What Is the American Red Cross and What Services Does It Provide?

The American Red Cross is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It also supplies about 40% of the nation's blood and blood products, trains millions of people in CPR and first aid each year, and supports members of the military and their families. You can engage with it in three main ways: get help, give help (donate money, blood, or time), or take a class. The sections below explain each service and how to act on it.

What the American Red Cross does

The organization describes its scale with a simple benchmark: every 8 minutes, the Red Cross responds to an emergency. That response covers home fires, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other disasters, as well as the everyday needs of people affected by them.

Its work falls into several broad areas:

• Disaster relief and recovery — shelter, food, emergency supplies, and recovery assistance after disasters.
• Blood services — collecting and distributing blood and blood products to hospitals.
• Health and safety training — CPR, first aid, AED, and water safety courses.
• Service to the armed forces — emergency communications and support for military families.
• International services — disaster response and disease prevention work abroad.

Getting help after a disaster

If you or someone you know is affected by a disaster, the Red Cross is set up to provide immediate assistance rather than long-term case management. Typical support includes emergency shelter, meals, and relief items.

To request help:

1. Go to redcross.org and use the "Get Help" section to find assistance for your situation.
2. If you are in an active disaster area, look for a Red Cross shelter or contact your local chapter.
3. For a home fire or other local emergency, contact your local Red Cross chapter directly — services are delivered locally even though the national site is the main entry point.

A practical note: the Red Cross responds to emergencies, but it is not a general social services agency. If your need is ongoing housing, food assistance, or benefits, a local chapter can often point you to the right organization.

Donating blood

Blood donation is one of the most direct ways to participate. The Red Cross collects and supplies a large share of the U.S. blood supply, so donations go to hospitals and patients rather than being sold.

To donate:

1. Check eligibility requirements on redcross.org (age, weight, health, and travel-related criteria apply).
2. Search for a blood drive or donation center near you using the site's location tool.
3. Schedule an appointment, or walk in where appointments are accepted.
4. Bring a photo ID and expect the process to take about an hour, including screening and recovery.

Donation frequency limits and specific eligibility rules change, so verify current requirements on the site before you go.

Taking a CPR, first aid, or AED class

The Red Cross offers certification courses for individuals and organizations. These are relevant if you need certification for work, school, or volunteer requirements.

• Find a class: use the "Take a Class" section on redcross.org to search by location and course type.
• Course types: CPR/AED, first aid, CPR for the professional rescuer, and water safety, among others.
• Certification: completing a course typically results in a certification valid for a set period, after which recertification is required.
• For organizations: the site has a business and organization track, including purchasing AEDs for workplaces.

If your goal is a workplace safety program, the organization-level path (training plus AED purchase) is the relevant one rather than an individual class.

Volunteering and donating money

Beyond blood, there are two other ways to contribute:

• Volunteer — roles range from disaster response and shelter support to blood drive assistance and administrative work. You apply through your local chapter, and training is provided for many roles.
• Donate money — financial gifts fund disaster response and services. The site's donation flow is the standard route.

Volunteering is the better fit if you want hands-on involvement; donating money is faster and supports response capacity directly.

How to find your local chapter

Most Red Cross services are delivered locally, so the national website is a starting point rather than the endpoint. Use the site's chapter locator to find the office serving your ZIP code, then contact that chapter for:

• Disaster assistance in your area
• Volunteer onboarding
• Local class schedules
• Blood drive locations

Quick comparison: which path fits you

Key things to verify before acting

• Eligibility rules for blood donation and class prerequisites are updated periodically — check the current version on the site.
• Class certification periods vary by course; confirm the recertification timeline for your specific course.
• Local vs. national — the national site handles information and donations, but assistance and volunteering run through chapters.
• Pricing for classes and AEDs is listed on the relevant pages; check there rather than assuming.

The Red Cross is best understood as a set of entry points: one for people who need help, one for people who want to give, and one for people who want training. Identify which one you need, then go through the matching page or your local chapter.