CLEARFIELD – American Red Cross, Armed Forces Emergency Services Chairman, Mike Kennedy presented a “Get To Know Us Before You Need Us” presentation on May 5 to members of the U.S. Army Reserve in Clearfield.
The presentation ensures local military members understand the services that are available to them through the Red Cross in the event they are called to serve their country away from home. The Red Cross provides emergency services to military members and their families not only when deployed in time of war but also when families are separated by annual training or military schools. Every day, the Red Cross carries the sad news of a death or illness of a family member, or the joyful news of a birth, to servicemen and women worldwide, often arranging emergency travel, enabling military families to be together. The long separations and stressful situations that occur when a service member deploys often place a serious emotional strain on families.
The Red Cross links military personnel and their families through services which include confidential counseling as well as neutral, impartial assistance when and where needed, particularly during times of crisis at home. Community-based military members and their families are entitled to the same valuable Red Cross emergency services as full-time active duty personnel.
The Red Cross said everyone can can help by keeping close at hand specific information you will need to quickly contact someone in the military. This includes their full name, social security number, address where they are deployed, home base unit and name and phone number of your local Red Cross chapter.
For detailed information on how to contact military family members, contact the Clearfield-Jefferson Red Cross at 765-5516 or visit the office at 309 W. Locust St. in Clearfield.
The American Red Cross is dedicated to saving lives, easing suffering and restoring hope at home and around the world. Currently operating on a budget of $2.7 billion, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to the victims of more than 67,000 disasters nationwide and has been the primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the United States for more than 50 years. In 2000, the Red Cross also trained almost 12 million people in vital lifesaving skills and delivered more than 21 million locally relevant community services. The organization also assisted international disaster and conflict victims in close to 40 locations around the globe, and its emergency communication centers processed 1.2 million calls in support of U.S. military families.