Support Our Military

     When emergencies arise, our military members and their families have piece of mind knowing that they can stay connected through the Red Cross. The Red Cross is mandated by Congress to assist the members of our nation's military through our Service to Armed Forces program.
     A private foundation has offered the Red Cross a "matching challenge." They'll match dollar for dollar every donation to a Red Cross chapter in southwest Virginia through June 1, 2010 that's designated for our Service to Armed Forces program. This is an excellent opportunity for chapters because the demand for this program is increasing.
     The Red Cross works with our troops worldwide as well as their families here on the home front. We're the only organization that has this unique role with our military. In an emergency, critical accident, illness or death in a service member's family, the Red Cross verifies the situation and relays an emergency message to the proper military authority. We help the commanding officer decide whether emergency leave can be granted. When warranted, we grant emergency financial assistance. We also assist when a family hasn't heard from a service member - or when a service member hasn't heard from home - in a long time.
     These vital services are used many times every day. In the past year, we helped our servicemen and women from southwest Virginia with 1,264 emergency messages, and assisted in 342 other situations, for a total of 1,606 cases - more than four a day. We also provided an orientation for troops preparing to deploy.
     If you'd like to support our local military members and their families through the Red Cross's Service to Armed Forces program, email Jon Low at lowjo@usa.redcross.org or call 540-985-3539.