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Op-Ed: Building Our Youth for the Future
Brandon Feller, Special to Redcross.org
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 — Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said: “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
Brandon Feller is the Executive Director of Delaware County Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Chapter CEO Liaison to the National Youth Council.
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As the American Red Cross approaches its 125th year of service to humanity, it is absolutely imperative that it focuses energy on engaging new generations of dedicated Red Crossers to ensure yet another 125 years of outstanding public service.
Just as many adults have answered the recent call for volunteers, youth have been compelled to provide service – donating time and money – in compassion and love. The Delaware County Chapter, for example, was immediately inundated with checks from school after school. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our young people through much hard work and creativity raised a truly amazing amount of money to support families affected by our national tragedy.
Now is the time to capture this passion and provide an introduction of valuable chapter programs and services to this generation.
Involving youth and young adults is an advantage to any chapter and community to ensure the Red Cross can continue providing excellent service to its neighbors. Whether they are called upon to help raise money for disasters, teaching first aid and CPR, organizing blood drives, or providing office support, youth volunteers add value to Red Cross chapters, the organization and, ultimately, the communities it serves.
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
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