Do you remember seeing the survivors of the U.S. Airways flight that crashed into the Hudson? They clutched their Red Cross blankets. The water was ice cold, and the passengers were freezing.
The next day when they boarded a new flight, they were still holding on to their Red Cross blankets. When asked why, many of them said that the Red Cross emblem on the blankets was the symbol of being a survivor – a symbol that represented safety, security, compassion, and humanity – and they weren’t ready to give that up.
In times of crisis, we want to be the blanket that wraps and protects you and your family. But when you are not in crisis, we want to be the conduit for your caring. At the heart of the Red Cross is what lives in the hearts of all of us, the innate desire to help change the life of another, and in the process, change our own.
We all have this deep need within us. Somewhere between our hearts and our heads lives the desire to give of ourselves in a meaningful way, to touch a life, to make a difference, to feel that we’re a part of something bigger than ourselves.
When an emergency strikes, when disaster hits, be it a home fire or a heart attack, a call for blood or a call for help, that’s when the human spirit rises to the occasion. When people put their need to give into action, it’s at that time that your money becomes the blankets wrapped around a family. Your day spent in a training seminar saves the life of a stranger who’s had a heart attack.
To the world, the American Red Cross is the helping hand at times of disaster, but our foundation is made up of the millions of individuals who give of their time, money, sweat, and tears. We are simply the vessel that gives people the opportunity to perform extraordinary acts of compassion.
We organize, we encourage, but most of all we empower people who want to know that when they reach out, they can touch others; to know that their desire to make a difference in the world actually does.
Across the United States, March is recognized as American Red Cross Month. As one of the nation’s best-known humanitarian organizations, the Red Cross has been at the forefront of helping Americans prevent, prepare for and respond to small and large scale disasters for 127 years. In the past year alone, the American Red Cross Mile High Chapter responded to 291 local emergencies, assisted 992 military families and trained nearly 60,000 people in lifesaving skills.
Communities depend on the Red Cross in times of need, and we depend on the support of Coloradoans to achieve our mission. You can learn CPR, provide medical transportation to chronically ill individuals, volunteer to help communities facing natural disaster, or make a financial contribution. We receive no government funding and because we maximize every dollar donated, we keep staffing and overhead to a minimum.
This March, join the roll call of volunteers, donors, and corporate citizens who truly make up the collective Red Cross. Look for the Red Cross banners around Denver and the large red cross that hangs from the Pepsi Center. They celebrate our many volunteers and donors that make this work possible.
Please, support the Red Cross and change a life, starting with your own. For information about donating, training or volunteering, please visit www.denver-redcross.org.
Charley Shimanski is the chief executive officer for the American Red Cross Mile High Chapter. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
