American Red Cross Organizational Structure

American Red Cross The American Red Cross embodies what an organization is, in fact; they are one of the most influential organizations in the world. They are a purely charitable organization, they only use the money from their very generous donors and all people that are a part of The American Red Cross are strictly volunteers, they receive no compensation for their work. They have fought to change public policy on many health issues and want to teach people how to react to disasters. They have saved many lives around the world and are a beacon of hope to those millions of people who suffered through disasters. American Red Cross was founded in Washington D.C. on May 21, 1881 by Clara Barton. Barton ended up leading the organization for 23 years. They introduced its first aid and charities before World War One. They even started our country’s first blood program for American troops in World War Two. “In 1947, the Red Cross Board of Governors approved the introduction of a national civilian blood program, the largest peacetime health project
For American Red Cross, that purpose is “to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors” (AmericanRedCross). They try their hardest to spend all of the money donated to provide relief. “Red Cross committed to spending ninety-nine percent of donations during Hurricane Sandy” (AmericanRedCross). All of the people that provide aid to those afflicted by these disasters are volunteers. In his book The American Red Cross, Patrick Gilbo writes; “American Contributions have supported major feeding, sheltering, and medical operations conducted by the Red Cross.” (83) This is a testament to all those unselfish people that support the Red Cross. These people also came through in 2010 when a huge earthquake leveled