Compiled by the USAG Stuttgart Public Affairs Office
Founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, The American Red Cross, is a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to the victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.
Today, the American Red Cross Stuttgart Station, which was commissioned in the late 1940’s, upholds the Red Cross charter by offering relief to and serving as a medium of communication between members of the American Armed Forces and their families, notes Alphonsa Oliver, the area’s regional program director.
Whether it’s providing emergency contact information for a family member, providing relief for thousands of disaster victims, or providing care and comfort to an ill or injured service member, veteran or support to a military family member, the Red Cross team is always there to help, notes the organization.
I really enjoy the opportunity to provide Red Cross assistance to service members and their families in their times of need,” Oliver said. “I also get a great deal of satisfaction working in harmony with Red Cross volunteers on projects to improve the quality of life of military community.”
Below are some of the resources and opportunities the American Red Cross in Stuttgart offers:
Health and safety services
For nearly a century, the American Red Cross has prepared people to save lives through health and safety education and training. The Stuttgart Red Cross conducts the following courses:
- Adult and Pediatric First Aid, CPR, and AED (includes infant)
- Citizen CPR
- Scrubby Bear for personal hygiene
- Babysitter’s Training with pediatric (for teens age 11-15)
- Instructor Training classes
To register, contact the Center of Excellence at DSN 467-7160/civ. 0980-283-1760, or email StuttgartPHSSCOE@redcross.org.
Volunteer opportunities
In Stuttgart, volunteers constitute 98 percent of the total workforce. Volunteers ensure the Red Cross will be there to help people save lives. There are various ways we give back to our Stuttgart Military Community:
- Health and safety volunteer instructors
- Medical clinic volunteers
- Red Cross office volunteers
- Dental volunteers
- Dental Assistant Apprenticeship Program
- Special events
- Veterinarian clinic volunteers
- Disaster Action Team members
- Crochet Corner
- Wounded Warrior Project
- Youth volunteers/ Red Cross Club
Blood drives
“Blood is the gift of life and donating blood helps to ensure that there is enough blood available when needed to save a life,” said Oliver. The American Red Cross supports the Armed Services Blood Program which only collects blood from the military community – service members, their families, retirees, and Department of Defense civilians. “All blood collected says in our community,” Oliver said. “It is truly “our blood supply. In essence, if members of our Stuttgart community needs blood from military medical facility the blood from the Armed Services Blood Program can be utilized.”
Restoring family links
The Stuttgart Station can assists in the following international services by working with the Red Cross national headquarters:
- Tracing inquiries – used to locate family members separated internationally by armed conflict and other humanitarian situations. Also used to clarify or document the fate of relatives missing due to armed conflict; includes Holocaust and WWII Tracing and Documentation services.
- Red Cross messages – used to send written messages between separated family members, when the sender knows the location of their family member but no other means of communication are available. Often used by families in refugee camps, by prisoners of war and other detainees.
- Health and welfare inquiries – used to assist particularly vulnerable clients, including the elderly and ill, minor children and persons in detention or prison, to reestablish communication with family members. For these cases the family separation is not caused by war, disaster or migration, but rather a family emergency or vulnerability.
Emergency communication messages
The American Red Cross communication services keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of a family member or other important events, such as the birth of a child. The Red Cross quickly sends these communications on behalf of the family to members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving anywhere in the world, including ships at sea, embassies and isolated military units. For more details, click here.
For learn more about any of these programs, contact the American Red Cross Stuttgart Station, located on the 3rd Floor, Building 2915 on Panzer Kaserne, or call DSN 431-2812/civ. 07031-15-2812.