American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region - Annual Report FY12 July 2011-June 2012 | Page 9

Caring for Military Families and Veterans
For more than 130 years, the Red Cross has provided critical services to service members,
veterans and their families. As times have changed, the Red Cross has adapted to meet
evolving needs—providing training and workshops, handling emergency communications,
and working at military installations and hospitals around the world.
As service members return from deployment, many realize that coming home doesn’t
always go as smoothly as expected. To help ease this transition, the Red Cross offers
Reconnection Workshops, presented by Walmart. This series of workshops, facilitated by
licensed and specially trained Red Cross mental health volunteers, focuses on topics such
as communicating clearly; exploring stress and trauma; identifying depression; relating to
children; and working through anger.
The Red Cross also provides services for patients in military and VA hospitals. With help
from a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Red Cross distributed more than
240,000 comfort items last year—including calling cards, small games and snacks—at
hospitals and medical facilities for wounded service members, veterans and their families.

The Red Cross supports the military
and their families at home and around
the world.

Through a new partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project beginning in January 2012,
the Red Cross distributed more than 1,200 transitional care packs to injured or ill service
members in military hospitals in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Germany and Kuwait.
In 2011, the Red Cross celebrated the ?fth year of Holiday Mail for Heroes. Members of
the public sent in 1.4 million cards for distribution to service members, their families and
veterans around the world, bringing holiday cheer to those far from home.

Red Cross Training Saves Lives
The Red Cross continues to build on its reputation as a top provider of ?rst aid, CPR/
AED, water safety and other training by updating courses, providing instruction in new
areas and using the latest technology to help the public be prepared for emergencies.
The Red Cross is leading the way in using the emerging power of digital technology to
get information to people at the right place and time, launching its free First Aid app
for iPhone and Android devices in June 201 The First Aid app gives people instant
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access to information on handling everyday emergencies, and was met with rave reviews.
This app was the ?rst in a series of apps to be released by the Red Cross.

Training lifeguards and lifeguard
managers is a key part of the Red Cross
aquatics program.

Last year, the Red Cross trained more than 250,000 lifeguards and lifeguard managers,
protecting swimmers and bathers at pools, waterparks and waterfronts across the nation
and on military installations overseas.
The Red Cross ?rst established water safety training nearly 100 years ago, and continually
updates instruction based on new science, research and best practices. In January 2012,
the Red Cross released an updated Lifeguard Program, which features modern graphics,
video streaming and other digital options for the student guards. It also provides scenariobased training that emphasizes critical thinking and teamwork—essential skills for every
lifeguard. The new lifeguard certi?cation is valid for two years.

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