American Red Cross sets aside the month of March as Red Cross Month, a time to celebrate our everyday heroes who help their neighbors when they need it most. Red Cross depends on compassionate, local individuals to deliver help and hope to people in need during an emergency.
In fiscal year 2015, Red Cross New Jersey responded to 889 local disasters such as home fires and provided emergency assistance to 1,820 displaced families; collected 88,439 units of blood; provided 3,920 military family case services with emergency messages; helping families find assistance and/or get counseling and referrals; and trained 117,088 individuals with life-saving skills in preparedness, CPR, AED use, first aid and aquatics.
March is a great time to become part of the Red Cross. It’s easy. You can make a difference in your community by signing up to be a Red Cross volunteer, blood donor or financial contributor by going to RedCross.org/NJ. You can also help make your own family safer this March by taking two simple steps: practice your family’s fire escape plan and test your smoke alarms. More information and free tools are available at RedCross.org/FireSafety.
Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. People can also help the Red Cross while filing their 2015 state tax returns. Donations can be made by checking box 64 on the NJ-1040 Form and entering code 14 for the American Red Cross-NJ Fund.
Thank you to all the Red Cross supporters in New Jersey who assist their neighbors during life’s darkest hours. We are deeply grateful.
The author is a board member and past board chairman for the American Red Cross Southern Shore Chapter.
Avalon – Eighty percent of working-age Americans have jobs, and the average after-tax income is up almost $4,000 since before the pandemic, significantly outpacing inflation.
