Letter from Tennessee River Executive Director, Katy Hagstrom - June 2018

The summer is a crucial yet exciting time for the American Red Cross and brings new opportunities for volunteers and donors. We would like to challenge you to try something new and learn about one of our lines of service that you don’t usually volunteer in.

Join us in spreading the word on how important blood donations are! Make an appointment to donate blood and encourage your family and friends to do the same as part of Missing Types Campaign. The Missing Types Campaign is bringing awareness to a shortage of blood. Imagine if the letters A, B, and O were no longer. For example, _meric_n Red Cr_ss. The letters A, B, and O are blood types that are in need and during a blood shortage, just as the example above, they go missing.  By donating blood, or encouraging others to do so, you are moving the mission forward to decrease any missing types.

Summer is also the perfect time to begin or brush up on Disaster Cycle Services training you may be interested in or need in order to deploy during a disaster. Last fall, the Tennessee Region was one of the leading regions for sending volunteers to support operations during the hurricane season. It is important that volunteers are trained and ready when the time comes. If you are interested in supporting disaster operations, we encourage you to use this season to take the necessary training so we can continue to support when called upon.

On behalf of the leadership team at the Tennessee River Chapter, we hope you have a safe and enjoyable Summer.