Red Cross Month/Women's History Month

The month of March is 'Red Cross Month', as proclaimed by Franklin Roosevelt in 1943.

This year the theme for Red Cross Month is 'Preparedness'.

Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans is concerned about terrorism and both man made and natural disasters.

Close to 60 percent of Americans are wholly unprepared for a disaster of any description, said Evans. They don't have a family emergency plan, nor are they aware of school, workplace and community procedures. They have not stocked emergency supplies, nor have they sought even basic first-aid and CPR training. They're not giving blood, nor are they donating their time or money to emergency support services like the American Red Cross.”

Clara Barton was the founder of the American Red Cross on May 21, 1881. She was inspired to do this whtravelingling in Europe and witnessing the Swiss-inspired international Red Cross movement.

The Red Cross has been involved in every major war since WWI. Even though it is a volunteer organization independent of the government,it works with the government towards the promotion of its objectives.

My grandma Annie Bryan Hamby was in the Red Cross. I remember she said she volunteered in an emergency room, but I don't remember if it was St. Elizabeth or Baptist Hospital in Beaumont.

I do know that she also brought many an injured person into her living room to care for injured people that were not able to successfully negotiate the intersection at Concord and Redwood.

The month of March is also Woman's History Month. Since there are a lot of important women to recognize, I offer you this link:

http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/womhist.html

It is the product of a class assignment that Glendale College Associate Professor Mike Eberts assigned to some of his students. They assembled a web page of important links relevant to the tenor of the month.