The American Red Cross is one of our nations premier humanitarian organizations and is dedicated to helping people in need around the world.
The group was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton and a circle of her acquaintances. Ms. Barton was in Europe following the Civil War and that is where she first heard of the Swiss-inspired Red Cross Movement. When Ms. Barton returned to the U.S., she started campaigning for an American Red Cross society and for ratification of the Geneva Convention that protects the war-injured. The U.S. ratified the Geneva Convention in 1882.
During her 23 years of leadership, the Red Cross conducted its first domestic and overseas disaster relief, gave aid to the military during the Spanish-American War and campaigned successfully for the inclusion of peace time relief work.
When World War 1 broke out, the Red Cross experienced phenomenal growth. Membership grew from 17,000 to more than 20 million adult and 11 million Junior Red Cross members. They staffed hospitals and ambulance companies. They also recruited 20,000 nurses to serve the military.
The Red Cross provided extensive services during World War 2. More than 104,000 nurses were called to provide service to the military and 27 million packages were prepared for American and Allied prisoners of war. More than 300,000 tons of supplies were shipped overseas. The Red Cross also initiated a national blood program and collected 13.3 million pints of blood for use by the armed forces.
After the war, they introduced a civilian blood program. The Red Cross now supplies nearly 50% of the blood in the U.S.
The Red Cross is an independent – volunteer – led organization and is financially supported by public donations and cost-reimbursements.
