USA - Since American nurse Clara Barton founded the Red Cross on May 21, 1881, one of its major jobs is to keep an open line of communications between military personnel and their families. For example, if a grandfather at home gets ill and the soldier at a distant location needs to be notified, it is the American Red Cross that makes it happen. 

This Veterans Day, the American Red Cross is celebrating veterans and the sacrifices they’ve made. Their service to this country inspires over 4,300 Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) employees and volunteers to provide a continuum of care to service members, veterans, their caregivers and their families.

Through every phase of duty, service members and their families face a unique, sometimes daunting set of challenges – like reaching a loved one on a military vessel at sea or supporting a veteran living with depression.

Through the Hero Care Network, the Red Cross connects service members, veterans and their families to free and confidential assistance any day, anytime. This includes facilitating emergency communication messages, facilitating financial assistance, critical community services and more.

By focusing on the whole health of service members, the Red Cross ensures that they receive the care and support they need to thrive both during and after their service. The Red Cross and its volunteers support whole health by providing a range of services that address the physical, mental, and emotional needs of service members, veterans and their families. This includes behavioral health workshops, hospital visits, and caregiver-peer support programs.

U.S. Army Veteran Gives Back Through Red Cross Hero Care Network. After serving in the U.S. Army for 20 years, Sean Day found a renewed sense of purpose through his work with the Red Cross at the Hero Care Center in Lawton, Oklahoma.

The Hero Care Center assists military families during medical emergencies or significant life events, ensuring service members receive emergency communication messages while deployed. The Hero Care Center facilitated more than 621,500 calls nationwide last year. Specialists like Day verify events and coordinate with military commands to bring service members home.

The work is especially meaningful to Day as he once received an emergency communication about his own grandfather’s illness while stationed in Germany, allowing him to return home before his grandfather passed. The experience now fuels his dedication to the job and the effort required to verify emergencies and provide services members with resources and assistance. Sean’s work is vital and rewarding.

“Every case that we’re able to help somebody, it always makes me feel good,” he said.

To access Red Cross services or to get involved as a volunteer, visit redcross.org/saf or download the Red Cross Hero Care app.