The Nationwide Foundation has partnered with the American Red Cross to support disaster services and biomedical services for more than 25 years. The Foundation’s annual support to the Disaster Relief Fund and to local Red Cross chapters is an extension of the company's On Your Side® promise to customers and their communities.
The Nationwide Foundation partners with the American Red Cross to help Red Cross chapters prepare for and respond to disasters, as well as get back on their feet. Last year, the Foundation enabled the Red Cross to respond to more than 1,500 local community disasters and assist more than 1,800 families who were affected by them.
The Foundation’s support of 15 chapters across the U.S. bolsters Red Cross disaster services at the local level, such as providing essential staff and volunteer training, securing essential emergency supplies for disaster response, and providing direct emergency assistance to families and individuals affected by disasters.
The Foundation also provides additional financial support to the Red Cross during times of disaster, supporting the response to 11 large-scale disasters last year, including all of the storms during our very active 2008 hurricane season.
In addition to supporting Red Cross Disaster Services, Nationwide’s executive leadership lends time and expertise by serving on numerous chapter boards, and employees generously donate their blood to help the Red Cross maintain a sufficient blood supply. Most recently, the Nationwide Foundation awarded the American Red Cross $1.7 million to support local and national disaster preparedness and response and to fund three new blood collection vehicles.
One of the most efficient ways of collecting units of blood is via Self-Contained Units (SCUs), also known as blood mobiles. Eighty percent of the nation’s blood supply comes from blood donations made at mobile units, including SCUs and organization-sponsored blood drives, such as those sponsored by Nationwide.
Blood donors give approximately 5.1 million units at blood mobile donation sites annually, versus the 1.3 million units that are donated annually at fixed sites. More than 500 Red Cross blood mobile drives take place across the nation every day. With the Foundation’s recent grant to support three new SCUs,
the American Red Cross is able to collect 12,000 – 18,000 units of blood each year. With one unit of blood having the potential to save three lives, Nationwide is helping the Red Cross to save at least 36,000 lives across the United States each year.
Nationwide’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio is home to the first American Red Cross corporate on-site blood collection center. Community members and Nationwide employees can donate blood right in their building any time during the week. Nationwide’s employees supply approximately 9.5% of Franklin County’s blood supply. In addition to the blood collection center, Nationwide hosts blood drives at 17 of its field offices.
How the Partnership Supports Nationwide’ Business Strategy
Nationwide works hard to safeguard customers’ investments and helps them plan for the future − protecting what matters most to customers and their family.
Nationwide’s partnership with the Red Cross supports Nationwide’s priorities by helping Red Cross plan for future disasters and assisting Red Cross to help communities where their associates and customers live, after a disaster occurs.
Associates count on the company to partner with the local Red Cross in their communities as they work to help customers after a disaster. Support to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund is an extension of Nationwide’s promise to their customers to be there when disasters occur. Nationwide has supported many disaster relief efforts, including the Murfreesboro, Tennessee tornado, the Minnesota bridge collapse, and Hurricane Katrina.
Nationwide’s support of Red Cross’s biomedical services and its employees’ commitment to donating blood also align with Nationwide’s commitment to help those affected by emergencies.
Evaluation and Impact
Nationwide and the American Red Cross both help clients to rebuild their lives after a disaster occurs. The Red Cross can only respond if it is prepared ahead of time with the equipment and supplies to do so. By partnering, Nationwide is assisting the Red Cross to be prepared with the supplies, staff, and
volunteers needed to respond to a disaster and therefore, supporting community members’ return to being active in the community both economically and socially.
The benefits of Nationwide’s support are measured by the number of families assisted annually by the chapters and, in addition, by the amount of financial assistance and services received by families following a disaster. The success of the disaster services supported by Nationwide Foundation is measured by the chapter’s level of preparedness, which in turn impacts the chapter’s ability to respond to disasters in the community.
• American Red Cross Between Heart and Hand Video Detailing the American Red Cross at Work
target="_blank">http:://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQUl4Hlyj7Q (English) or
target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJzhPI8CRSs (Spanish)
Testimonial
Testimonial of the Triangle Area Chapter’s Disaster Response to 2008 Concord Apartment Fires, Raleigh, NC:
"On Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 2:00 p.m., Chapter Disaster Services was notified of a fire call at an apartment complex. Within the hour, the Chapter’s Disaster Action Team was dispatched to the scene to begin the role of damage assessment and to set up an onsite service center at the Concord Apartment Clubhouse.
"An emergency response vehicle was dispatched carrying snacks and water to canteen the firefighters and those clients displaced from their homes by the disaster. Upon arriving at the scene, volunteers quickly determined that 12 units were destroyed, which displaced 29 individuals. Client caseworkers began interviewing those affected and provided emergency food, clothing and referrals to the Red Cross shelter at the Blue Ridge Baptist Church.
"There was a generous outpouring of support from local restaurants that provided pizza, sandwich platters, and drinks at the shelter. Red Cross volunteers operated the Baptist Church Shelter for two nights."
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