By Annabelle Moore, volunteer contributor, American Red Cross North Texas

The American Red Cross has proudly served the U.S. military community for over 139 years. From connecting military members around the world to their loved ones back home through our emergency message system to supporting V.A. hospitals around the country, the American Red Cross is at work 24/7 every day of the year.

From the Spanish-American War in 1898 onward, the American Red Cross has been there to support our servicemen and women and their families. Clara Barton once said of her time as a nurse on the Civil War battlefields, “I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand to serve.”

Today, the American Red Cross provides services on all U.S. military installations and over 36 overseas locations around the world. 471,000 services are provided every year to service members, veterans and their families. From the day of enlistment, throughout time in service, deployments and retirement, we provide resiliency training, reconnection workshops and veteran’s services to help military families traverse the unique challenges of a life in service to our country.

We send thousands of emergency messages each year, provide pre-deployment support, information referral and offer a Military & Veteran Caregiver Network. American Red Cross volunteers working for the Service to the Armed Forces mission can help at VA hospitals, with resiliency and therapy programs and emergency communications.

Want to learn how you can support military members and their families in the North Texas Region? Become a volunteer today and search for SAF opportunities.