Statements
Mission
The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
Vision: The American Red Cross, through its strong network of volunteers, donors and partners, is always there in times of need.
We aspire to turn compassion into action so that...
...all people affected by disaster across the country and around the world receive care, shelter and hope;
...our communities are ready and prepared for disasters;
...everyone in our country has access to safe, lifesaving blood and blood products;
...all members of our armed services and their families find support and comfort whenever needed; and
...in an emergency, there are always trained individuals nearby, ready to use their Red Cross skills to save lives.
Fundamental Principles of the Global Red Cross Network
Humanity
Impartiality
Neutrality
Independence
Voluntary Service
Unity
Universality
Background
The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, provides relief to victims of disaster and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to life-threatening emergencies. Through the efforts of less than two dozen full-time staff and a roster of trained volunteers, the Nashville Area (Regional Headquarters) Chapter accomplishes our timeless humanitarian mission 24 /7/365. Service delivery includes emergency relief to over 1,500 disaster clients who typically have lost their homes to a fire or other disaster; facilitating emergency communications and assistance to armed forces and their families; international tracing to reunite loved ones separated due to war, natural disaster or civil unrest; emergency response education with a focus on how to prepare for disasters; selling preparedness products such as AEDs and first aid kits. An extensive training curriculum is offered to include basic first aid, use of an AED, water safety, swimming, and targeted courses such as babysitter training and pet first aid. All are made possible only by securing and sustaining a diversified portfolio of revenue resources.
Impact
The Nashville Regional Chapter of the American Red Cross seeks to make Middle Tennessee the safest and most prepared region in our nation by training and educating individuals and companies on what to do to avoid or mitigate the adverse effects of a natural or man-made disaster. Red Cross is an initial responder to assist police, fire and government when a disaster strikes locally or regionally.
The strategic goals for the upcoming year include: (1) Sustaining our community during the first five days of a catastrophic disaster by securing the necessary material resources and deployment of a trained volunteer corps (2) Preparing middle Tennesseans for disasters and other life-threatening emergencies in advance (3) Becoming recognized as a national innovator in disaster response, community preparedness and volunteer training excellence (4) Being valued as a charity of choice with strong and visible community presence (5) Maximizing efficiencies with a sound financial base, infrastructure and support systems.
Our major accomplishments of FY23 include:
1. Disaster Services: Responding to emergencies:
- Assisted 395 families after a disaster
- Provided an average of $725 in financial assistance per family
2. Training Services and Preparedness Programs: Increasing health, safety and community disaster preparedness:
-Trained 203,984 people in first aid, CPR, and water safety skills
- Installed 80 smoke alarms free of charge to low income residents as part of the Home Fire Campaign
-Trained 854 school children in fire prevention and disaster preparedness through The Pillowcase Project and Prepare with Pedro
3. Serving the Armed Forces and military families in emergencies:
- Provided 1,213 emergency and critical case services to military members, veterans, and their families
- Provided 485 follow-ups to military family members
4. Biomedical Services
- Collected 44,629 blood donations
- Hosted 1,809 blood drives in our community
Volunteers:
- Engaged 637 volunteers who provided 53,836 hours of support
Needs
For over 140 years, the American Red Cross has been at the forefront of helping individuals prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters. Further, we are also firmly dedicated to serving human needs internationally when disasters or tragedy occurs. Likewise, Red Cross has a heritage of service to our military and their families. To enable these goals to be fulfilled, we require a dedicated cadre of volunteers--well trained and available at a moment's notice Adequate financial resources to support and sustain the mission Supplies and disaster vehicles and trailers to distribute resources to locations where needed most--a robust logistics capability Access to the entire Red Cross organization for assistance if the scale of the disaster dictates Close cooperation with local and state government and effective working relationships with TEMA and FEMA. Red Cross also partners with companies and other non-profit organizations..
CEO Statement
Service to our community is driven by our ability to recruit, train and retain a dedicated corps of volunteers. Trained Red Cross volunteers translate care and concern into action. Volunteers add value to the client, customer, donor, and to all who come in contact with the Red Cross. With a focus on training of volunteers, innovation, and a performance-driven management culture, the Red Cross will do its part to ensure our community is among our nation's safest and most prepared.
Board Chair Statement
As Board Chair of the Nashville Regional Area Red Cross, I am pleased to be a part of the life-saving mission to make our communities better prepared to respond to disasters and emergency situations. This year, the focus is to build the capacity of our communities to sustain our needs for several days following a catastrophic event with minimal external assistance which may not be available. Every 30 hours on average, volunteers respond to a myriad of local disasters (home fires being the most common) providing families assistance for critical needs such as shelter, clothing, food and compassionate case management. Our driving goal is to become a model for the nation in client service, disaster response and recovery, and in the pursuit of financial resources needed to support the mission. To make this possible, we will work diligently to build a strong financial foundation for the Nashville Area Chapter and continue efforts to keep our community informed, prepared and involved in our mission.
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Human Services - American Red Cross |
| Secondary Category: | Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness and Relief - Disaster Preparedness and Relief Service |
| Tertiary Category: | Housing, Shelter - |
Areas Served
The Tennessee Region of the American Red Cross serves all 95 counties in Tennessee. We also serve Crittenden County in Arkansas and Desoto and Tunica counties in Mississippi. Over 6.6 million people are served by the Tennessee Region Red Cross. The American Red Cross of Nashville Area serves Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, Jackson, Macon, Robertson, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson and Wilson counties in Tennessee.
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Clay |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Williamson |
