Chapter History
On June 5, 1917, Mrs. John Watters of Ravenna called to order a meeting of several Portage County residents who petitioned the American National Red Cross to form a local chapter to carry out the work of the Red Cross in Portage County.
Those present and signing this petition for the organization of volunteers in Portage County had such familiar names as Kent, Davey, and Haymaker, to name a few. The Honorable W.S. Kent was chosen as chairman of the new chapter, which was officially chartered on July 6, 1917. Branches of the Chapter were formed in Kent and Ravenna with auxiliary groups in most of the townships. The first projects of the Chapter were the World War I Fund Campaign, the County Women’s Work Committee and the Civilian Relief Committee. Much of the work done during this time was for the relief of civilians in war-torn countries.
In September 1919, the Portage County Chapter was able to change its focus from war efforts to local concerns. The Home Service Department of the Red Cross was formed to help Portage County veterans and their families with war claims and relief to the disabled. The first Public Health Nursing Service was also developed at this time. It was through the nursing service that first aid and water safety programs began. Junior Red Cross groups were initiated throughout the Portage County schools in 1922.
In November 1923, the Portage County Chapter of the Red Cross initiated the Tuberculosis Association, which was later taken over by the county health department.
In 1929, the Red Cross pioneered the first social work service in Portage County. With the assistance of the Child Welfare League, the Chapter hired a social worker for a year of demonstration project. This successful program of social services was turned over to the Portage County Commissioners. During the depression years of the 1930’s the Chapter worked to alleviate the desperate poverty of many county residents. Garden plants and seed were purchased and distributed. Wheat was obtained from the National Red Cross, milled and distributed as flour. Thousands of yards of material were procured and made into clothing by Red Cross volunteers.
The Chapter’s activities in the 1940’s and 50’s once again focused on war relief as World War II and the Korean War increased activities in services to the armed forces, military families and blood collections. In 1942, the first blood donor program was initiated in Portage County to collect blood for use by the armed forces.
Blood collections in the community stopped after World War II, but were resumed in 1951 and have since continued to meet the needs of the civilian population.
The past fifty years have seen tremendous expansion of Red Cross services in Portage County. Dramatic changes have occurred in the blood program as medical advances created the need for more blood and blood products. The Chapter’s disaster relief program now includes a singe-family disaster programs as well as response to major disasters. Services to military families continue to be important in peacetime as families cope with hardships caused by separation.
Health and Safety Services now reach over 6,000 people each year as the Red Cross provides training in traditional areas such as first aid, CPR and water safety, and in more contemporary areas such as child care and back injury prevention. Today, over eighty years after the Chapter was chartered, the Red Cross serves over 10,000 people each year through the efforts of 300 volunteers.. Nearly 5,000 Portage County residents give 8,000 units of blood each year. These services would not be possible without the voluntary support of those individuals, organizations, and businesses who give their time, blood and money to the Red Cross.
Throughout the past 90 years, the Portage County Red Cross has changed its services to meet community needs. But several things about the Red Cross have and always will remain the same: The commitment to help people avoid, prepare for and cope with emergencies; the primacy of voluntary governance and service; and the need for community support for Red Cross Services.
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