit against ARC over its sub licensing of the International Red Cross image for the production of first aid kits and similar products, which it alleged competed with the company's products. The suit also asked for the destruction of all non-Johnson & Johnson Red Cross Emblem bearing products and demanded that ARC pay
punitive damages
Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...
and J&J's legal fees.
The American Red Cross' position was that it had licensed its name to first aid kit makers in an effort to encourage readiness for disasters and that license revenues supported humanitarian work. J&J claimed that the American Red Cross's commercial ventures were outside the scope of historically well-agreed usage and were in direct violation of federal statutes.
Blood donation controversy
ARC faced criticism from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) advocacy organizations for prohibiting men who have sex with men
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiology, epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, r ...
(MSM) from donating blood. This policy was an FDA requirement for all blood collection companies and organizations in the United States. Specifically, the FDA instructs blood collection organizations to "defer for 12 months from the most recent sexual contact, a man who has had sex with another man during the past 12 months". Consequently, ARC was legally unable to collect blood from such men. In 2006, along with the AABB and America's Blood Centers
Founded in 1962, America's Blood Centers (ABC) is an association of independent non-profit blood centers that operates in Canada and the United States. ABC member organizations operate more than 600 blood collection sites providing close to 60 per ...
, ARC petitioned the FDA to remove the requirement from blood donations, citing better screening technologies. As of August 2020, the American Red Cross reports on its website that its deferral of MSM from donating blood for 3 months after any sexual contact with another man is aligned with the guidance issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Hurricane Katrina controversy
In March, 2006, investigations of allegations of fraud and theft by volunteers and contractors within ARC Katrina operations were launched by the Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI). In response, ARC increased its internal and external education of the organization's fraud and a waste hotline for confidential reporting to a third party agency. The organization also elected to implement a background check policy for all volunteers and staff, starting in 2006.
In April 2006, an unnamed former ARC official leaked reports made by the International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
and the British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
. Such reports are typical of a large-scale disaster relief operation involving other national Red Cross societies to solicit their input, but are usually confidential and not released to the general public. These particular reports were particularly critical of ARC operations in Katrina-affected regions, although the British Red Cross report strongly praised ARC volunteers for their efforts.
Question of spending in Haitian earthquake relief
After the 2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
, the Red Cross raised $490 million in relief donations. The charts put to the press claim that a substantial amount was spent in the years following, but first-person accounts share another story. As of 2015, a total of six homes were built.
Storms controversy (Hurricane Sandy, Isaac, other major storms)
In October 2014, independent public interest news broadcasters NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
and ProPublica
ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010P ...
published investigative reports on the Red Cross's handling of US East Coast Hurricanes Sandy
Sandy may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Sandy (surname), a list of people
*Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983)
* (Sandy) ...
and Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
, citing internal Red Cross documents and interviews with former Red Cross and government officials. It criticized the organization's response in failing to meet the immediate needs of victims. It also described "an organization so consumed with public relations that it hindered the charity's ability to provide disaster services."
See also
* American Red Cross Motor Corps
American Red Cross Motor Corps (also known as American Red Cross motor service) was founded in 1917 by the American Red Cross (ARC). The service was composed of women and it was developed to render supplementary aid to the U.S. Army and Navy in tr ...
* American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps
The American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps, also known as the Life-Saving Service of the American Red Cross, is the lifeguard body of the American Red Cross that began in 1912 as a response to the growing number of drowning deaths in th ...
References
Further reading
* Bane, Suda Lorena, and Ralph Haswell Lutz, eds. ''Organization of American Relief in Europe, 1918–1919'' (Stanford University Press, 1943).
* Davison, Henry P. ''The American Red Cross in the Great War'' (The Macmillan Company, 1919).
* Dulles, Foster Rhea. ''The American Red Cross: A History.'' (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1950).
* Egan, Timothy B. and Thanousone Pravongviengkham. "American Red Cross: A History and Analysis" (Defense Technical Information Center, 2016
online
* Fike, Claude E. "The Influence of the Creel Committee and the American Red Cross on Russian-American Relations, 1917–1919." ''Journal of Modern History'' 31#2 (1959): 93–109
online
* Irwin, Julia. ''Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation's Humanitarian Awakening.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
* Irwin, Julia. "The American Red Cross in Great War-Era Europe, 1914–1922." ''The Tocqueville Review'' 38.2 (2017): 117–131.
* Irwin, Julia F. "Teaching 'Americanism with a World Perspective': The Junior Red Cross in the U.S. Schools from 1917 to the 1920s." ''History of Education Quarterly;; 53#3 (2013), pp. 255–279
online
* Irwin, Julia F. "Nation Building and Rebuilding: The American Red Cross in Italy during the Great War." ''Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era'' 8#3 2009, pp. 407–43
online
* Jones, Marian Moser. ''The American Red Cross From Clara Barton to the New Deal.'' (Johns Hopkins University Press; 2013).
* Jones, Marian Moser. "The American Red Cross and Local Response to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: A Four-City Case Study." ''Public Health Reports'' vol. 125, 2010, pp. 92–104
online
* Kind-Kovács, Friederike. "The Great War, the child's body and the American Red Cross." ''European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire'' 23.1–2 (2016): 33–62, child-relief activities in Hungary 1919. https://doi.org/10.1080/13507486.2015.1121971
* Rodogno, Davide. "The American Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross: Humanitarian Politics and Policies in Asia Minor and Greece (1922–1923)." ''First World War Studies'' 5#1 (2014): 83–99
* Rozario, Kevin. "'Delicious horrors': Mass culture, the Red Cross, and the appeal of modern american humanitarianism." ''American Quarterly'' (2003) 55#3. 417–455
online
* Schmidt, Cheryl K. "In Our Community: American Red Cross Nursing: Essential to Disaster Relief." ''American Journal of Nursing'' 104#8 (2004): 35–38
online
* Whelden, Lynne Merritt. ''How to Play During a War: A Free Spirit's Life in Letters'' (Canton, PA: Lynne Whelden Productions; 2007).
External links
*
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Photos
**
* [https://statenisland.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/09E6345C-78F5-469C-ACDE-098342963330 American Red Cross Motor Service uniform, the 1940s, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database]
American Red Cross Nurse's Aide uniform, the 1940s, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database
Red Cross posters from World War I
from th
Elisabeth Ball Collection
Records of the American National Red Cross, 1881–2008
at the National Archives and Records Administration
*
*
{{Authority control
1881 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 1881
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
Volunteer groups in the United States