By Maribel Flores
Gratitude is the attitude of the season! Following a disaster filled year, here’s wishing you a joyous Thanksgiving holiday and our great thanks for being there with us for the journey. This is the time of year when we take pause to reflect on all that we are grateful for: the relationships we’ve fostered, our incredible volunteers and the community partners who worked alongside us to fulfill the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross.
The Red Cross’s North Texas community partners powered our disaster responses throughout the year. Most recently in tornado-affected Gilmer, right after numerous North Texans volunteered to assist fellow Floridians affected by the destruction left in Hurricane Ian’s wake. Around the world, our volunteers have delivered aid to those impacted by the war in Ukraine, provided vital support to Afghan refugees and served the families of the injured, deceased, and traumatized following the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. From recent multi-family apartment fires in Fort Worth to wildfires in Eastland, or flash floods across much of the region, our great volunteers responded locally, but they also jumped at the opportunity to help tornado-affected people in Kentucky earlier this year. The selfless efforts of volunteers and community partners help make life easier for millions of Americans each year.
Thanks to our corporate and foundation partners, we were able to assist 3,484 families, providing an average financial assistance of $625 per family case, and responded to 2,061 disaster operations through the first 10 months of 2022. We take great pride in our annual Home Fire Campaign, and this past fiscal year we responded to 1,971 home fires, installed 2,747 free smoke alarms and created 2,003 plans for home fire preparedness.
Our veterans have benefitted from these partnerships as well, allowing us to provide 14,334 services to military members, veterans and their families, with a total of 8,045 Service to the Armed Forces emergency and critical community cases and briefed 7,017 individuals through our 'Get to Know Us' program. We even participated in Operation Dyess Kids where the children of military men and women were able to go through a mock deployment on the flightline at Dyess Air Force Base.
This Thanksgiving, on behalf of the Red Cross we want to give a special thank you to our Annual Disaster Giving Program members, Disaster Responder Program members, and Ready365 partners who have supported the Red Cross mission throughout 2022, allowing us to help during some of the most vulnerable moments in people's lives. Because of partners like you, Red Crossers can show up with sleeves rolled up and hearts open to make traumatic situations a little better.
To learn more about our Corporate and Foundation partners and their contributions to the American Red Cross, visit Community Partners | North Texas | American Red Cross.