By Melanie Blanquine | Corporate Partnerships Manager
Report French Red Cross – May 2020
The French Red Cross is very grateful and thankful to all supporters and donors who made the organization’s humanitarian actions possible over the last few months.
Please find below some information about our latest activities, which were obviously focused around the response to the Covid-19 sanitarian crisis.
Covid-19 actions
The Covid-19 epidemic hit France hard and led it to a sanitary, economic and social crisis unprecedented for a century.
True to its historic role of assisting and protecting the most vulnerable, the French Red Cross gathered all its resources to bring together all those who want to take action to meet the immense challenges that were before us.
In all our local, departmental or regional volunteer units, in each of our health facilities, and in our social or medical-social systems: the entire Red Cross is mobilized.
As with every crisis, the most fragile, the most isolated and the most deprived are the most exposed and forgotten. In this exceptional context, more than ever, helping them was a top priority for us.
French Red Cross’s priorities to respond to the crisis
Gathered behind a protective emblem known to all, our 75,000 volunteers were mobilized (and still are) on the field to ensure the safety and protection of the population. Within days, the French Red Cross has had to respond to the emergency, adapt its operating methods to ensure the continuity of its activities, and review its priorities to focus its forces on responding to this crisis.
Maintaining our core missions
Food aid and maraudes are more essential than ever to help people in precarious situations or on the streets, whose isolation is reinforced by containment measures.
In our institutions, our healthcare workers were fighting (and still are) in a very difficult context, to protect all the vulnerable people we welcome: the elderly, people with disabilities...
Strengthen our relief and protection efforts for the victims of the epidemic
Night and day, our teams were on the ground, supporting hospital facilities and public relief that are on the front line to fight the epidemic. Our volunteers reinforced the teams of the «15» centres for the reception and referral of patients and participate in emergency relief to the person in collaboration with firefighters and paramedics.
On the streets, our marauders continued to work with those that are excluded and we opened specialized shelters with the authorities to ensure the isolation and protection of homeless people infected with Covid-19, without serious symptoms.
INNOVATING FOR THE SOCIAL BOND OF ISOLATED PEOPLE: AN EXCEPTIONAL NEW DEVICE
Within a few days, the French Red Cross has set up an exceptional solidarity concierge system: «Red Cross at home». Anyone confined to social isolation could call 7 days a week from 8am to 8pm on 09 70 28 30 00 to benefit from:
- a warm and reassuring support from a psychological help professional
- reliable information on the situation
- the possibility of ordering basic necessities (food, hygiene and maintenance products, medicines) that Red Cross volunteers will deliver to them safely the next day. This service is still working currently.
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The French Red Cross, founded in 1864, is an independent charity working alongside governments and public authorities. As a key player in society, we provide humanitarian, health, social, welfare and training services. To help carry out our assignments we have a strong team of 18,000 employees and 56,000 volunteers, who on a daily basis, pursue consistent and unwavering charitable principles to provide local support and deliver tangible results and long-term solutions.
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