Skip to content
Health
Link copied to clipboard

Bet you never heard of the American Junior Red Cross

It began in 1917, with President Woodrow Wilson's proclamation encouraging school children to “work in the great cause of freedom to which we have all pledged ourselves."

March is Red Cross month and Women's History month—a perfect time to celebrate Red Cross founder Clara Barton, who began this organization in 1881 and served as its leader until 1904. Barton provided humanitarian aid to soldiers in the Civil War. During a visit to Europe she learned about the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross and worked to create the American National Red Cross, which was awarded a federal charter in 1900. Today the Red Cross is an international organization and is best known in the United States for its work in disaster relief, supporting military families, and collecting blood and blood products. (If you'd like to celebrate women's history and the Red Cross by making a donation you can find a local blood donor drive here.)

Few Americans are aware of the contribution of children to the work of the Red Cross. A Junior Red Cross began shortly after the United States' entry into World War I. On Sept. 15, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that announced this new effort to encourage school children to "work in the great cause of freedom to which we have all pledged ourselves." It went on to promise that joining the organization "will teach you how to save in order that suffering children elsewhere may have the chance to live. It will teach you how to prepare some of the supplies which wounded soldiers and homeless families lack."

A wartime theme presented in educational materials was the need to sacrifice at the dinner table. An educational conference in 1918 stated this aim as teaching "the boys and girls of this country to eat less candy and give up sweet drinks," so that the sugar could be shipped to Allies and used in food for soldiers.  Anyone who has ever heard about cleaning their plate because children overseas were starving should know that this lesson went back to World War I and the Junior Red Cross, when American children were also taught to "think of the hundreds of thousands, in fact millions of people who have been scourged by the German Army, and who have from two to three years been suffering not only the pangs of hunger but actual starvation."

As members of the Junior Red Cross, children knit scarves, rolled bandages, worked in Victory Gardens, and raised money. Junior Red Cross meetings at school provided students with lessons about their health—brushing teeth, eating wholesome foods, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and keeping clean—and it encouraged children to raise funds for the war effort by selling eggs, and doing work for others such as beating carpets and varnishing chairs.

After the war, Junior Red Cross programs continued. Children worked in relief efforts during the Great Depression, helping to distribute surplus food, canning vegetables, and collecting clothing for distribution. When World War II began, the nearly 20 million members of the Junior Red Cross joined with the adult Red Cross volunteers to help on the homefront. They provided entertainment at military camps and hospitals, collected scrap metal and paper for military use, and helped recruit blood donors. Today the tradition of young volunteers continues in Red Cross School Clubs.

Youth civic engagement, led by the Red Cross and many other volunteer organizations, proved vital to our national interest and to the development of young women and men. And that continues to be the case.  We know that civic engagement can support the health and well being of college students and is likely to do the same for younger students. So, what if – in addition to Women's History Month and Red Cross month – we make March "Youth Civic Engagement Month"

Read more about The Public's Health.