Daniel deRoos

UWRT 1102
Professor Brown

Advocacy as Literacy
The American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is an organization which has been helping
people for many years. They take donations and put them toward helping
people in times of need. They are a valued institution in the US. The Red
Cross started in Geneva Switzerland where It provided care to wounded and
sick people starting in 1863. Clara Barton started a branch of the Red Cross
in the US in 1881. It was called the American Red Cross. The American Red
Cross takes donations and uses them to help the victims of disasters, wars,
and other times of need. The American Red Cross responds to about 63,000
disasters every year. The American Red Cross has some paid employees as
well as many volunteers. (American Red Cross). We have come across some
of these volunteers through our local blood drives on campus.
Growing up, Clara Barton nursed her brother when he became ill. The
doctors said that her brother had too much bad blood in him. Back then,
doctors used a thing called leech treatment. It required letting leeches suck
out blood from the body. Clara herself, gave her brother all of his medicine
and performed the leech treatment. It is said that Barton saved her brother

by providing him constant attention during his illness. All of these medical
activities sparked Bartons interest in helping take care of sick and or
wounded people. The Civil War was when Clara Barton first started to provide
medical aid and supplies to victims of the war. There were few proper
hospitals and medical treatment and supplies were scarce. One of Bartons
first contributions was stocking supplies and sending them to the front lines
during the war. When Barton asked for permission to go to the front lines to
help wounded soldiers, she was ridiculed because she was a woman, but she
finally got permission. She brought bandages, salves, honey, soup, bread,
crackers, and other items. One time during the war, a barn was set up as a
hospital and run by Barton. The line of patients had Union and Confederate
soldiers in it.
When Barton went to Europe she had an opportunity to see how the Red
Cross in Switzerland worked. She joined the Red Cross in 1870. They worked
under the Treaty of Geneva whose goal was to provide aid to all during
wartime and establish regulated treatments for POW and wounded soldiers.
When Barton saw how smoothly and organized the Red Cross operated and
functioned, she was inspired to get the US to sign the Treaty of Geneva. This
original group came up with the sign of the Red Cross which is now
recognized almost everywhere as a medical beacon.

Many natural disasters in the US caused need for an organization

which would provide a variety of support. Barton worked very hard to
convince the US that the American Red Cross was needed because other
organizations were working to gain the confidence of the US. She also sited
that help could be provided during droughts, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes,
and other disasters. At that time nobody knew who to donate money to or
where to go to volunteer during times of need.

Ever since the American Red Cross was established, many different programs
branched out from it. They sponsor many first aid training programs, hold
many fundraisers such as the Christmas Seals sale, and also sponsors
HIV/AIDS protection programs. These programs are formed to try and
educate people to make wise decisions in what they do throughout their
lives. The American Red Cross also helped to start the YMCA which has
become a huge and major organization. Another program started by the
American Red Cross was the tissue-donating program. The American Red
Cross collects nearly one quarter of the nations tissue and they are one of
the biggest tissue collectors in the US. By 1994 they had collected more than
38,000 pieces of tissue and by 1995 it had nineteen tissue donating centers
throughout the US. The American Red Cross also collects blood. They have
been the primary provider of blood and blood products for more than fifty
years. UNCC had a session in early January that many students participated
in. I donated double red blood cells during this particular blood drive.

The American Red Cross provides aid during many natural disasters.
One of the most famous disasters was Hurricane Hugo. It was the biggest
disaster in the American Red Crosss History. It swept through the Caribbean,
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and South Carolina in 1989. The
American Red Cross provided emergency supplies and temporary repairing of
buildings. Over 116,000 individuals and families were affected. The American
Red Cross also operated over 470 shelters. The hurricane destroyed 16,500
dwellings and damaged 140,000 others. It killed at least 65 people and
disrupted the areas water and electricity. In the Caribbean over 300 paid
staff and disaster specialists were assigned to help and 230 paid employees
were assigned in the US. This hurricane cost 64 million dollars worth of
damage. The American Red Cross helped rebuild homes, clean up damage,
and to provide shelter for those who lost homes. 30 days after Hugo hit, an
earthquake rocked North Carolina. This disaster completely depleted the
American Red Crosss budget. The US showed major support and donated
tons of money.
The Red Cross has helped many people and the Red Cross will
hopefully continue contributing to the US and other parts of the world for
many years to come. They have been working very hard since the 9/11
tragedy. For all that the American Red Cross has done, we can all do our part
in helping them out by donating time, money, and/or blood to save the many
lives of people who have lost much through natural disasters.