Saturday, Dec. 25, marks what would have been the 200th birthday of American Red Cross Founder Clara Barton. A compassionate and tenacious trailblazer, Clara built an extraordinary legacy of service, innovation, and hope.

Here in the Eastern New York Region, our team of dedicated volunteers and staff carry Clara’s vision forward. Currently we have 12 amazing volunteers deployed during their holiday season to help those impacted by deadly tornadoes. And every day we are out in the community responding to home fires and other disasters; more than 680 in the last year.

Over the last year, we helped nearly 2,800 military families navigate the challenges of deployment and reintegration. We collected more than 106,200 blood and platelet donations, giving the gift of life to those in need. We built safer and more resilient communities by training more than 40,000 people in critical lifesaving skills and installed more than 1,100 free smoke alarms as part of our Home Fire Campaign.

Emergencies don’t stop during a pandemic and neither do we. The need for our services continues to grow. We are grateful to our community who stands besides us to support our life-saving mission through volunteering and financial support. And of course, we are grateful for Clara for her vision that shines so bright 200 years later.

Visit redcross.org/ENYholiday to see our year in review.

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.

— Kevin Coffey, regional chief executive officer, American Red Cross Eastern New York Region