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PERSUASIVE SPEECH ON THE WORTHINESS OF FINANCIAL DONATIONS TO THE
RED CROSS ORGANIZATION
In America, the number of disasters that strike is very high. These disasters range from
the naturally occurring ones like earthquakes to those that are caused by human error such as
house fires and accidents in general. The victims of these disasters need help to help them get
back to their normal lives. They need to be counseled so as to enable them move on from the
trauma of the disaster that has struck and they have been victims. But do we take a minute to
appreciate the people who contain such situations apart from the government? The Red Cross
organization is the unsung hero of disasters response. Different countries in the world have
different names for the organization. Here in America, it is called the American Red Cross.
Internationally, we have the International Committee of Red Cross. In countries where the
dominant people are Muslims, we have the Red Crescent. This is just to mention a few of the
Red Cross organizations in the world. In all the activities that the organization undertakes in
whichever country it is based in, a lot of cash is used. But where does the organization get the
finances from having in mind that it is by all means a non-profit making organization? I welcome
all of you as I attempt to explain to you that indeed the organization is worthy of financial
donations.
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As I have mentioned earlier, the Red Cross Organization is an unsung hero. This is
because very few people acknowledge the work that these people do. The organization is useful
because it offers humanitarian help to people who need it. It is this organization that responds to
disasters that emerge any time and any where such as floods, droughts, earthquakes among
others. Apart from that, the organization has specialists in guidance and counseling who offer
guidance and counseling to the survivors of a disaster. The other thing that necessitates the need
for the Organization is blood donations. It conducts blood donations throughout the country
which in turn helps in disaster preparedness in the event that victims of a certain disaster need to
undergo a blood transfusion.
Donations form the core source of finances for any non-profit making organization. The sole
purpose of the Red Cross is to offer humanitarian help where needed. Think of it this way, what
if the organization was a profit making organization? How many people would afford to pay for
the services that the organization offers? Being realistic, very few people can afford to pay for
the services. What would have become of the one hundred thousand displaced people that the
International committee for Red Cross, otherwise abbreviated as ICRC, distributed aid to in
Northern Nigeria recently? Where did the Organization get finances to distribute aid to one
hundred thousand people? In an attempt to judge whether indeed this organization deserves
financial donations, one should first start by trying to get answers to these questions
(International Committee Of The Red Cross).
Apart from the direct aid to the affected areas and any other relevant humanitarian
assistance that this organization offers, it also needs to take care of its volunteers. The people
who work with this organization are mostly volunteers. Though they are volunteers, they are
normal human beings that also need to have their basic needs met. The organization caters for
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the basic needs of its volunteers while they are on an operation to offer help when needed. It
would be inhuman of the humanitarian organization to not offer food to its volunteers while they
are on their duty of offering help. Getting back to the previous fact that the organization does not
make any profits, where would the organization get finances to provide food to its volunteers?
When disasters strike, the Red Cross personnel are not on the scene of the disaster. They
have to travel to the place where the disaster has occurred. Where do they get their transport fee
from? The vehicles they use or the helicopters are fueled by the donations that are made. Were it
not for the financial donations, humanitarian help would not arrive at the place of need on time.
According to the International Committee of Red Cross, 93.5% of donations made are
used directly for the ICRC’s work in the field (International Committee Of The Red Cross). The
organization needs to buy food stuffs and other important commodities such as sanitary towels,
mattresses and bedding that they offer to disaster struck areas. The organization does not wait
until when a disaster strikes so that they can acquire these commodities. The financial donations
made help in making sure that the organization can respond to any disaster that strikes at any
time with ease. For instance, here in USA, the organization responds to an approximate of
seventy thousand disasters every year ranging from home fires to earthquakes (American Red
Cross). The donations enable the organization to offer help to the victims of these disasters. The
absence of humanitarian help offered by this organization would be such a blow to any country.
Financial donations help the organization to offer the humanitarian help needed.
The Red Cross organization is so much into blood donations. The organization travels
around the country asking for assistance of voluntary blood donors. This is an exercise that has
helped save lives of very many people. God forbid, imagine you were involved in an accident
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and you needed blood transfusion and none of your relatives blood is compatible with your.
What would you do? This is where the organization comes in. Blood donated and stored in its
blood banks is used in such instances. The financial donations made facilitate the exercise of
blood donation which has saved many lives in the past.
The there being of the organization ensures that such operations as mentioned above are
carried out smoothly. It makes disaster response and management simple and realistic. It also
saves a lot of lives through blood transfusions from blood in its blood banks. The exercise of
blood donation carried out by this organization has been a savior to many. What if the
organization was not there? That means that very many people would not get quick access to
blood transfusions as few hospitals conduct blood donation exercises. Thus there would be delay,
which may be could lead to death, as a person with compatible blood to that of the patient is
being looked for. The government would be left to face the burden of disaster management
solely if the organization did not exist. What of the traumatized victims who would have no
person to guide and counsel them? Would they live to face the trauma all their life?
To sum it up all, financial donations play a huge role in ensuring that the organization
lives to the expectations of the people. The donations made to the organization are worth and
everyone should endeavor to make donations. These donations help to make transport
arrangement for the organization’s personnel and the largest share, as seen earlier, is used
directly in the field. Besides, the organization is transparent and releases annual financial reports
of the finances received from donors and how they were spent that year. Thus we should feel
obliged to donate to the organization without fear of misappropriation of funds. To that effect,
let’s make a point and donate to the American Red Cross to help them prepare for disaster
response. This way, they will not be stranded without any help to offer when any disaster strikes.
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Works Cited
American Red Cross. n.d. 19 April 2015 <http://www.redcross.org/what-we-do>.
International Committee Of The Red Cross. n.d. 19 April 2015 <https://www.icrc.org/en>.