Florida Senate - 2014 (NP) SR 1028 By Senator Simmons 10-01142A-14 20141028__ 1 Senate Resolution 2 A resolution recognizing the critical mission of the 3 American Red Cross in Florida and its Prepare Florida 4 campaign. 5 6 WHEREAS, the American Red Cross is a humanitarian 7 organization founded in 1881 and originally chartered by 8 Congress as a federal instrumentality in 1900, but receives no 9 federal funding, and 10 WHEREAS, 2014 marks the 133rd anniversary of the American 11 Red Cross and the centennial of the organization’s first 12 chartered chapter in Florida, and 13 WHEREAS, the American Red Cross prevents and alleviates 14 human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the 15 power of volunteers and the generosity of donors, and 16 WHEREAS, American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, 17 and 91 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to mission 18 service delivery, and 19 WHEREAS, the American Red Cross has answered the call to 20 assist and prepare Floridians before, during, and after 21 disasters since 1901, and 22 WHEREAS, the American Red Cross in Florida, composed of 23 five regions, has developed a 3-year, multi-million dollar 24 statewide preparedness campaign, and 25 WHEREAS, the Prepare Florida campaign has specific 26 preparedness goals to increase feeding capacity from 250,000 to 27 500,000 meals per day; to increase outreach from 177,500 to 28 350,000 people; to increase volunteers from 4,500 to 10,000 29 trained community leaders; to train 500,000 people with life 30 saving first aid/CPR/AED skills; and to procure 15 new emergency 31 response vehicles over a 3-year period, and 32 WHEREAS, March is recognized as “American Red Cross Month” 33 across this nation, and 34 WHEREAS, the preparedness goals outlined in the American 35 Red Cross Prepare Florida campaign, and the organization’s call 36 for every resident of this state to assemble a disaster 37 preparedness kit, make a plan, and be informed before a natural 38 or man-made disaster strikes will save lives, NOW, THEREFORE, 39 40 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida: 41 42 That we recognize the critical mission of the American Red 43 Cross in Florida and its Prepare Florida campaign.