Red Cross Volunteers are People in Action

Contact: Janice Osborne, Director-Communications and Marketing
American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley
(610) 865-4400, ext. 262; pager (610) 830-9771


This is National Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate our Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter volunteers. This year's theme, Celebrating People in Action, aptly describes our volunteers. Red Cross volunteers are doers. Red Cross volunteers are people in action.

Our chapter has more than 1,800 volunteers from all walks of life. They come together with one common purpose - to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve…. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love…."

With hearts full of grace and souls generated by love Red Cross volunteers are always ready to step in and help people down the street, across the nation and around the world. They teach lifesaving safety courses such as first aid, CPR, babysitting and care giving. Volunteers serve veterans, members of the military, and their families; work at blood drives; respond to large and small disasters; and provide international tracing services.

During National Volunteer Week the Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter wants to thank each volunteer. We take this time to recognize the selfless gifts of time, money and blood the Red Cross has received from the greater Lehigh Valley community.

National Volunteer Week is also a time to invite you to join us. If you are not a volunteer, give the Red Cross a try. Red Crossers are people who are trained to perform extraordinary acts in the face of emergencies. To volunteer, contact COO Bob Duld at 610-865-4400, ext. 229.

The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley serves residents of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross helped more than 76,500 people through preparedness and training, military personnel support, senior lifesaving programs and services, emergency relief and information and referral. The Red Cross is a charitable organization - not a government agency - and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information about the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley or volunteer opportunities, call (610) 865-4400 or visit www.redcrosslv.org.