Sending hugs to an old friend....

Watching Florida get hit yet again with another distasterous hurricane, one cant help but shake ones head in wonder. To say it's been a rough season for battered Florida is an understatement. One positive consistent presence throughout it all has been an old friend, the American Red Cross. How many of us have heard those words and yet really know nothing about them? We know that we hear the name everytime there is an emergency. It almost is taken for granted. The American Red Cross will be there.
I remember a few years ago, there was a big fire in a community not far from where I live. My son was a volunteer fireman and the American Red Cross was there. Real life angels that showed up to feed and provide support for the firemen. But their work didnt stop there. They helped to find housing for those affected by the fire and supplied food, clothing, and emotional support. Now in Florida, within a moments notice, the American Red Cross is once again there, opening shelters, supplying food, and a much needed helping hand.
This very loyal and dependable friend has been around since the late 1800s. It all began with the power of one. Clara Barton. Clara first heard about the Red Cross during a visit to Europe. When she returned, she worked tirelessly to establish the American Society of the Red Cross and for the ratification of the Geneva Convention. Barton ran the Red Cross for 23 years, seeing it through an establishment of a charter and expanding its effort to domestic and international disaster relief during both war and peace efforts. And the rest as they say is history.
If you go to visit their website, you can take a journey through the past. Their resume is a most impressive one. http://www.redcross.org/museum/history/ The expanse of their efforts is daunting. Most of us probably dont even realize that this organization has touched our own personal lives in some way until you see the amount of services they offer, the amount of tasks that they take on as their own. http://www.redcross.org/services/0,1103,0_313_,00.html
As happens all too often in our hectic lives, we fail to applaud those who help us the most. Its like the old friend who is always there, the one who stands in the background never needing thanks but never letting us down. I would like us all to pause for just a moment. What would our worlds be like without the American Red Cross? I dont want to find out. I do want to send our prayers and gratitude to all the volunteers and workers from this dear and old friend.
Please visit their website to find out how you can help them. Florida residents arent the only ones that have been battered during this hurricane season. The American Red Cross and their volunteers have been as well. Yet they dont stop, they keep on going, and continue to find the opportunity in the difficulties. Please support them. They need us now.
http://www.redcross.org/