Becky Gaskin, the Executive Director of the American Red Cross for the East Central Bay Chapter, was the guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Flint on July 26. She has served as Executive Director since 2022 and serves in 10 surrounding counties.
The American Red Cross was established in 1881 by Clara Barton. When most people hear “Red Cross,” they only think of disaster relief or donating blood. But the Red Cross offers much more than that. The core mission of the American Red Cross is to alleviate and prevent human suffering.
Becky also shared that Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is very important to their mission. There is a local DEI committee, and they are seeking additional volunteers. Ninety percent of the organization is run by volunteers.
In the 1980s, the Red Cross would respond to a national disaster every three months. Presently, Michigan is a continuous response state, responding to three disasters every month.
Every day in Michigan, the Red Cross responds to house fires, the most common disaster in the nation. In the East Central Bay Chapter, most of the responses are from Genesee County. Genesee County has the highest rate of house fires out of the 10 counties Becky serves. In 2023, there was almost one fire per day within the East Central Bay Chapter, with a total of 316 fires. Over 1,000 individuals were affected, and the Red Cross provided just shy of $300,000 in financial assistance.
In 2023, the Red Cross installed over 2,400 smoke alarms in over 900 homes on the North Side of Flint. Smoke alarms are available all year long.
Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. When 14,000 units of blood are donated, that saves or sustains over 14,000 lives. Blood donation saves at least one life, if not more. There is an app available that allows you to track your blood donation. Donations are always needed.
If you are interested in learning more about the American Red Cross or would like to be a volunteer, please contact Becky Gaskin at
Becky.Gaskin@redcross.org or (810) 893-6647.
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