Contact Info
American Red Cross - St. Charles Co
Brad Farber
224 Mid Rivers Center
St. Peters, MO 63376
Phone: (636) 397-1074
Fax: (636) 397-1083
Contact via Email
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Services
- Disater Services
- Health & Safety
- Emergency Preparedness Education
- Military Services
- Youth Services
- International Services
- Lifesaver Awards
About Us
The St. Louis Area Chapter traces its beginning to 1884, when Red Cross founder Clara Barton came to St. Louis to provide disaster relief. In the spring of that year, she stood at the edge of the swollen Mississippi River in St. Louis, studying the flood damage. There was no organized relief effort, so she ordered a boat and supplies and, on April 4, she headed down the treacherous waters from St. Louis. Her “life boat” provided badly needed help all the way to Cairo, Illinois and then up the Ohio River. She recorded her eventful, often dangerous trip in her journal. She would later retell parts of her rescue adventure in her book, “The Red Cross: In Peace and War.”
When Clara Barton visited St. Louis in 1884, her new relief organization had been officially recognized for only three years. A chartered St. Louis chapter of the Red Cross was not to exist until 1917.
Between 1884 and 1917, a group of interested citizens provided disaster services under direction of the national organization. Their activities intensified with the advent of World War I, and relief to the military became the primary purpose of local Red Cross volunteers.
A Chapter is Born
Finally, on January 22, 1917, with Mrs. Frank V. Hammar as its first chairperson, the St. Louis chapter was officially chartered. Other Red Cross groups were also organizing, and the Webster Groves chapter actually received its charter a few months earlier than St. Louis – in 1916. The St. Clair County, Illinois and the St. Charles County, Missouri chapters both began in 1917; the East St. Louis, Illinois chapter was formed in 1922.
The first project of the newly charted St. Louis Chapter was the production of relief materials for victims of World War I. Some other early projects included a $3 million Red Cross War Fund Drive in 1919, and two major services -- the Military Relief Department and the Civilian Relief Department. As soon as the war ended, the chapter quickly expanded into public health nursing, concentrating on serving discharged American soldiers.
In 1937, the St. Louis Chapter introduced a vocational counseling service, and was involved in such diverse activities as Braille transcribing, home hygiene and lifesaving instruction. That same year, the chapter spent more than $400,000 on Ohio and Mississippi Valley flood relief, completing the circle started by Clara Barton with her 1884 visit.