Wendall Barnhart, age 13, of Wilmington, Del., for his question:
WHEN WAS THE RED CROSS FOUNDED?
The Red Cross is an organization that strives to relieve human suffering. The name comes from the group's flag, a red cross on a white background. And the flag honors Switzerland, the nation where the Red Cross was founded in 1863.
A Swiss philanthropist named Jean Henri Dunant was touring Italy in 1859 during the Austro Sardinian War. He saw a battlefield at Solferino the day after 40,000 men had been killed or wounded. Horrified at the suffering of the wounded, he formed a group of volunteers to help them.
In 1862, Dunant published a pamphlet ending with this plea: "Would it not be possible to found and organize in all civilized countries permanent societies of volunteers who in time of war would give help to the wounded without regard for their nationality?"
The appeal won favorable response and on Oct. 26, 1863, delegates from 16 countries and several charitable organizations met in Geneva to discuss Dunant's plan. Groundwork for the Red Cross movement was laid and the delegates chose the organization's symbol.
Congress in the United States did not ratify the Red Cross Convention for 18 years, fearing foreign entanglements. But an American nurse named Clara Barton worked to have the treaty ratified and set about to help establish the American Association of the Red Cross in 1881.
Clara Barton added a clause in the Red Cross constitution that provides for relief during calamities other than war. President Chester Arthur finally signed the treaty on March 1, 1882, and the Senate accepted it a few days later without a dissenting vote.
Nurse Barton represented the U.S. at the International Conference of the Red Cross in Geneva in 1884.
Today the American National Red Cross has more than 30 million members. More than 125 nations around the world have Red Cross societies.
American Red Cross volunteers and career members manage more than 3,000 chapters that serve every U.S. county.
Of special note are the Red Cross services available to U.S. military personnel wherever they are. The organization helps solve personal and family problems.
Noteworthy are the disaster services programs. Volunteer groups are trained to provide food, clothing and emergency first aid, as well as nursing and medical services, when trouble strikers. All aid to disaster victims is free.
The American Red Cross also collects and distributes more blood than any other single agency in the U.S. About four million blood donations are collected from volunteers each year by members of the organization.
In addition, the Red Cross runs safety programs, nursing and health programs and also youth and service programs.