United We Serve – Red Cross Volunteers Fit the Bill
June 22, 2009 — The American Red Cross invites you to be part of the new United We Serve program by serving your community as a Red Cross volunteer.
“As an organization that runs on the valuable service of volunteers, the American Red Cross believes that the United We Serve initiative is a great opportunity to attract new volunteers to help people in need of emergency services,” said Gail McGovern, Red Cross President and CEO. “We are encouraging our chapters, blood services regions and Service to the Armed Forces centers to be actively involved in United We Serve to draw attention to the volunteer opportunities that support the Red Cross, to engage new volunteers in meaningful ways, and to recognize and sustain the contributions of our current volunteers.”
“We invite everyone to be a part of United We Serve by becoming a Red Cross volunteer,” McGovern added. “By volunteering with the American Red Cross, you can change a life, starting with your own.”
Red Cross volunteers can get involved and support their communities in a number of ways, such as building Red Cross disaster kits, giving blood, recruiting blood donors, or enrolling people in First Aid and CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) training. Throughout the summer, the Red Cross will offer new ways for volunteers to provide direct community services.
United We Serve will run for 81 days – culminating in a National Day of Service on September 11.
President Obama’s call last week for Americans to volunteer together to serve their communities was officially launched today by First Lady Michelle Obama in San Francisco at the Corporation for National and Community Service’s National Meeting. Top Red Cross leaders, including Pam Farr, Red Cross National Chair of Volunteers, and Harold Brooks, CEO for the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, who is also on the California Host Committee for the meeting, attended the event where the initiative kicked off.
Last week, Sonal Shah, Deputy Assistant to the President, Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, met with the Red Cross Board of Governors, Diversity Advisory Council and senior staff. Shah described the role of the newly created Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation as it focuses on promoting national service and supporting greater civic participation through new media tools. She also thanked the Red Cross for all the great work done over the years and asked for assistance this summer to help make the United We Serve initiative a success.
The President is asking everyone to help renew the nation and build its recovery by starting a grassroots effort at home to improve their own neighborhoods. To find out how you can volunteer for the Red Cross and be part of United We Serve, call or visit the Houston Red Cross at 713-526-8300 and ask for the Office of Volunteers or check www.Serve.gov.
This summer, change a life, starting with your own.
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