About Us

Since 1881, people have turned to the American Red Cross for emergency services. There are over 1.2 million trained and dedicated Red Cross volunteers, of all ages helping their neighbors across the country every day. For more than 125 years, Red Cross workers have eased the pain and suffering of millions of people of all religions and races.

 Although the Red Cross is NOT a government agency, the American Red Cross was chartered by Congress in 1905 to provide special services to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and to disaster victims. Red Cross workers assist our men and women in the Armed Forces and their families in emergencies. The Red Cross is at the scene of well over 40,000 disasters each year, from home fires to major disasters affecting hundreds of people.  .

 The American Red Cross is part of an international humanitarian movement that started in 19^th century war-torn Europe. In 1862, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant wrote of things he had seen on a battlefield in northern Italy in 1859 in a book he called  A Memory of Solferino.  On this battlefield over 40,000 troops had been killed or wounded and left without help. His story touched many people and in 1863 it lead to the forming of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Henry Dunant sat on the first committee which adopted the red cross on a white field as the emblem, the reverse of the Swiss flag. Dunant’s ideas led to the Geneva Conventions which are international treaties designed to protect victims of all armed conflicts.

 The American Red Cross is one of more than 145 national societies that make up the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and it also works closely with the non-member Magen David Adom Society of Israel.  The League encourages societies to work together to also relieve suffering from major natural disasters. Their programs are based on the basic principles of Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity, and Universality.

 During the time Dunant ‘s ideas were spreading through Europe, the United States was involved in the Civil War. A former schoolteacher from Massachusetts, Clara Barton, worked on the battlefields providing care for the wounded. Following the war, Barton went to Europe where she learned of the Red Cross Movement. Upon returning home, she worked to persuade the government to sign the Geneva Conventions. On May 21, 1881, she founded the American Association of the Red Cross.  The first chapter was established on August 22, 1881 in Dansville, New York.  Forest fires in Michigan in 1881 marked the organization’s first disaster relief effort.  In 1882, the Senate finally ratified the Geneva Conventions and America became the 32 nation to support the treaty.

 When war broke out in Europe in 1914, there were only 107 chapters, but by the end of the war the number of chapters had grown to 3,864 and one out of every five Americans were members. In 1916, America was preparing itself for war with Germany and at the request of the Surgeon General of the Army and Navy, the Red Cross organized 50 base hospitals in France and elsewhere.  President Wilson quickly mobilized the people behind the Red Cross when war broke out in 1917 and he appointed a War Council to run the Red Cross.  More than 30 million adults and young people became active supporters. Red Cross workers provided medical and recreational services for the military at home and abroad. They pioneered the development of psychiatric nursing programs at veteran’s hospitals, made artificial limbs and helped with rehabilitating amputees and blinded veterans.  The war took a great toll on the people of the American Red Cross. Among others, of the 24,000 nurses recruited for war duty, 296 died in service.

 Following the war, in 1937-1938, the Red Cross began to take the first steps in recruiting blood donors for hospitals, laying the groundwork for what later became the American Red Cross Blood Services. The first blood center was located in New York’s Presbyterian Hospital in February 1941. The director, Dr. Charles Drew, was a pioneer of modern blood processing techniques.

 Americans again supported the American Red Cross when we entered World War II in 1941. By 1942 more than 3 million volunteers were involved in Red Cross activities. At home, volunteers collected scrap, served in hospitals, produced war relief materials, taught health & first aid courses, and assisted the military personnel and their families. Also, over 70,000 registered nurses served through the Red Cross; 13.4 million units of blood were collected for the wounded; 28 million food parcels were shipped to U.S. and Allied war prisoners; and thousands provided recreational services to service personnel overseas.

Following the war the American Red Cross worked with societies in other countries to help reunite families separated by the war and carried on extensive rehabilitation services for the civilian victims.

 During the peacetime following World War II, in 1948 the Red Cross initiated a national blood program, the largest peacetime project that the American Red Cross had ever undertaken. Today, the Red Cross meets the critical need for blood and blood products by collecting, processing, and distributing half of the nation’s blood supply. Each year, Red Cross now collects blood from over 4 million donors from community sponsored blood drives.

 Today, Red Cross volunteers remain an important part of nearly every community in the country, continually adapting to meet the emergency needs of their neighbors. Red Cross workers are being trained for technological disasters such as those that might be caused by toxic chemicals, explosive materials, radiation, and weapons of mass destruction – as well as the traditional disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, home fires –any disaster that can threaten individuals or communities. Red Cross instructors teach life-saving skills and over the past 10 years they have certified and recertified over 60 million people  in  CPR, first aid, and water safety.

The Fulton County Chapter of the American Red Cross was first chartered on July 18, 1917 and was granted a new charter on February 27, 1994. At that time the Red Cross underwent a thorough review of every chapter in the United States and granted new charters to those chapters who were meeting the newly implemented Standards of Excellence.  The new system now requires chapters to be reviewed periodically.

 The Board of Directors is made up of volunteers representing the communities throughout Fulton County. There are currently 24 members serving three year terms which expire on a rotating system. The Board meets the second Monday of each month in the Board Room at the Fulton County Health Center at 7:00 p.m. and the meetings are open to the public.

 The Chapter’s office hours are 8:30 a.m. until noon on Monday through Friday. There is an answering machine available 24-hours a day that gives the numbers for after-hours assistance.

The Chapter's mailing address is: P.O. Box 156, Wauseon, Ohio 43567

CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS

Chapter Chairman – Edward Gajdostik (Metamora)

First Vice-Chairman –  Sam Denn (Wauseon)

Second Vice-Chairman – George Sessen (Archbold)

Treasurer – Karen David (Swanton)

Secretary – John Bamonte (Archbold)

Member-at-Large – Margaret Sutton (Fayette)

Member-at-Large – Jennifer Neal (Archbold)

Executive Director – Liana Baldwin (Wauseon)

Balance of the Board:

Chris Nelson (Wauseon)

Ida Mae Geiger (Wauseon)      

James Koelsch (Metamora)

Arnold Wilson (Swanton)

Peggy Wilson (Seanton)

Jennifer McCullough (Delta)

Chris Kirkum (Delta)

Jan Figgins (Fayette)

Treasure Bacon (Archbold)

Diane Morr (Delta)

Marle Weber (Wauseon)

Jody Abrigo (Delta)

William Chester (Delta)

Olivia Schaffner (Wauseon)

Hannah Becker (Wauseon)

Advisory Members

Frank Chapa (Archbold)

Mark Hagans (Archbold)

Tom Sullivan (Swanton)

IN MEMORY OF

WILLIAM P. ARTHUR

William "Bill" Arthur of Archbold, Ohio joined the Board of Directors of the Fulton County Chapter of the American Red Cross in April of 1993 and served for 13 years retiring from the Board in August of 2006. He served as Board Chairman from 1998-2001.  He was a very dedicated member and worked hard to build our Chapter into the success that it is today. During the time he served he was a member of our Disaster Response Team and helped doing blood transports to Toledo for our bloodmobiles and also for emergency runs needed by the Fulton County Health Center. He helped with many fundraising events and with our Annual Military Families Fun/Appreciation event honoring the families in our area who have members serving in the US Armed Forces.  Bill will be truly missed by all of his Red Cross family and those he has helped over the years.

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