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The below 8 things are from http://redcrosschat.org our national blog site. Check it out!
- Johnny Weismuller, winner of 5 Olympic gold medals who played Tarzan in a dozen movies, was an active Red Cross swimming instructor. [Find out how you can be too.]
- Clara Barton, known as the Angel of the Battlefield, was not a trained nurse. [Find out more you didn't know about our founder Clara. You can even take a quiz about her.]
- American Red Cross began experimenting with blood collection on a local level as early as the 1930s. A national blood program began during World War II.
- Tallulah Bankhead, Ray Bolger and Lucille Ball were all supporters of the American Red Cross. A list of today’s Celebrity Cabinet members is located here.
- American Red Cross ran a Braille Corps from 1921 to 1942 to transcribe written texts for readers who were blind. Over its 21 years of existence, an average of 1,600 volunteers spent 87,000 hours a year transcribing words into Braille. In all, they transcribed an estimated six million pages for persons who were blind.
- The American Red Cross was one of the first major nonprofits to have a Web site and to conduct online fundraising.
- Most American Red Cross workers are volunteers—about 600,000 volunteers versus 35,000 employees.
- In April 1912 American Red Cross provided food and shelter as well as financial assistance to those who survived the sinking of the Titanic. [Find out more about today's disaster response efforts.]
Now it’s your turn. What are 8 things we probably didn’t know about you?
