American Red Cross Month, 2011

Proclamation 8628 of February 28, 2011

American Red Cross Month, 2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For over a century, the American Red Cross has
harnessed the generosity of the American people,
mobilizing us to offer assistance in the wake of
disaster. Whether aiding towns fighting rising
floodwaters or nations struggling with starvation and
disease, the American Red Cross and its international
partners have served during crises across the United
States and around the world. During American Red Cross
Month, we celebrate our Nation's humanitarian spirit,
and we recommit to providing relief and hope in times
of crisis.

The American Red Cross has a long history of partnering
with Presidents of the United States to confront the
world's most pressing challenges. During World War I,
President Woodrow Wilson called on our citizens to help
the American Red Cross ``respond effectively and
universally to the needs of humanity under stress of
war.'' This relationship continued in 1943, when
President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed March as Red
Cross Month, urging the public to support the efforts
of the American Red Cross to provide resources and
medical care to troops, allies, and peoples around the
world.

Emergency response organizations like the American Red
Cross play a vital role in relief operations by
deploying scores of volunteers to rebuild communities
hit by disaster and by providing critical support and
resources at home and abroad. When a devastating
earthquake struck Haiti last year, the American people
responded with an outpouring of compassion, prompting
an unprecedented international response and relief
effort by the American Red Cross. These efforts reflect
our country's noblest ideals, and they contribute to a
climate of international trust and cooperation.

Volunteers play an essential part in every American Red
Cross effort, from traveling to disaster zones around
the world to donating blood at local community centers.
Through their service, ordinary citizens have done
extraordinary things, upholding the humanitarian
mission of service and relief organizations and keeping
our Nation strong and resilient. Though we can never
fully know the challenges we will face, American Red
Cross Month reminds us that Americans will always pull
together in times of need and will always look to the
future with hope and determination.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America and Honorary Chairman of the
American Red Cross, by virtue of the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim March 2011 as American Red
Cross Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this
month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities, and by supporting the work of service and
relief organizations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
fifth.