Red Cross provides seven decades of assistance to base Published March 13, 2013 By Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The Red Cross at Scott Air Force Base has been providing volunteers, disaster relief, education and assistance to military members since 1941. The Red Cross was initially set-up during World War II to provide blood and medical services to members in need. It still serves the role of notifying military members of an urgent message. Stephanie Pitt, Scott Red Cross branch manager, has worked at Scott for more than 10 years now and said she has witnessed a lot of changes. "I am in charge of helping families of 31 counties east of the Mississippi River relay urgent messages to military members," she said. "Our message system has greatly improved ... what used to take days now can be done within hours thanks to our 24/7 operations." Scott Red Cross operates primarily on volunteers, but according to Pitt, the amount of volunteers has decreased over the years. Scott has more than 160 volunteers that work in various positions on base, 100 who are located in medical clinics, the rest are scattered throughout base in customer service areas such as, the chapel and military personnel flight, but most importantly volunteers are needed for blood services. "This month is national Red Cross month and a great time to sign up to volunteer," Pitt said. The base Red Cross hosts a blood drive every second Tuesday of the month and always needs donations. "Blood donations have also decreased over the years, partly because the WWII to Vietnam generation who routinely donate blood are passing," said Pitt. "Our generation just wasn't brought up with that mentality. But the nation does have a blood shortage. The base relies on off-base resources for blood since there is no longer a blood bank on base. Did you know for every five pints donated to Red Cross, one ultimately comes back to benefit someone on base?" Informational booths will be located in the base clinic with information and members can call 256-3292 for questions.