By Lisa Morgan, staff contributor, American Red Cross North Texas Region

Every day, as part of the American Red Cross mission, we work to prevent and alleviate the suffering of people in the communities we serve. Here in the North Texas area, we have proudly served the Dallas-Fort Worth community for over a century by:

• Helping families recover from disasters including home fires 
• Collecting blood used for patients who need an unexpected surgery due to an accident or premature birth
• Teaching life-sustaining CPR, equipping a wife with the skills needed to save her husband’s life
• Supporting military members, veterans and their families as they navigate the emotional challenges of military service
• Reconnecting families that have been scattered because of a large-scale disaster or international conflict

At the Red Cross, we believe in neighbors helping neighbors. Throughout the year, we recognize local heroes who help others by using the lifesaving skills they were taught by the Red Cross.

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Learning these lifesaving skills can also prove beneficial during disasters. Believe it or not, the most frequent disaster that occurs across the country multiple times a day are home fires. In 2020, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone, we responded to more than 700 home fires and helped over 1,400 families.

Throughout the pandemic, while volunteers were assisting in our disaster response, hundreds of new blood donors stepped up to help maintain a diverse blood supply for patients in need. However, the need for blood remains constant and more donors are needed every day. Blood and platelet donations are used for a variety of reasons and are vital to patients receiving cancer treatment or those with chronic illnesses, like sickle cell disease, that requires blood products to continue their treatment regimen.

At the heart of each of these services are incredible humanitarians who live right here in North Texas. More than 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce is comprised of volunteers. We are extremely grateful to these local heroes who deliver the Red Cross mission by bringing help and hope to the communities we serve.

The generosity of our donors enables us to restore hope to communities and families that have lost everything and whose lives have been turned upside down because of any number of unexpected events. Because of their continued commitment to helping those who need it most, we are thrilled to be participating in this year’s North Texas Giving Day on September 23.

This year, we invite you to show your support for the Red Cross mission by giving the gift of time by volunteering, blood by scheduling an appointment to donate, or through a monetary gift to continue moving the mission forward.