In 2024, extreme weather mounted an overwhelming toll on people in the U.S., who relied on the American Red Cross for relief and care as they faced the country’s second-highest number of billion-dollar disasters ever recorded.

This year’s 24 major climate and weather events — each with losses exceeding $1 billion — are topped only by last year’s record-breaking 28, and the year isn’t over yet. To help, over 50 Red Cross volunteers from Southeastern Pennsylvania have been part of teams responding nonstop to provide shelter, food and other assistance to tens of thousands of people reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton — all while continuing to care for families still recovering from 2023’s extreme disasters.

“First-hand, I’ve seen the devastation that disasters have caused families this year — and extreme weather shows no signs of slowing down,” said Jennifer Graham, regional CEO for the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania. “Whether a crisis happens in our backyard or a community across the country, neighbors are counting on us to help ensure they don’t face it alone. Please join us by making a donation of any size or rolling up a sleeve to give blood or platelets.”

This Giving Tuesday and holiday season, visit redcross.org to make a financial donation or an appointment to give blood or platelets. People can also give the gift of time through volunteering. 

NEED FOR FOOD IN 2024 NEARLY TRIPLES 5-YEAR NATIONAL AVERAGE

Nationally, the scope of disasters increased this year’s demand for necessities like food and emergency lodging — which both exceeded the annual average for the past five years. In fact, this year’s more than 7 million meals and snacks, served by Red Cross volunteers, nearly tripled that average.

Locally, the Red Cross has responded to more than 400 disasters this year in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. This includes several large apartment building fires in Philadelphia that displaced hundreds of people. Red Cross volunteers were there to provide shelter, food and financial assistance to help these local families get back on their feet. And on a national scale, dozens of volunteers from Southeastern Pennsylvania responded to help during large national disasters such as hurricanes in the Southeast and wildfires along the West Coast.

Philadelphia Red Cross volunteer Randy Miller recently returned from North Carolina, where she spent 14 days serving communities that were heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene’s destruction. She says it was her first national deployment with the American Red Cross, where she was “supporting the emotional needs of not just the people who are in the shelters, but the community as a whole.”

RESPONDING TO OTHER HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

This year, the Red Cross addressed people’s urgent needs in other ways too:

BLOOD DONATIONS: Blood donors have given nearly 100,000 units of blood in Southeastern Pennsylvania this year, helping overcome blood drive cancellations due to the country’s severe weather and heat, including a dozen drives locally. This support was critical to the 38 local hospitals that receive Red Cross blood products. In addition, as the nation’s largest blood supplier, the Red Cross helped ensure patients continued accessing lifesaving treatment during major disasters by pre-positioning blood products near areas likely to be impacted — including in Georgia and Florida for Hurricane Helene and again just days later for Hurricane Milton. 

LIFESAVING TRAINING: With emergency rooms experiencing a spike in heat illness visits amid the country’s extreme temperatures this past summer, Red Cross instructors empowered millions of people — including over 50,000 in Southeastern Pennsylvania  — this year with vital first aid, CPR and AED skills to help them prevent and respond to heat stroke and heat exhaustion.

MILITARY FAMILIES: Through our 24/7, global Hero Care Network, local Red Cross workers supported military members, veterans and their families in Southeastern Pennsylvania this year through over 1,500 services, such as connecting deployed service members and loved ones during family emergencies.

Visit redcross.org/philly for more information about how the Red Cross helped people in the Delaware Valley in 2024.