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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Founding
The ICRC was founded in Geneva, Switzerland by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier. -
Founding of American Red Cross
Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in Washington DC -
Congressional Charter
Duties:- to fulfill the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, to which the United States is a signatory, assigned to national societies for the protection of victims of conflict,
- to provide family communications and other forms of support to the U.S. military, and
- to maintain a system of domestic and international disaster relief, including mandated responsibilities under the National Response Framework coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
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World War 1
According to the Red Cross:
"The number of local chapters jumped from 107 in 1914 to 3,864 in 1918 and membership grew from 17,000 to over 20 million adult and 11 million Junior Red Cross members. The public contributed $400 million in funds and material to support Red Cross programs, including those for American and Allied forces and civilian refugees. The Red Cross staffed hospitals and ambulance companies and recruited
20,000 registered nurses to serve the military." -
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World War II
According to the Red Cross:
"The Second World War called upon the Red Cross to provide extensive services once again to the U.S. military,
Allies, and civilian war victims. We enrolled more than 104,000 nurses for military service, prepared 27 million packages for American and Allied prisoners of war, and shipped over 300,000 tons of supplies overseas." -
Blood Program
In 1941, the Red Cross began a blood donation program at the request of the military that ended in 1945 after collecting around 13.3 million pints of blood. -
Nationwide Blood Program
After WWII, the Red Cross created the first blood program that covered the entire nation, and it currently supplies over 40% of the blood/blood products in America today. -
Modernization of blood products
During the 1990's, the Red Cross modernized their blood services so that blood being transferred would not be rejected (not fitting with the body). This 287 million dollar project was completed in Feb. 1999. -
Current CEO is elected
Gail J. McGovern was elected as CEO of the American Red Cross on June 23, 2008. -
Hurricane Harvey
The Red Cross is preparing shelters for Hurricane Harvey relief, but some executive officers at the site couldn't tell people what percentage of their donations went to Hurricane Harvey relief. Now, many people are discouraging donating to the Red Cross and instead donating to other charities.