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As revolution swept Hungary in 1956, the League of Red Cross Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross called on the American Red Cross and other national societies for help. The result was a massive relief effort that also involved numerous voluntary relief agencies who helped Hungarian refugees trying to escape their Soviet-dominated land. Approximately six-thousand refugees streamed across the border daily. Most of them were males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five who were involved in the uprising. The American Red Cross operated four of the largest refugee centers in Austria and helped over 30,000 Hungarian refugees at a reception center at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Nearly 700 tons of medical and other supplies were sent overseas to refugee camps in Austria and Hungary. The American Red Cross also joined the Cuban Red Cross to help the Cuban Families Committee arrange the release of 751 Cuban exiles and their families following the aborted Bay of Pigs invasion in 1963. Between December 1962 and July 1963, the Red Cross provided Cuba with children's food and medical supplies that amounted to $53 million. The independent relief effort, which was monitored by the U.S. government, was organized and implemented by volunteers, including businesses, airline and trucking companies, insurance firms, shipping outfits, and labor unions that donated their services. Following the release of the exiles, Red Cross volunteers were on-hand in Florida to distribute comfort items to the former prisoners, manning canteens, assisting with transportation and temporary housing arrangements, and rendering nursing services. The U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp in October 1963 to honor the centenary of the International Red Cross.
During the 1960s and the 1970s, the Red Cross began to recognize that frequent turnover among volunteers and fragmentation within the organization were serious problems. Therefore, change was essential and community leaders increased recruiting efforts for volunteers among youth, retirees, minorities, and the underprivileged. In 1978, in an effort to end the public misconception that the national organization and local chapters were separate entities, the name of the American National Red Cross was to be used only for legal matters, and the American Red Cross was to be used for everything else, including promotional materials. As disaster followed disaster, raising adequate funding was also difficult. In 1978-1979 alone, the Red Cross spent $36.6 million on disaster relief during operations in 49 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Mariana Islands. Operation New Life brought 130,000 refugees to various points
in the Pacific (the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island) for
eventual resettlement in the United States and other countries.
American Red Cross chapter volunteers and paid staff provided
assistance at refugee camps on Guam and in the United States and
helped with the resettlement of over 100,000 refugees in
communities across the country. Red Cross chapter volunteers
helped the refugees adjust to American culture by teaching
English, providing transportation, helping to solve problems
with government benefit programs, giving emergency assistance,
and by letting the refugees know that help was available. In
1979, the number of "boat people" increased, and the
American Red Cross joined other organizations to provide aid. It
also recruited doctors and nurses for service in Thailand, where
starving Cambodians sought refuge after fleeing their
Communist-dominated homeland. The Red Cross established an
international tracing Numerous hurricanes and disasters struck the United States
during the 1960s and 1970s. Between 1960 and 1969, the Red Cross
provided aid to the victims of four major hurricanes, depleting
disaster reserve funds and earning the nation's gratitude.
Amateur radio operators played a key role in the American Red
Cross disaster infrastructure as Hurricanes Donna (1960), Carla
(1961), Beulah (1967), and Camille (1969) swept through the
East, New Orleans, and Texas. During this period, victims were
given redeemable vouchers for local stores. The vouchers
stimulated business and economic recovery and helped avoid
logistical problems involved in collecting donated clothing. The
image above shows Red Cross volunteers bathing a baby, one of
many refugees who sought assistance in Red Cross shelters in New
Orleans following the onslaught of Hurricane Betsy (September
1965). The Red Cross also provided aid to the victims of one of
the most devastating storms of all --
Hurricane Agnes (1972) |
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Read
about the efforts of the Red Cross in the 
service at National Headquarters, which began operation on
August 18, 1975, building a list of over 40,000 individuals who
sought or were sought by relatives.
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