National Volunteer Week is April 10-17 and the American Red Cross of Montana is honoring its volunteers who give their time to help people in need.

Nearly 400 serve the Red Cross in Montana and more than 300,000 volunteers serve the organization nationwide, helping staff blood drives, volunteering at veterans hospitals, teaching people lifesaving skills such as First Aid and CPR, responding to home fires in the middle of the night and so much more.

“We want to take this time during Volunteer Week to thank our volunteers for their service,” said Wendy McGrew, Regional Volunteer Officer for the American Red Cross of Idaho and Montana. “They help us fulfill our lifesaving mission every day, and we are overwhelmed with gratitude for their service.”

Last year, Montana Red Cross volunteers provided food, shelter, comfort and hope to 223 local families who faced emergency situations. They trained 10,123 people in lifesaving skills and provided services to 257military members, veterans and their families.

The Red Cross invites the public to be a part of the lifesaving work it does and to sign up to volunteer and donate blood. People can go to redcross.org to learn more about volunteer opportunities and how to submit a volunteer application. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, people should visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

The Red Cross Home Fire Campaign offers another way to volunteer and help reduce the number of home fire injuries and deaths locally. Volunteers are going door-to-door in neighborhoods at high risk for fires to install smoke alarms and teach people about home fire safety. Since the Home Fire Campaign started, it has been credited with saving many lives. Here in Montana, our volunteers we visited 708 homes, installed 1,881 smoke alarms and assisted 528 families with developing home fire evacuation plans during the last fiscal year alone. Join us for this important work right in your own community.

One final way to help is by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters like winter storms and power outages. To donate, please go to www.redcross.org/montana or call 1-800-272-6668. Contributions may also be sent to American Red Cross of Montana, 1300 28th Street South, Great Falls, MT 59405.

VOLUNTEER. If you are interested in ongoing volunteer opportunities, go to redcross.org/montana and click on “Volunteer” to start your application. Training is free and open to the public.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.