The Red Cross urges people to volunteer | Community Spirit

This National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, the American Red Cross Alabama Region is celebrating its dedicated volunteers and partners. These volunteers power the American Red Cross, making it possible for the organization to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.

The Red Cross is also encouraging people who have been thinking about volunteering to take the plunge. People wanting to make a difference should contact the Alabama Region to learn about getting involved. Right now the Red Cross especially needs people who are interested in become trained disaster volunteers and can also help with daily office duties.

Volunteers are central to the work of the Red Cross in Alabama and in communities across the country, as on average, the Red Cross has 15 volunteers for every one employee. These volunteers are people in action—whether providing comfort to a family whose home has been washed away in a flood or getting an emergency message to a member of the military whose father is critically ill.

American Red Cross volunteers:

• Teach first aid, CPR, swimming and other lifesaving skills.
• Respond to disasters and reconnect families separated by disasters or conflict.
• Support blood drives across the country.
• Help veterans, members of the military and their families in the U.S. and overseas.

Red Cross volunteers are united by their service and the feeling that in changing others’ lives, their lives are also changed. To volunteer, contact a Volunteer Development Specialist by filling out a volunteer application on www.alredcross.org.

Source: American Red Cross Alabama Region