The American Red Cross has a unique role in serving as the safety net for the American people in their hour of greatest need. Although the American Red Cross is not a government agency, its authority to provide disaster relief was formalized in 1905, when Congress chartered the Red Cross to "carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply that system in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing those calamities."
As a partner of a network of 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter was founded in 1916 as a chartered unit of the American National Red Cross and serves the 3.5 million people of Montgomery, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Bucks counties.
History
The Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter is celebrating 90 years of service. As the second largest chapter in the nation, SEPA has been at the forefront of providing relief to families in our five-county service area, which include Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
SEPA's history shows we have played an integral role in providing comfort and relief to those most in need during World Wars I & II and the Johnstown flood of 1889. We continue to do so as seen in our response to Hurricane Katrina, the massive flooding that hit our region late June to the repatriation of Lebanese evacuees in July.
Mission
As reflected in the Red Cross mission, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter seeks to help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to natural and human-caused disasters through the immediate mobilization of people and resources and the provision of community, workplace, and school-based training.
Beyond disaster relief, the Chapter delivers Community Disaster Education, First Aid/CPR, HIV/AIDS prevention, and other types of life-saving health and safety training to thousands of people across our region to help people prevent, prepare, and respond to emergencies. This training targets underprivileged youth and families living in disaster-prone neighborhoods and/or at-risk for negative health outcomes. The Red Cross is also the Congressionally-mandated agent of communication between every person serving in the United States Military and their family members.
Volunteer Board
View our Volunteer Board by clicking here.
Annual Report
If the people who founded the Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) Chapter of the American Red Cross back in 1916 could see the world of today, they'd find nearly every aspect of daily life changed almost beyond recognition. But there's one thing that wouldn't have changed: the need for the kind of help that only the Red Cross provides. Download our 2009 Annual Report.
