“I feel a commitment to the Red Cross and feel a level of ownership toward our lifesaving mission. It's part of my volunteer responsibility to engage and educate people about the work that we do. It’s not about me. It’s about them, the people we serve.” Sandy Klein
Around the globe, women are leading the charge when it comes to philanthropy and generous financial contributions to nonprofit organizations. We see that within our own Tiffany Circle both domestically and abroad.
When it comes to the Red Cross, women leading the charge is a part of our history. This dates back to Clara Barton, who founded our organization in 1881 and served as president for 23 years. And it continues today, with our President and CEO Gail McGovern.
We are so thankful for each of the women who have been led to connect their passions with the purpose of helping us serve our humanitarian mission. One of those very special women is Sandy Klein.
Years ago, when Sandy moved to South Carolina, she wasted no time in getting involved in her new community. She volunteered her time with “Holiday for Heroes,” an event sponsored by the local chapter of the American Red Cross. She took greeting cards into schools and helped children write letters to service men and women. Close to 40,000 service members received holiday cards that year.
“That was pretty heart rendering and pretty gratifying,” she said. “So that’s when I started exploring the Red Cross.”
We are so grateful that Sandy explored the Red Cross and has been an instrumental part of our Red Cross family for many years. An unwavering commitment to our lifesaving work and an unmatched desire to help others is what drives Sandy.
Serving as a Lowcountry South Carolina Chapter Board Member, she currently chairs the mission committee and is active on the biomedical, philanthropy & D & I committees. Sandy is also a Community Volunteer Leader and has her own cubicle at the Lowcountry Chapter. She comes into office daily, but with COVID restrictions Sandy has continued to volunteer daily from her home—working more than 4,800 volunteer hours with the Red Cross, to date.
She is a former Tiffany Circle National Council Member and current Active Tiffany Circle Torchbearer in addition to being a member of our Chairman’s Council. In 2018, Sandy was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence, an honor the American Red Cross bestows to about 25 people annually — for the most dedicated employees and volunteers in the organization.
Sandy has led home fire prevention initiatives, meeting with church and school groups to educate people about how to prepare for a disaster. She has also installed free smoke alarms in South Carolina communities. Most recently though, she made an extraordinarily generous gift which will provide funding to support more than 1,000 families who need help after a home fire through our home fire financial assistance program.
In addition, her donation will be utilized to support our Blood Saves Lives/Fighting Cancer program. Her gift is the first commitment for Fighting Cancer initiative and Sandy hopes that her contribution will inspire others to help ensure that all patients needing blood and platelets will have a safe and steady supply.
"Sandy's passion for our work reminds me, on a daily basis, that our goal at the Red Cross is to help people. All people. Whenever they need us," said Ashley Henyan, Executive Director for our Lowcountry Chapter. "She leads with her head and her heart—and to have those qualities in a Board Member, Community Volunteer Leader and Tiffany Circle Member, that is simply priceless."