[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 9 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Pages 345-346]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7069--American Red Cross Month, 1998

February 27, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Americans share a long tradition of compassion for others and 
lending aid to those in need. Since our earliest days as a Nation, we 
have been able to bear the heartbreak of family tragedy, personal 
hardship, or natural disaster because of the help of caring friends and 
neighbors. For 117 years, the American Red Cross has been the staunchest 
of friends and neighbors to millions of people both here at home and 
around the world, adding its own vital contributions to our history of 
service.
    The American Red Cross brings both comfort and practical assistance 
to the victims of more than 65,000 disasters each year, from hurricanes 
and tornadoes affecting thousands of people to a house fire involving a 
single family. Members of the Red Cross also work on the front lines of 
armed conflicts and disasters across the globe to relieve suffering

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and restore human dignity and self-sufficiency. At the same time, they 
serve alongside our men and women in uniform wherever they are deployed, 
relaying urgent family messages and providing a precious link with home. 
And through its Holocaust and War Victims Tracing and Information 
Center, the Red Cross has helped thousands of families in their search 
for information about the fate of loved ones from whom they were 
separated during the Holocaust.
    Few of us have remained untouched by the work of the Red Cross. The 
Red Cross collects, tests, and distributes six million units of donated 
blood each year, nearly half the Nation's supply. More than 1,300 Red 
Cross chapters in communities across America teach health and safety 
courses to 12 million people each year, providing them with knowledge 
regarding CPR, first aid, water safety, and HIV/AIDS that can--and 
does--saves lives.
    The Red Cross has become a simple yet powerful symbol that 
transcends language and conveys a universally understood message of 
hope. This symbol draws its strength from the dedication of the more 
than 1.3 million volunteers who help disaster victims, assist at blood 
drives, teach health classes, and respond to urgent community needs. I 
commend the generous spirit of all those who carry out the important 
work of the American Red Cross, and I encourage all Americans to support 
their efforts--whether by giving blood, donating funds to help disaster 
victims, or becoming Red Cross volunteers themselves. In doing so, we 
will ensure that the American Red Cross will continue its tradition of 
compassionate service in the 21st century and beyond.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America and Honorary Chairman of the American Red Cross, by 
virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the 
United States, do hereby proclaim March 1998 as American Red Cross 
Month. I urge all the people of the United States to support Red Cross 
chapters nationwide, and I challenge each of you to become active 
participants in advancing the noble mission of the Red Cross.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh 
day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-
eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two 
hundred and twenty-second.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:34 a.m., March 2, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
March 3.