Whether your charitable interests lean locally,  internationally or to help the troops, the Red Cross has a gift for every philanthropist. But as a citizen of Gwinnett, you might be happy to know how the Red Cross contributed to your county last year. The Red Cross:

• provided financial assistance and support to 769 disaster clients- almost half  were children

• trained more than 9,545 adults with the lifesaving skills of CPR, first aid, and disaster preparedness

• received donations from 22,000 local blood donors, which helped approximately 67,000 people with emergency needs

• supported the volunteer efforts of 60-member Disaster Action Team who respond on average to 9 disasters per month

• helped 722 military families send emergency messages, get financial assistance and find counseling through the Armed Forces Emergency Services Program.

More recently, after the Sept. flooding, the Red Cross set-up two shelters in Gwinnett to assist flood victims, provided individual financial assistance, and delivered supplies, food, and water in with our mobile outreach efforts.

It’s easy to give to the Red Cross and make a difference from Lawrenceville, GA to Kabul, Afghanistan:

The Red Cross is encouraging people to give a meaningful gift this holiday that can honor friends or loved ones with gifts that really matter:  food, shelter, comfort & hope for people and families in crisis. Here’s how it works. We direct people to our online Holiday Gift Catalog. Once online, you can select a choice of gifts from three different service areas, select an item and checkout. You will receive a gift card in the mail featuring a photo of the item you selected. You can then personalize the card to let someone know you purchased a gift on their behalf. You can also choose to have an online card e-mailed to the recipient if you prefer.

Here are some SERVICE AREA (gift examples)

Local Disaster Relief

$20 – provides a warm meal for 2 during a disaster
$54 – provides 9 blankets for people who are burned out of their home during the winter or are sleeping in a Red Cross shelter.

For The Troops

$20 – provides a phone card to help a service member stay connected to a loved one
$50 – provides a comfort kit to a wounded soldier in a hospital (phone card, robe, shoes, toiletry items, calendar and iTunes card)

For International Relief

$25 – provides lifesaving measles vaccine to 25 children overseas
$60 – provides shelter and supplies for a family who have lost their homes overseas to a natural disaster

For more information, please visit www.atlantaredcross.org

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