Wake Up, America! It's a Brave, New World

Remarks from Marsha J. Evans, President and CEO of the American Red Cross, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

January 28, 2004 — Thank you for that gracious introduction. And thank you to our audience who has braved the cold and icy weather in Washington to join us today.

After 18 months as President and CEO of the American Red Cross, I now feel prepared - my favorite word - to issue a call to action to policymakers and the media... and I can't think of a better forum in which to do it.

That call is a wake-up call. And America needs a wake-up call. I'm asking each of you in this room to help the American Red Cross wake up America. Because there are 175 million people out there who are basically asleep at the switch when it comes to their own, and their family's, safety and security.

Last year reminds us all that we live in unpredictable times. Not only did we observe the second anniversary of a devastating terrorist attack, but we also had to face our vulnerability to the forces of nature. An extraordinary string of more than 516 tornadoes wiped out large swaths of the Midwest and Southeast - killing 39 people in a single month. Hurricane Isabel battered the East coast in September. And wildfires and mudslides ravaged whole communities in Southern California in October. It was tragic to see an entire community burned to the ground.

Add to that a rash of power outages in the Northeast in August and the tens of thousands of single-family house fires across the nation over the course of the year, and you get a sense of how busy we've been at the Red Cross. Most of these disasters never make the news; we call them our silent disasters.

With over half the U.S. population living in coastal communities... and nearly a third in the top nine metropolitan areas, the risk of catastrophic and mass casualty disasters increases annually. And that's without adding in the threat of terrorism.

Thankfully, we are a nation of resilient, optimistic individuals. We have not let the increased threat of danger deter us from living our lives. I applaud and share that spirit.

But, what concerns me is the lack of reasonable preparedness on the part of the general public. According to a study the Red Cross commissioned last year, close to 60 percent of Americans are wholly unprepared for a disaster of any description. They don't have a family emergency plan, nor are they aware of school, workplace and community procedures. They have not stocked emergency supplies, nor have they sought even basic first-aid and CPR training. They're not giving blood, nor are they donating their time or money to emergency support services like the American Red Cross.

Wake up, America!

Our blood supply and Disaster Relief Fund are at dangerously low levels. On New Year's Eve - with Code Orange alerts in every major city - we at the Red Cross had only a two-day supply of red blood cells on hand... two average days. And we account for about half of the nation's blood supply. Post 9/11 the consensus is that a five to seven day inventory must be maintained. So, two days is simply not an acceptable level.

Meanwhile, our Disaster Relief Fund - which should maintain a reserve of around $60 million dollars to adequately respond to the next emergency - is running a deficit. Again, there is no language... no set of conditions... in which that is okay. What a lot of Americans don't understand - and I was one of them - is that the Red Cross is really their first and leading care giver in the event of a disaster. In most countries, the government plays that role. It provides shelter, food, clothing, first aid, blood, and counseling. Here, the American Red Cross has historically fulfilled that mandate... and continues to. There is no fallback option if the Red Cross isn't there to deliver... and no government safety net...we're it.

The American Red Cross was founded 122 years ago with the explicit mission of helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. We were chartered by Congress to provide a system of disaster response and mitigate suffering caused by disaster. Today, we are the only non-governmental agency assigned a lead role in the Federal Response Plan coordinated under FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. We are the lead agency for Emergency Support Function #6 -- Mass Care - the shelter, feeding and clothing of disaster victims - and we're a support agency to the Department of Health and Human Services on Function #8 - Health and Medical Services. That's the provision of blood, first aid, basic health care and mental health counseling. As the Federal Response plan is rolled into the new, more comprehensive National Response Plan, Red Cross anticipates an expanded role.

While the Department of Homeland Security oversees massive efforts to prepare governments and public agencies at all levels for every type of disaster, it's our responsibility at the Red Cross to prepare the general public. And we take that responsibility very seriously.

Today, I want to outline just how seriously. I'd like to address three issues with you, and focus on the final.

First, everything we've done as an organization to get our own house in order since September 11th.

Second, I'd like to talk about the partnerships we're building with corporations, with governments, and with other relief agencies to leverage more efficiently and effectively our combined resources.

Finally, I'd like to address this all-important issue of public preparedness and how we translate the call for increased personal responsibility into action.

On September 11th, an act of arbitrary evil cost almost 3,000 people - mostly civilians - their lives. Thousands more were injured or devastated by the loss of a loved one. How could we have really prepared for this disaster, you may ask? That is precisely the question I am asking you to answer for yourselves... as individuals, as employees, as neighbors and, most importantly, as influencers of public opinion.

How do you prepare for all hazards - natural and man-made? How do you anticipate the unthinkable... the unimaginable... as well as the more predictable emergencies?

Truth is: about 80 percent of the prep work is the same. Whether it's an act of terrorism or an act of God, there are five easy steps you can take today to prepare for it. You can make a plan, build a kit, get trained, volunteer and give blood... the five basic building blocks of the Red Cross Together We Prepare program.

But, first, let me comment on what we are doing at the American Red Cross to prepare for this brave, new world of expanded risks.

In business, executives often talk of disruptive change... a technology or new-form competitor that causes a company to rethink its whole strategy. The Internet has certainly had that effect on quite a few business models.

Well, for our organization, it was September 11th. On that crystal clear day, terrorism joined tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes on the list of disasters we have to prepare for and respond to. Those unprecedented attacks on American soil were a watershed moment in our history, a moment that revealed to us the need for dramatic change.

I speak with 18 months' experience in this 122 year-old organization, so I wasn't there that day. In fact, I was living in New York City. As a newcomer, I bring both the awe and the critical faculty of an outsider. First, let me share with you the awe.

The American Red Cross - this amalgam of 900-plus chapters and blood regions nationwide - is a thing of beauty... deep and resonant beauty.

It is a massive, logistically complex network of - primarily - volunteers, more than 1.2 million of them, many of whom willingly put their names on a list to be called any time, day or night, to go to places everybody else is trying to leave. They are heroes, every single one.

Let me take this opportunity to introduce you to one of them. Josh Green is a member of our Disaster Action team here in D.C. He's one of the exceptional men and women who get the call, and roll out in the ERV (or Emergency Response Vehicle) in a matter of minutes. Josh, I want to thank you on behalf of all the people you've helped, even as recently as this past weekend.

If the Red Cross did not exist, the government would have to invent it... it's a service that benefits not just the victims of the 70,000 disasters we typically respond to in a year, but all Americans.

That said, we've historically been a federation of locally governed chapters and blood regions, each with its own agenda and ways of doing things. Managing change is hard. I'm very proud of the progress we've made over the past year and half to build a unified organization - "One Red Cross" we call it. Through hard work and considerable sacrifice, we've developed a more streamlined service delivery structure, one that more effectively and efficiently leverages resources and best practices. And we've increased accountability and transparency at every level to restore and sustain the public's trust in the good work that we do.

One of the first things I did after assuming the role of President and CEO was to develop a five-year strategic plan with accountabilities and metrics, a relatively novel concept at an organization long focused on "putting out fires"... literally.

This strategic plan is a living document that has disciplined our efforts and honed our focus. Our mission is very clear now: To be America's preparedness partner and disaster response leader. Anything that distracts from that focus will neither be staffed nor funded. Going forward we are increasing volunteer recruitment, increasing financial support and streamlining our infrastructure.

I mentioned streamlining the organization. We've introduced a new field structure at the American Red Cross focused around eight geographically based cross-functional Service Areas. By removing redundancies and creating a more unified structure, we can not only leverage economies and increase accountability, but also reallocate targeted resources closer to where they are needed…to our local chapters, which are the front line of service delivery.

With regard to our blood collection and banking operations - what we call Biomedical Services - We are working closely with the FDA to meet all the terms of the Consent Decree signed last April. We have accomplished nearly all of the specific tasks and are doggedly working to resolve outstanding issues. We have also introduced a quality improvement initiative to find even more effective and efficient ways to do business while ensuring the continued safety of our nation's blood supply.

In the wake of September 11th, more than $1 billion dollars were donated to the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund. To date, through the September 11th Recovery Program, more than $880 million dollars have been distributed or spent providing financial assistance and other support services to the families of those who perished and those directly disabled or affected by this tragedy. The residual amount will be used to meet the continuing needs of these individuals over the next few years.

The sheer volume of donations we received caused us to revisit our fundraising mechanisms in general. In June of 2002, we implemented DonorDIRECT, a new system that allows us to confirm and acknowledge donor intent, so there is no confusion as to where the money goes. In line with our call to "Wake Up," the alarm is ringing for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which has remained empty since last year. It seems that donors prefer to target their donations to a particular -- and usually high-visibility -- disaster. We, of course, respect any donor wish... but the Red Cross must respond to every disaster. The Red Cross, therefore, faces a huge challenge in persuading Americans that we must maintain a ready and robust disaster relief fund... so that we can respond immediately to any disaster anywhere in this country. The plain reality is that the Red Cross can only do what our donated funds allow us to do.

The second point I wanted to address today was the importance of partnerships in our work. Going it alone is no longer an option as the frequency, scope and scale of disasters - both natural and man-made - mount.

One of the important lessons we learned from the families of 9/11 victims was the need to coordinate efforts and relief resources with other agencies. And, in fact, there's been unprecedented collaboration among our nonprofit and government partners in disaster response to create the "Client Information Sharing System." Our goal is to simplify the disaster assistance process for victims and their families and expedite assistance ... in other words, one interview, one set of paperwork, one journey through the red tape.

Clearly a worthwhile objective.

There's no more important point of collaboration than our nation's blood supply - it's a national resource. Our Blood Services Regions are working with their counterparts at the American Association of Blood Banks and America's Blood Centers to increase the number of new donors. It is not enough to simply have our current donors donate more frequently. If we are to maintain the ideal 5 to 7 day supply I mentioned earlier, we must bring in more first time donors and keep them engaged. Every individual in this country should donate blood if they can.

At the national level, we are cultivating corporate partnerships to help the Red Cross reach more consumers with life saving messages. We've entered into some innovative co-branding and marketing partnerships with companies like Duracell, Procter & Gamble, Nextel, FedEx, Lowe's and Capital One... and we've dedicated resources to expanding that list.

Today, I'd like to acknowledge three of our corporate partners. First, Darrin Brown, with the Federal Affairs office for State Farm Insurance, a company we've been working with since after World War II. State Farm has consistently contributed to Red Cross Disaster Relief and has regularly sponsored community blood drives. In addition, State Farm is sponsoring the Safe Neighbor Network program, a joint grassroots initiative to teach families and neighbors how to make their homes and communities safer.

Next, let me introduce you to Rebecca Noah, Senior PR Manager for AT&T Wireless, a company which has generously contributed to our School Safety Initiative. In fact, they have underwritten a nine-chapter pilot program to deliver curriculum materials and services to local schools. Our aim is to train students, teachers and staff to respond appropriately to unexpected situations.

Finally, Bill Nielsen, the Corporate Vice President of Public Affairs at Johnson & Johnson. The Red Cross and Johnson & Johnson have a relationship that traces back more than a century in blood donation, disaster relief and first aid education. We are currently discussing the possibility of establishing a very comprehensive project centered on our mutual interests in promoting preparedness across America.

All of these are great examples of corporate partnerships that work. We are building on these successes.

Perhaps our most important partner is the government at every level - federal, state and local. The government relies on us as well to address the huge challenges of public preparedness, particularly in an all-hazards environment. And the Red Cross cannot be effective unless we're at the table working closely with the government. Joining us today from the Department of Homeland Security are Sally Canfield, Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary Ridge and Bob Stefan, Director of the Headquarters Operational Integration Staff. Each of you is a wonderful partner and we thank you for working with the Red Cross.

We are all partners in this endeavor. Government... the Red Cross...the private sector... and, each and every American. All of us in this room and beyond need to prepare ourselves for whatever may come. The federal government cannot do that for us. Necessity dictates that it address the nation's capabilities and response strategies from the top down. As the Department of Homeland Security has assumed the mammoth responsibility for domestic security, it has focused on operational preparedness. It has been marshalling resources, modeling terrorist scenarios and their likely implications, focusing on the needs of the first responder community - police, firemen, and EMTs... as they should.

But how prepared are you? Your home, your family, your business. And that's where the Red Cross comes in. We're there for you and in your community.

Over the past three years, the federal government - in concert with state and local governments - has staged a number of exercises designed to simulate various terrorist attacks around the country. These "war-games" have helped us understand how to deal with incident management.

What is absent from all these exercises, however, is the long-term impact on individuals…. on you. How does the country deal with Mass evacuations... sheltering in place... lengthy quarantines... mental health effects. These are the issues we think about at the American Red Cross. These issues are top of mind for us. Public preparedness is what we know best.

We are the direct support network not only for disaster victims, but also first responders. They are first on the scene - and we are right there behind them. We are integral to the first response effort. We quite literally cover their backs and fuel their heroic efforts.

We are launching a national symposium on disaster preparedness. We plan to bring together all the stakeholders -- government, research bodies, private sector partners and other relief agencies -- to address directly the critical issues surrounding public preparedness... and develop a coordinated plan to move forward.

Last year, we introduced the Together We Prepare program to empower people to shoulder the responsibility for their own safety and security. It lays out five pro-active steps that individuals and families can take to prepare for all manner of emergency.

That's the critical point, actually. The more empowered and self-sufficient you and I feel, the more immediately effective we can be in a crisis situation. We become less of a burden to the 9-1-1 system, and our state and local public health and emergency responders. It makes sense. If you and your family have a plan, it goes into action in a disaster. You're not fumbling around looking for help and guidance. You're in charge of your own destiny. Isn't that our fundamental birthright as Americans?

The Red Cross is out there training people in first aid, CPR and disaster preparedness, 12 million of them annually. We're distributing Together We Prepare materials to every chapter... school... town hall and community center we can. Here in Washington - thanks to a grant from the National Capital Region Urban Area Security Initiative - we will provide training and curriculum resources to more than 1,000 schools and 23,000 teachers this year.

For information about any Red Cross programs or opportunities to support Red Cross, you can log on to www.redcross.org or call 1-866-GET-INFO. Taking a step toward your own safety and security is as easy as picking up the phone... signing up at the next company blood drive... storing some water and non-perishables in the basement. So, why don't we all do it?

In a world where the forces of nature and man too often collide, the Red Cross is a beacon showing people the way to safety. We owe it to ourselves, our families, our communities to prepare for the unexpected.

I'm challenging America today to heed the lessons. Don't let disaster take you or your family by surprise again! Like the Red Cross have a plan, get involved, join with us.

If I could convey one message today it's that the way to safety starts here and now. My message quite simply is, wake up America.

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All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. The Red Cross also supplies nearly half of the nation's lifesaving blood. This, too, is made possible by generous voluntary donations. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. You can make a secure online credit card donation or call 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Or you may send your donation to your local Red Cross or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. To donate blood, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543), or contact your local Red Cross to find out about upcoming blood drives.