Month-long campaign raises Red Cross awareness

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ruthann Holcomb
  • 435th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  As March ends so does a month long campaign to raise awareness of Red Cross programs and services and to expand current services in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.

According to Natalie Holbrook, American Red Cross field office coordinator, the goals of the campaign were met.

"The Red Cross month was a big success," said Ms. Holbrook. "Volunteers gave a total of 50 hours of their time to showcase the Red Cross to the KMC. They received more than $350 in donations, which will go toward volunteer programs."

The American Red Cross supports the Armed Services Blood Program, and helped the ASBP to collect nearly 80 units of blood over the two-day event.

A key goal of the campaign each year is to garner interest in volunteerism.

"We definitely met our goals in raising awareness of what we do in the KMC," said Ms. Holbrook. "We received well over 70 inquiries about volunteering for the Red Cross."

One of the programs that benefited from the campaign was the pet visitation program, which allows the local community along with their pets to go and bring smiles to the patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The dogs that are in the program go through temperament and behavioral training to make sure they are suitable for hospital conditions.

As a side note to the campaign, the Red Cross also assisted the Ramstein Dental Assistant Training Program. Volunteers intern with the dental clinic for seven months and receive 1,100 hours of training.

Any questions about becoming an American Red Cross volunteer can be addressed to 480-2171 for the Ramstein office or 486-7298 for the LRMC office.