Press Release

Georgia’s Red Cross is asking folks to “give something that means something,” on its annual “Giving Tuesday” tomorrow.

The need is constant, according to the Red Cross. Home fires — the nation’s most frequent disaster — account for the vast majority of the organizations responses. In Georgia, for example, Red Cross volunteers responded to over 2,700 home fire-related emergencies, assisting more than 4,500 families.

“Every day, home fires and other crisis turn people’s lives upside down,” said Larry Brooks, executive director for American Red Cross of Northwest Georgia. “Families are counting on your support to remember them during this special time of year. On Giving Tuesday, please consider making a financial donation, a blood donation or volunteering your time.”

The Red Cross also provides and installs free smoke alarms, also helping residents map out escape plans through their Home Fire Campaign. Since it began in 2014, volunteers have installed more than 40,000 free smoke alarms in Georgia.

Always a major need for the Red Cross is blood. More information can be found at redcrossblood.org, where appointments to donate blood or platelets can also be made.

Financial gifts help deliver hot meals for people who need nourishment after a disaster or provide a family with a full day’s worth of emergency shelter with meals, snacks, blankets, cots and hygiene supplies.

Donations also go towards helping veterans transition back to civilian life by connecting them and their families to critical services such as food, housing, counseling and rehabilitation. Internationally, funds provide lifesaving vaccinations for children who face an increased risk of measles and rubella around the world.

For more general information about ways to help Red Cross efforts in Northwest Georgia and beyond, visit redcross.org or call the local office at 844-536-6226.