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The American Red Cross is in your community:
DISASTER RESPONSE
Although the American Red Cross is not a government agency, its authority to provide disaster relief was formalized when, in 1905, the Red Cross was chartered by Congress. This distinguishes the Red Cross from all other domestic relief organizations. The Congressional 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 generously support its work with their donations. In New England, disaster responses involve residential fires, power outages, hazardous materials spills, flooding and coastal and seasonal storms. In addition to these recurrent incidents, the local Red Cross must be prepared to respond to large-scale disasters that occur on a less frequent basis such as hurricanes, aviation accidents, nuclear accidents, terrorist events and other mass casualty incidents. The Red Cross relies on financial contributions to provide direct relief, ensure adequate emergency capacity, maintain a trained corps of local volunteer responders and upgrade its disaster command center. When a disaster threatens or strikes, Red Cross relief teams provide on-site and follow-up disaster assistance by helping clients with a place to stay, food to eat, necessary medication or health items, clothes to wear and mental health services to address their basic human needs, recover from the disaster and resume their normal daily activities. All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people.
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
The American Red Cross teaches individuals, families, businesses, places of worship, community groups, and students how to prevent, prepare for, mitigate and respond to disasters. We provide trained professionals who will customize a presentation to meet the needs and interests of the audience. We also have a library of informational brochures to help educate members of our community. Red Cross preparedness education is disseminated through brochures, tip sheets, presentations, community partnerships and safety fairs. Instructors highlight the importance of understanding our region’s vulnerabilities and the vital steps needed to prepare for natural and man-made emergencies.
HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING
85 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur either at work or at home. More than 60 million injuries occur each year in workplaces and homes in the U.S. From first aid and CPR training to swimming and lifeguarding, and Babysitter's Training, American Red Cross Preparedness programs help people lead safer and healthier lives. For employers, providing Red Cross lifesaving and preparedness training to employees helps contribute to a safer workplace environment. Our training programs are developed in conjunction with leading medical authorities and the American Red Cross name and emblem carry a guarantee of quality, trust and reliability that you can believe in. The Red Cross constantly strives to respond to the preparedness concerns of Americans at home, in school and in the workplace. Today's innovative programs also include teaching lay persons and professionals how to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to save victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
HEALTH CARE JOB TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION
Our health care system is increasingly reliant on direct care workers. These paraprofessionals play a key role in the daily care of elderly and infirmed in their homes, at elder care facilities, and in hospitals. The Massachusetts Bay Red Cross chapter is the largest provider in the region for training nurse assistants and home health aides. Through a contract with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it is the state’s sole testing and certification agency for Nurse Aides and Medication Administration. The students, mostly women and immigrants aspiring for careers in health care, take this 100-hour Health Care Training course. The curriculum teaches students how to care for patients in long-term care facilities, hospitals, and home environments. More than 10,000 people have been trained for entry-level health care careers as Nurse Assistants and Home Health Aides since the program’s inception.
HUNGER RELIEF
Many people associate hunger with individuals who are homeless, unemployed or on welfare. However, an America’s Second Harvest study revealed that there is no one face to hunger. Locally, the Red Cross is a key provider in the region’s hunger relief system, operating food pantries in Boston, East Boston, Melrose, New Bedford and Waltham. In addition, the local Red Cross is a leader in bulk food collection and distribution. Food Drive for the Hungry is a food transportation program operated collaboratively with Project Bread that delivers food to over 200 emergency feeding locations including pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other community food programs.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICES
The American Red Cross works with a global network of Red Cross, Red Crescent and equivalent societies to restore hope and dignity to the world's vulnerable people. When conflict or natural disasters separate families, the Red Cross is often the link that reunites them. The role of national Red Cross or Red Crescent societies, including the American Red Cross, when responding to an international disaster or crisis is different from their responses to domestic disasters in their respective countries. Each society works in a coordinated manner with many global partners. International initiatives focus on primary health care, emergency response and preparedness, restoring family links, and the dissemination of international humanitarian law.
ARMED FORCES EMERGENCY SERVICES
Primary in its Congressional Charter, the Red Cross sends communications on behalf of family members who are facing emergencies or other important events to members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving all over the world. In addition, Red Cross workers in hundreds of chapters and on military installations brief departing service members and their families regarding available support services and explain how the Red Cross may assist them during their deployment.
VOLUNTEERISM
The Red Cross depends on volunteers, who constitute 97 percent of our nationwide work force, to carry on our humanitarian work. Massachusetts Bay volunteers generously donated a collective 100,000 hours of their time and expertise last year, 2,383 hours of which was on-the-scene assistance at local disasters.
Your local Red Cross chapter is committed to meeting the humanitarian needs of the people in your area, be it in disaster preparedness, disaster response, first aid and CPR training, job training and hunger relief. The American Red Cross relies on the support of the community and the generous financial contributions of corporations, individuals and foundations to provide its services. You can help support your local chapter by making a gift to the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay.
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