PAGE TWO
HERALD AND NEWS, KT.AMATIT FATXS. OREGON
SUNDAY, MARCH 13, infiO
Red Cross Tells Story This MobdHIIi
Story Of Red Cross Must
Begin With The Volunteer
The story of the Red Cross be
gins with its volunteers. Interna
tionally, the organization was
ioumled by volunteers. It was
brought to this country by volun
teer leadership. Here in America,
Hod Cross took deep root because
the tradition of neighbors volun
teering to help one another and
their communities is part of our
national heritage.
Providing a means an or
ganizationthrough which neigh
bor can help neighbor, your Red
Cross has been on the job for
more than 75 years; since June
2, 1!)7, this community has held
a Red Cross charier to help resi
dents of the Klamath Basin to
serve our nation and our commu
nity. On October 7, 1055, the char
ter was amended to include the
Tulelake and Newell areas and the
name changed from "Klamath
County" to Klamath Basin Chap
ter. Headquarters are in the Coun
ty Library Building: workers in
clude n staff of two and nearly
three hundred trained volunteers.
l ocal activities are governed by
a board of thirty volunteers,
charged with responsibility for ad
ministering a local program to
carry out the duties and responsi-!
bililies of the charter granted by,
the Congress of the United Stales.!
Volunteers serve as canteen
workers, social welfare aides.
blood program nurses, and staff.
aides. They teach first aid classes
swimming classes, and instruct ex
pectant parents in the care of
young children and infants.
Because the Red Cross program
is one of great scope and conv
plexity, misunderstandings are
bound to arise and critical ques
tions will often be raised about
the organization's activities. What
ever their origin, the Red Cross
organization as a whole and the
local chapter insists that such
questions should be answered ful
ly, frankly, and courteously. Those
seeking more information about
the organization, and its opportun
ities to serve, are invited to con
lact the local chapter.
Although the organization is
quasi governmental in nature, it
is supported solely by voluntary
contributions of the American peo
ple. In this community, the Tule
lake Branch holds an annual fund
drive in March; in Klamath Coun
ty the activities are supported by
the United Fund-Red Cross cam
paign held each fall.
Thanks to the success of this
campaign, no fund raising activi
ties will be conducted by the Red
Cross in Klamath County during
-March, but the local chapter wish
es to express its appreciation to
its contributors and to report back
to the public the scope and im
portancc of the programs financed
by the generous support of local
residents.
i iiiri iii ii i mm -"'"' " M" I I' 1
-''V'-"'-" jy i.t-3'
' -- r -v . 4. -S
"THIS IS HIS FIRST DONATION. HE'LL FEEL JUST FINE AFTER HE GIVES"
Blood Donation Program Big RC Item
"YOU MAY GET UP NOW MR. JONES, WE FOUND A
SANDBAG TO REPLACE YOU."
Disaster Service Is Big
Part Of Red Cross Plans
There is nothing beautiful about
disaster, which in an instant can
wreck the work of a lifetime. But
there is something awe-inspiring
nbout the way in which Americans
work together to help their strick
en neighbors through the medium
cf Red Cross Disaster Service.
Last year the Red Cross con
ducted 2!I8 disaster relief opera
tions for victims of fires, torna
does, floods, hurricanes, wrecks,
and explosions. Food, shelter,
clothing and medical aid were giv
en to 88,800 victims; 17,000 fami
lies received post-disaster assis
tance with rehabilitation, includ
ing repairing nnd rebuilding 1,700
homes; Red Cross assists disaster
victims with so obligation to re
pay; all that's required is proof
of actual need.
Thankfully, most communities
were not hit by disaster; this com
munity can take pride in that it
lias never failed to meet its full
share of the quota on any special
disaster appeal launched by "the
Red Cross. Meanwhile, the local
chapter works cooperatively with
Civil Defense in disaster prepar
edness planning, fully aware that
disasters seldom respect geogra
phyand "it can happen here."
Red Cross benefits to the na
tion's disaster victims last year
were provided at a cost of $i,904,
J82 nearly seven million good,
hard American dollars spent wise
ly and carefully.
The use of blood in medicine: make lifesaving bloud therapy
and surgery was a relatively rare more generally available to the
practice prior to World War 11. civilian population. The result was
In the early days of the war new the establishment of the Red Cross
techniques for the preservation of i Blood Program, which began in
blood plasma, and later for the
transportation of whole blood,
made it possible for the American
people to send their blood to mili
tary hospitals and battle fronts
around the world. This blood, col
lected by Red Cross at the re
quest of the government, ployed
major part in reducing death
and suffering among wounded
servicemen.
With the end of the war, the
nation's medical authorities and
the Red Cross sought ways to
1018.
The local Red Cross chapter en
tered the program in 1051, as one
of the 1SO0 Red Cross chapters
providing whole blood to patients
in 3,'M0 hospitals across the na
tion. The program has met all lo
cal needs for whole blood since
its inception. Totaling the national
figures, we find that volunteer don
ors provide about two million pints
of blood annually; the program
costs the Red Cross about $13,000,
ooo each year, or a little over
g' ri MilWI iiiiwiiiwmjil'
$0 per pint volunteered.
The need for blood ' increases
each year because of the phenom
enal growth of America's popula
tion and improved medical tech
niques that develop new uses and
hence greater demand for blood.
One of the most dramatic of
these is open-heart surgery. Each
such operation may require 12 to
20 pints of fresh, whole blood. The
blood is pumped through the pa
tient by a heart-lung machine,
which takes over the functions of
these organs while surgeons oper
ate directly upon the heart itself.
This technique is particularly val-
(Continued on Page 4)
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"IS THERE ANYONE IN THE CLASS WHO IS AN ADVANCED SWSMMER?"
Wafer Safety Courses Taught By RC
The avowed aim of Red Cross
is to make every American safe
in or on the water. A corps of
70,200 volunteer instructors issued
1,338.000 certificates to individuals
completing courses in swimming
and life saving.
Beginning at the grass roots lev
el, the organization issues a manu
al "Teaching Johnny to Swim" for
parents to use in teaching young
sters who cannot patronize pools
having an organized instruction
program. An award winning mo
tion picture of the same name is
available on free loan to parent
groups from the local chapter.
Phenomenal increase in recrea
tional boating has made it a popu
lar family participation sport and
has created many new safety prob
lems. Because this community
has shared in the increased use of
water sports, the local chapter
plans to send two candidates to
the Small Craft school to be con
ducted in Idaho in August, plan
ning to activate a program of
small craft safety in the future.
Meanwhile, training of water
safety instructors- by the Red
Cross provides the City Recreation
Department, Malin pool, and youth
groups qualified teachers
local swim programs.
all