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We’re all familiar, perhaps too familiar, with the work of the Red Cross, especially with the Christchurch earthquakes still fresh in our minds. And when Japan had its devastating earthquakes and tsunami last year, Red Cross was there, too.
   But even when there aren’t major natural disasters that hit the news, Red Cross organizations around the world remain active. British Red Cross helps a million people in the UK and, as we saw with the disasters, these organizations go abroad to assist others in need, too.
   British Red Cross also provides practical help in emergencies, short-term care in the home, and teaching first aid skills.
   Its latest campaign, released September 21, personalizes the sorts of crises that British Red Cross helps in—from someone with an illness coping with it alone and a choking child, to a fire, a motorway pile-up and a flood, highlighting in particular their indiscriminate nature.
   The British Red Cross wants to remind people that it does work at home constantly, and its website now includes a map of the UK which highlights what services it provides and events in different parts of the country.
   It reports that it has seen an increase in the number of people in crisis. The number of people using Red Cross services in the UK is at 1·1 million in the last 12 months.
   Sir Nicholas Young, CEO of the British Red Cross, says, ‘We expect the number of people in need of our services to rise further, yet almost 90 per cent of the public don’t even realize we have so much local support on offer that can ease the burden.
   ‘From our emergency teams who help when a community is hit by flooding or a fire, to our health and social care services for the elderly and vulnerable—we step in to help people who need it most.’
   Founded in 1861, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement consists of volunteers to help those suffering in times of war.

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