Minute with the Mayor - Milford Chapter of the American Red Cross 100th Anniversary
The City of Milford recognizes the 100th Anniversary of Milford’s Chapter of the American Red Cross. On February 3, 1917 the Milford Chapter received its first charter. This location, 1 Plymouth Place, has been the home of Red Cross in Milford since 1959.
The Red Cross has a long and storied history. The first and busiest activity was production of surgical dressings and garments. These were shipped to the Mexican border to aid in the
Border War which was part of the Mexican Revolution. Scores of women met morning, noon and night in the center of town and in Devon and Woodmont .
First Aid classes started in 1917 followed by home nursing courses, CPR in the 1970’s, along with other classes like babysitting, Home Alone and Scrubby Bear. Swimming lessons started up at Gulf Beach and the Town Beach at Silver Sands in 1928.
Local disaster operations started in 1936 when there was severe flooding in New England and of course much more recently, Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. In addition, Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to other towns and states during regional or national disasters like Katrina. Disaster volunteers wearing their Red Cross vests are also the folks you will see responding to the house or apartment or condo fires, day or night, to offer immediate assistance to those residents who may only have the clothes on their backs, no wallet, no phone and no place to stay that night. The City of Milford was recently recognized for the incredible recovery efforts after Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene, earning us the American Red Cross 2016 Community Resilience Hero Award.
Flag Day 1951 marked the first Red Cross bloodmobile held in Milford, and that still continues today, averaging almost one a week at various locations in the city, including our high schools.
So over the years, the activities of the Red Cross have changed, along with the times and technology, but the mission remains the same - to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
For information about Red Cross services and opportunities, simply go online to redcross.org or call 877-287-3327.
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