The East Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross recently hosted a luncheon featuring its national CEO, Gail McGovern. The event, held at Cherokee Country Club, was attended by individual and corporate donors, Tiffany Circle members and volunteers who dedicate their time, money and talents to the American Red Cross (ARC).

McGovern expressed her appreciation to guests for their contributions and commitment to service. She focused on the direct impact that these contributions make on the lives of others and how they enable the ARC to continue its mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering. McGovern stressed to attendees the importance of spreading awareness to the community on the specific ways that the ARC mission is carried out. The ARC provides food, shelter, and emotional support to disaster survivors; teaches skills that save lives; offers international humanitarian assistance and supports military members and their families. In addition, in many parts of the country, the ARC collects, manufactures and distributes lifesaving blood products for hospital patients in need.

McGovern discussed both the local and national impact of the Red Cross mission. The Red Cross Tennessee Region alone responded to 2,156 disasters this past fiscal year, installed 11,032 free smoke alarms and prepared 53,498 people through community education programs.

Nationwide, the ARC responds to nearly 64,000 disasters every year, and the organization has already saved at least 472 lives through its Home Fire prevention campaign. In response to major disasters in 2017 alone, the Red Cross provided 658,000 overnight shelter stays, served 13.6 million meals and snacks, and distributed 7 million relief items to individuals and families in need.