Letter to the editor: Join Red Cross' annual Giving Day to help S.C. families

Help can't wait when emergencies strike - not for the family displaced by a disaster, the patient in need of lifesaving blood or the deployed service member alerted to a family crisis at home.

Every day, when our neighbors cope with emergencies like these, they rely on local volunteers, blood and platelet and financial donors and other supporters who deliver care and hope through the Red Cross of South Carolina Central Chapter.

This March, we are proud to honor these community heroes during Red Cross Month - an annual, national celebration started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943 and continued by each U.S. president ever since.

Last year alone, the Central Chapter of the Red Cross of South Carolina responded to more than 550 local disasters, including home fires - assisting more than 1,500 people by distributing over $380,000 in direct financial assistance following local disasters. Additionally, the Central S.C. Chapter made more than 1,800 homes safer through educational visits and served nearly 4,400 active-duty military, veterans and their families through emergency communications and critical needs.

If you're looking for a way to give back, join us this month. Visit redcross.org to make a financial donation, schedule an appointment to give blood or platelets, become a Red Cross volunteer or take a class to learn lifesaving skills. With a donation on March 27, you'll join our 10th-annual Giving Day (redcross.org/givingday) to aid families affected by disasters big and small.

BHAVNA VASUDEVA

Board of Directors chair

American Red Cross of Central S.C.