Red Cross Blogs

Imagine a world without the Red Cross: why we need your help this Red Cross Week

By Victoria Watts
April 28, 2011 at 2:46 pm

The year so far has been a sombre reminder of how much your support and the Red Cross is needed around the world. In the space of just six weeks, we launched four emergency appeals for New Zealand, Libya, Japan and the Ivory Coast. Sometimes, when watching the news, it felt like the world was falling down around you.

But working at the Red Cross gave me hope. I watched my Twitter feed as donation after donation came in and hundreds of fundraising events were shared. I read accounts of Red Cross volunteers working through the night, shared in a flurry of activity within the office, and smiled at the stories of people who were being helped. These situations aren’t hopeless; with your support, we are doing something to help.

In it for the long run

When the media moves on, the Red Cross stays. Haiti, Pakistan, Myanmar; we are still working in all of these countries, and more, helping people to rebuild and move on with their lives. Homes have been built, schools opened and waterways restored; we are making a difference.

Worldwide support

It’s not just about the headline-hitting crises. Every day, people around the world rely on the Red Cross for help. We are helping women in Kyrgyzstan to better provide for their families, caring for elderly people in Mongolia and finding ways to slow the spread of HIV in South Africa. Explore our interactive map to see where else in the world we are helping.

Helping at home

We also work in the UK. Our volunteers care for people who are recovering from a stay in hospital; help refugees adjust to life in a foreign country; and help families who have lost everything in a house fire. The list goes on and on.

Preparing for the future

Perhaps one of the most important things the Red Cross does is help people prepare for emergencies. We train people in first aid and help people in disaster-prone areas to spot the early-warning signs – saving countless lives.

Imagine if the Red Cross wasn’t here and none of this could be done – the lives that wouldn’t be improved, the hope that would be lost.

Without your support, this would be a reality; the Red Cross would cease to exist – and that’s why we need your help this Red Cross Week.

As little as £1 can help

Even as little as £1 can make a difference. It can:

• feed a malnourished baby for a week
• provide 375 litres of clean water in Pakistan
• buy toiletries for a family who have lost everything in a house fire
• provide six months’ counselling for a child affected by conflict in Sierra Leone
• buy a bandage to teach first aid.

Make it £5 and we can do it all. Make it £10 and we can do it all twice, and so the pattern goes on. The more we raise, the more we can do.

Donate online to Red Cross Week

Text GIVE to 70600 to donate £5

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Tags: fundraising, rcw, red cross week

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 28th, 2011 at 2:46 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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