WHEREAS, The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, a woman selflessly devoted to the needs of humanity, and chartered in the City of
Philadelphia in 1916; and
WHEREAS, Compassion, courage, character, civic duty - are inherent in the Red Cross mission to prevent and relieve human suffering, and the City of Philadelphia shares these grand ideals; and
WHEREAS, The Red Cross, chartered and authorized by Congress to act in times of need, providing compassionate assistance to people afflicted by personal, local or national disasters; and
WHEREAS, Red Cross volunteers from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter responded to more than 850 disasters last year- providing thousands of City residents with food, clothing, shelter and mental health support; and
WHEREAS, People have counted on the Red Cross for the information and skills they need to be safe at home, at work, at school and at play. Last year, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter trained 310,000 people in lifesaving CPR and first aid, as well as the state-of-the-art Automatic External Defibrillator, which will save approximately 100,000 lives this year nationwide; and
WHEREAS, The American Red Cross reached more than 40,000 students in the School District of Philadelphia last year with some form of health, safety, leadership, or disaster education training; and
WHEREAS, The American Red Cross, through its Penn-Jersey Blood Region, provides lifesaving blood and blood products whenever and wherever needed - always with the safety of the blood supply as its number one priority; and
WHEREAS, In 1943, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called upon the American people with this request: "... that during this month our people rededicate themselves to the splendid aims and activities of the Red Cross."
RESOLVED, Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in Council by the Charter of the great City of Philadelphia, do hereby proclaim March 2001 as American Red Cross Month.
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