The American Red Cross in the National Capital Region recognizes and thanks our supporters and volunteers whose efforts enable the Red Cross to respond to disasters down the street, across the country and around the world.

“The Red Cross works tirelessly to be there with help and hope when people need it most–and we are grateful for the public support that enables us to continue our work – here at home and abroad,” said CEO Linda Mathes. “Our community and our nation depend on the Red Cross in times of need, and the Red Cross depends on the support of our neighbors to achieve our mission. We know that strength here means strength there, as evidenced by our staff and volunteers deployed to help in Haiti.”

In the National Capital Region, our Red Cross last year provided:

Disaster Relief and Community Disaster Education

When a disaster threatens or strikes, the Red Cross is there.  968 volunteers responded to 452 local disasters. We helped 802 affected families with emergency food, shelter and supplies. Because being prepared can make your family and community safer and sometimes minimize injury and destruction, we provided disaster education presentations to 154,301 individuals in the community to educate, equip and empower them to prevent and prepare for disasters or other life-threatening emergencies.

Health and Safety Services

From first aid, CPR and AED training to swimming and lifeguarding, Red Cross programs help people lead safer and healthier lives. Health and Safety enrolled 95,591 people in over 10,634 classes – totaling more than 100,000 individuals in our community who have learned lifesaving skills through classes offered within the region.

Service to the Armed Forces

The American Red Cross provides communication between those in the Armed Forces stationed away from home and their families. We have a worldwide network that reaches service members wherever they are to communicate the birth of a child or the death or illness of a loved one. We provided 11,439 services and assistance to over 975 military families.

International Services

The international tracing program helps local families find relatives with whom they have lost contact because of a natural disaster, war or internal conflict. We provided assistance to 142 families through this service.

Community Services

45,809 people in the region were touched by Red Cross. We depend on volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to carry out our work. Volunteers constitute 97 percent of our total workforce; they serve as members of our board, act as instructors teaching lifesaving skills, participate as disaster action team members, office administrators, event organizers and more. 5,499 volunteers made the work of this region possible.

Many thanks to our donors and volunteers for making all of this possible in the National Capital Region.