By volunteering with the American Red Cross, you can change a life, starting with your own

The American Red Cross invites you to be part of your community as a Red Cross volunteer. As an organization that runs on the valuable service of volunteers, the American Red Cross believes that there is a great opportunity for new volunteers to help people in need of emergency services.

Red Cross volunteers can get involved and support their communities in a number of ways, such as building Red Cross disaster kits, giving blood, recruiting blood donors, or enrolling people in First Aid and CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) training.

In 2009 President Obama called for Americans to volunteer together to serve their communities. The President is asking everyone to help renew the nation and build its recovery by starting a grassroots effort at home to improve their own neighborhoods.

Youth Volunteers

Young volunteers to the Red Cross gave a number of reasons for wanting to serve. Many volunteered to have something positive to do during the summer, or because they needed service learning hours. Some, however, signed up for the sheer joy of helping others, such as one student who said, “I love volunteering and I recently decided to do more volunteer work rather than play a varsity sport my senior year.”

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.

Volunteer PDF