World War Two: Red Cross-Residents of America

- Saagarika and Olivia

Eighth Grade

"The Red Cross, with its clubs for recreation, its coffee and

doughnuts in the forward areas, its readiness to meet the needs of the well and to

help minister to the wounded . . . has often

seemed to be the friendly hand of this nation, reaching across the sea to sustain its

fighting men." - Gen. Dwight Eisenhower,

Address to Congress, June 18, 1945

Table of Contents

• Poster• Background information on the Red Cross• Poster• Red Cross: Encouraging women to help out• Poster• What the Red Cross Workers faced• Red Cross in this day of age• Posters• Conclusion• Poster

Background information on the Red Cross

• It is an American organization that is part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

• The Red Cross provides free emergency assistance in situations where people need help.

• The organization also gives people disaster relief. For example, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942, the Red Cross provided relief for the injured and they worked hard to help all the injured.

• It also provides education for children and adults in the United States.

Red Cross: Encouraging Women to work

• It was during World War I when women began to work in factories and industries, but when the troops returned from Europe they left their jobs.

• After they gave up their industrial jobs they returned to their usual routine of working at home.

• This was the time when the women’s help was most needed so the Red Cross took this opportunity to encourage women to help them in their efforts to make America victorious by helping the troops.

What the Red Cross workers faced?

• “Well, families then came looking for one last glimpse of their son, or their father, or their brother. And our chapter became a center of all of that activity. Once 30,000 volunteers helped out in the red cross. At one time we had 30,000 volunteers working in this area.” -- Margaret Duffy

• “When the trains pulled through... we had groups of women sometimes as early as six in the morning with doughnuts and coffee for these troop trains that came through with no food, nothing, for these service people [moving] from one military facility to another.” --Elise Steiner

Red Cross Today

• Victims of disaster from all around the world are being helped• Example: When Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar the Red Cross

donated $250,000 to relief efforts. Also, after China was devastated by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, the Red Cross responded by giving an initial $10 million for relief efforts.

• Responds immediately to more 70,000 disasters including fires, floods, hurricanes etc.

Conclusion

• As one can see the posters the Red Cross always asked for volunteers to help them in these tough times.

• The creation of the Red Cross has proved to be a great success.

• They help save many peoples lives and they are considered heroes today.

Work Cited

• http://www.redcross.org/news/in/profiles/Intl_profile_ChinaEarthquake.asp?s_src=pre_aspLink

• http://www.redcross.org/museum/history/WW2d.asp• http://www.redcross.org/news/in/profiles/

Intl_profile_MyanmarCyclone.asp?s_src=aspLink