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“I didn’t know the Red Cross do that”: eight reasons we need your support this Appeal Week

By Victoria Watts
May 4, 2010 at 4:42 pm

“I didn’t know the Red Cross do that” – these are words I hear all the time. When I chat to people I know, I find they are constantly surprised by the sheer amount of things we do.

Some people associate us with first aid, others with responding to international disasters – but very few know the full scope of what the Red Cross does. In fact, having joined the Red Cross just six months ago myself, I’m one of the people who regularly say those words.

So as it’s Red Cross Appeal Week, I thought I’d attempt to encapsulate just some of what we do – to remind you exactly why we need your support this week and throughout the year.

• First of all, we work everywhere. The British Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – the world’s largest humanitarian network. It’s a volunteer-led organisation that helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are.

• Because we’re known for our neutrality, we‘re able to get access to places others can’t – when a cyclone hit Myanmar in 2008, we were one of only a few agencies allowed in. For me, this is one of the most attractive things about the organisation.

• We prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters both at home in the UK and overseas – from the Cockermouth floods to the food crisis in Kenya.

• We do health and social work around the world. For example, educating people about HIV to reduce stigma and help people get access to better care.

• We help vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers to adjust to their new life in the UK.

• We have an international tracing and messaging service that we use to help reconnect families after conflicts and disasters. Over 24,000 names were added to this list when the earthquake struck Haiti in January.

• We are also there to help people with the disasters that rarely make the headlines – for example after a house fire or traffic accident, or when adapting to life after a serious illness or disability. We set up rest centres and visit people in their home to help with their shopping.

• And we know that learning simple skills can save lives, so we have trained thousands of people in first aid skills, ensuring they are able to deal with a crisis themselves.

And that list is far from exhaustive – each of the things can be expanded upon, and it’s within each one that I constantly find projects that make me remember why I work here. Follow the links to explore our work yourselves. If not already, I’m sure you’ll find something that inspires you.

Sign up now to do your bit for Red Cross Appeal Week.

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Image © IFRC

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Tags: care in the home, disaster response, emergency response, First aid, Health and social care, HIV, International Federation, international tracing & message service, Red Cross Appeal Week, refugee services

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Fundraising and events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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