2023 began tragically with the Monterey Park shooting. Volunteers established a family assistance center providing care and resources in English and Mandarin. During the year, the region responded to over 400 local disasters aiding over 2,300 people.

148 of our workforce deployed across the U.S. and Territories filling 272 positions in support of major disasters including Northern California floods, Typhoon Mawar on Guam, the Hawaii wildfires and Hurricane Idalia in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

On Aug. 7, Red Cross blood donation centers were among the first in the nation to implement the new FDA blood donor guidelines, a long awaited and welcomed shift towards a more inclusive and equitable blood donation policy.

Four of LA's six offices underwent complete makeovers this year including the Long Beach & South Bay Chapter, San Gabriel & Pomona Valleys Chapter and Commerce Chapter, the Western LA Chapter got a new mural on its 150ft parking lot wall.

After a two-year hiatus, we honored volunteers in person at the Volunteer Excellence Awards luncheon, held at Castaways Restaurant in Burbank with nearly 300 people in attendance. In 2023, volunteers logged more than 200,000 service hours!

We provided services to more than 3,500 veterans, active military personnel and families through casework, distributed wellness material assistance to over 2,900 veterans and educated over 3,925 community members on our International Services.

Red Crossers were out in communities for smoke alarm installations, safety expos and Rose Parade first aid stations. Our workforce also attended celebrations including Red Cross month at Santa Monica Pier’s Pacific Park and the LA Pride Parade.

Thanks to Black Community partners who sponsored blood drives in locations that brought donation opportunities closer to home, 2023 saw a 13.94% increase in blood donations from African American blood donors, collecting more than 3,000 units of blood.

Each year we honor community members who demonstrated heroism through extraordinary acts of courage at the Lifesaving and Hometown Hero award ceremonies. In 2023, we celebrated 15 incredible people whose stories embodied the Red Cross mission.

August marked LA's 75th Leadership Development Camp. The annual youth camp gathered 91 high school and college students in the San Bernardino mountains for five days. Delegates learned to cultivate leadership skills and diversity/cultural understanding.

SAF and Int’l Services program specialist Aspyn Adams deployed to Iraq in October to facilitate any and all emergency communications between military personnel stationed in the region and their families back home.

Badged first responders competed to donate, Shark Week got hearts pumping, Kyle Kraska and FoxLA celebrated heroes and the KLOS Blood Drive rocked, while 100 Black Men of America & NAACP were among many blood drive hosts for sickle cell warriors.