The American Red Cross is a Non-Profit organization that helps those in need. The Red Cross’s mission is to “prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.​”

In 1869, Clara Barton, the future founder of the American Red Cross, traveled to Switzerland and learned about the Red Cross Movement, which at the time was “An European humanitarian effort to provide neutral aid to those injured in combat.” When Clara learned about this, she signed up and served with the International Red Cross, helping civilians during the Franco-Prussian War.

After helping, she got the idea of bringing the Red Cross to the U.S. On May 21st, 1881, the American Red Cross was founded. By 1882, the Geneva Convention laws had changed to where Civilians and war-wounded people get protection in conflict zones. After 23 years, Clara Barton retired from her throne as the Red Cross President.

In modern times, the Red Cross has 3 functions. The Red Cross’s first function is disaster relief. Volunteers who respond to emergencies do so every 8 minutes. Roughly 95% of all people who work for the Cross are volunteers. The next function the Red Cross operates is blood donation. Roughly 40% of blood donations come from the Red Cross. The third and final service would be teaching the community stuff like how to do CPR or how to operate an AED.

Since the founding of the Red Cross in 1881, the Red Cross has been working miracles for people in many rough situations. So let’s take the month to appreciate those who volunteered for the Red Cross for the past 140 years.