AMERICAN RED CROSS
The American Red Cross is the largest humanitarian organization in the United States. Founded by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C., in 1881, the American Red Cross was chartered by Congress to "carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures preventing the same." Today, the American Red Cross has more than 700 chapters and one million volunteers across the United States. The organization relies almost entirely on charitable gifts to carry out its programs and services, which include disaster relief, service to the armed forces, blood and tissue services, and health and safety services. Of donations made to the American Red Cross, approximately 91 cents of each dollar is spent directly to help people in need.
American Express also has a long history of helping people in times of trouble. The professionals at our many travel offices around the world have welcomed countless travelers over the last century -- helping stranded people return home, aiding victims of thefts replace their Travelers Cheques (and, more recently, credit and charge cards), placing calls, finding people and generally assisting during emergency situations in any number of ways.
Underscoring our tradition in this area, American Express has incorporated this priority into its philanthropic activities, as evidenced by the funds the company and individual employees have provided to deliver humanitarian relief to victims of numerous disasters -- including wild fires in Arizona and California, tornadoes in Alabama and Minnesota, floods in Hungary, Romania, Bangladesh, Argentina, Canada, China and South Korea, famines in Africa, and earthquakes in India, Turkey and Taiwan. The majority of American Express' aid has been delivered through the American Red Cross, including assistance for over 50 disasters in 35 countries.
In 1997, the American Express Foundation made a ground-breaking donation of $1.6 million over four years to support ongoing Red Cross disaster relief activities. This was the first large corporate "pre-disaster" contribution to help fund ongoing Red Cross efforts and has helped the organization lessen its reliance on episodic fund-raising for major disasters. In 2004, we committed an additional $2 million through 2007, as well as additional support for local Red Cross chapters across the country, bringing our total commitment to more than $6 million over 12 years.
Each year, the American Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters in the United States and its territories, including house or apartment fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, transportation accidents and other man-made disasters. In the past ten years, the American Red Cross has responded to 166 international disasters in more than 90 countries on five continents. The American Red Cross participates in international disaster response by deploying international response delegates, providing pre-positioned relief supplies and providing other emergency assistance to millions of people affected by disasters. Around the world, Red Cross and Red Crescent National Society staff, their local branches and volunteers are well-placed to identify the most vulnerable communities.
