The American Red Cross has one of the most widely recognized logos in the world. You know who we are but do you know the services we provide? More importantly, do you know the services our county chapter provides the residents of Gloucester County?

Although we have one of the oldest chartered Red Cross Chapters in New Jersey, dating back to May 1917, our original “Gray Ladies” who volunteered to assist with the United States war effort through local hospital auxiliary services would hardly recognize the current chapter’s many services.

The American Red Cross has one of the most widely recognized logos in the world. You know who we are but do you know the services we provide? More importantly, do you know the services our county chapter provides the residents of Gloucester County?

Although we have one of the oldest chartered Red Cross Chapters in New Jersey, dating back to May 1917, our original “Gray Ladies” who volunteered to assist with the United States war effort through local hospital auxiliary services would hardly recognize the current chapter’s many services.

Today, our most widely recognized service is blood donations. Last year we collected over 13,000 units of blood in Gloucester County. As impressive as that sounds, our regional area actually imports units of blood from other blood regions across the country to meet the high demand of local research, surgical and transplant hospitals in the Philadelphia area.

Another vital service we offer is Emergency Services. We offer victims of disaster assistance 365 days a year, 24 hours a day service. When a resident experiences the loss of their home we provide immediate food, clothing and temporary housing impartially, based on individual need, free of charge. We also offer referrals to other social service agencies that assist in the resident’s personal recovery. Other emergency services include training classes in shelter care, family services (including house fire response), and disaster preparedness for hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters. These classes are taught at our chapter house but may also be taught at county business or civic group locations upon request. All disaster training classes provide certification upon successful completion and are offered free of charge through our Gloucester County United Way funding.

Armed Forces Emergency Communication has long been a proud service we offer to Gloucester County residents. Notification to and from our military personnel for emergency verification of urgent situations anywhere in the world they are stationed is conducted around the clock by chapter personnel and volunteers 365 days a year. Person to person contact is a top priority and is addressed with our immediate response. Military emergency verification service is provided free of charge to Gloucester County military personnel and their families through our GC United Way funding.

Our health and safety services have seen a tremendous growth in recent years, both in number of classes taught and variety of course selections. We currently offer first aid, CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator) trainings for both the lay responder and professional rescuers. These classes are taught at our chapter house and at area businesses and other sites upon request. Lifeguard training is one of our most popular health and safety classes. Class participants must be at least 15 years of age and upon course completion, a three-year certification certificate is awarded. Additional health and safety classes include babysitting, basic aid training for elementary age children and first aid training for even pre school participants. Pet first aid is also offered here at our chapter house, upon request and enrollment at area county locations. We have several actual size cat and dog training mannequins to assist with this class.

This has been an overview of some of our services. We would like to discuss the importance of you and your business being prepared for a local disaster or medical emergency. We understand many businesses need to be in compliance with OSHA health and safety requirements. We train county residents and employees to prevent, prepare and respond to emergency situations. Let us show you how.