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On Tuesday, representatives of the Central Midwest chapter of the American Red Cross dropped by the LaGrange City Council work session to offer an update on their efforts in LaGrange and Troup County.

Red Cross Regional Philanthropy Officer Morgan Cantrell provided a report on the nonprofit’s FY24 local service provided in the area.

“Over the past year, we responded to 28 local disasters where we provided care to 98 people in LaGrange. We held 64 blood drives, and we collected 1,405 blood units,” Cantrell said.

Cantrell explained that every blood unit contributes to saving the life of approximately three people, so in total, the City of LaGrange helped to save 4,215 lives.

In addition to blood collection, the Red Cross helps teach CPR, first aid, AED and water safety classes. These courses provided life-saving techniques to 361 people.

“You never know when you’re going to need to know that information. If you have the opportunity to sign up for one of our Red Cross training courses, I highly recommend it,” Cantrell said. “They’re easy to learn. It’s manageable, and it’s something you have in your pocket that you never want to have to use, but the minute that you have to and you have that knowledge, you’re thankful that it’s there.”

In Troup County, the Red Cross responded to 23 home fires in FY24 and provided $22,700 in immediate financial assistance. Those dollars are given to disaster-impacted persons and can be used to replace items out of their home, to buy food or to get a temporary place to stay.

“Our goal is to respond to every single home fire — every single home fire. It does not matter if your house burned to the ground and you don’t have home insurance, or if only a little bit of your house burned in your kitchen and you do have insurance, we are there for you,” Cantrell said.

“Your kitchen fire may be incredibly destructive, and maybe you suffer from a little bit of mental health and you need someone to talk to to be able to put your steps in order to begin the recovery process. The Red Cross is there, just like we’re there for the person whose house burned completely to the ground,” Cantrell said. “We’re going to help replace your dentures, your contacts, your CPAP machine. We’re going to make sure that you have a place to stay, whether that’s in a shelter, in a hotel, and hook you up with people in the community to get you back on your feet. We’re there for you.” 

In 2014, the Red Cross initiated its home fire campaign, which aims to make sure that every person and every home is prepared in the unlikely event of a home fire. To do so, the Red Cross installs free smoke detectors inside homes. Since then, the Red Cross has made 374 Troup County homes safer by installing over 900 smoke detectors.

The Red Cross is most known for its blood collection, which it does with the help of countless volunteers and blood partners.

Local blood truck partners here in LaGrange include the City of LaGrange, which had a blood drive this past weekend hosted by the fire department. Troup County government, THINC Academy, West Georgia Tech, Troup County high schools, LaGrange Academy, the Rotary Club, local banks and many faith-based organizations helped collect blood and save over 4,000 lives, Cantrell said.

The Red Cross also works to help with sickle cell disease, which is a genetic blood disorder that causes red blood cells to become abnormally shaped and rigid, resembling sickles.

“It’s a blood disease that primarily impacts Black and African Americans. Georgia has the nation’s largest sickle cell population. It affects more than 10,000 individuals,” Cantrell said. “The Red Cross also has the largest sickle cell blood initiative goal in the country, and I’m happy to report … we are at 103% of our goal. So, we are making a difference out there, and it’s thanks to partners like you.”

“Our mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering. We do this through the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors and partners like you,” she said.