Into a New Millennium: 2000-2009

As the 21^st century dawned, the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) continued its important work in the areas of disaster relief, First Aid and water safety training, community health, and reuniting family members (now known as Restoring Family Links).  Building on its strengths as it moved into the future, the CRC was particularly active in disaster relief during this decade. The CRC helped hundreds of thousands of people reeling from disasters around the world, and here in Canada:  from natural disasters like fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, monsoons, typhoons, floods, earthquakes and volcanoes, to human-made disasters like the conflicts in Afghanistan and the Middle East, and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean prompted Canadians to respond more generously than ever before, donating an unprecedented $360 million to the CRC for relief and rehabilitation efforts.  In the aftermath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina CRC volunteers went south to assist our neighbours in the American Red Cross as they managed 270 shelters and delivered some 500,000 hot meals each day along the US Gulf Coast. 

In 2009 the CRC celebrated another century milestone: the 100^th anniversary of its 1909 Act of Incorporation.  For ten decades this legislation has guided the CRC as an organization dedicated to delivering essential humanitarian assistance and improving the lives of vulnerable people across Canada and around the world.  Legislation alone, however, isn’t sufficient to achieve humanitarian goals. In 2002 the CRC launched the “Even Wars Have Limits” program to promote humanitarian law, values, and to inform Canadians about the limits of war. The campaign was launched with a special focus on children and war. The campaign hoped to inform Canadians about the suffering of millions of vulnerable children caught in the cross fire of conflicts throughout the world.

Source:

CRCS.  Annual Reports. 2000-2010.