World Red Cross Red Crescent Day Calls Upon Youth to Take Action

World Red Cross Red Crescent Day calls upon youth to take action Belize – 7 May 2012: To mark this year’s World Red Cross Red Crescent Day on 8 May, the Belize Red Cross Society is celebrating the contributions of young people and encouraging their continued action and leadership under the global theme, “Youth on the move”. In solidarity with the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, the Belize Red Cross will host an OPEN DAY on 8th May from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Headquarters at #1 Gabourel Lane, Belize City. The event is part of a global Movement effort to take action and make a difference in helping communities and our young people to better understand the work of the Belize Red Cross as we prepare for disasters and emergencies, address equal access to health care and promote and build a culture of non violence and peace. “Young people have a critical role in helping the Red Cross Red Crescent reach the most vulnerable. They also have an important role to play in building healthy communities,”explained Ashanta Osborne, Chair of the Youth Commission for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Half of the 13 million Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers worldwide are young people and the Belize Red Cross contributes approximately 53% of their total volunteers to this figure. The Red Cross Red Crescent recognizes the important value they bring to our communities, by leading positive change on a daily basis through their participation in designing and implementing program and project activities. “Without our young people and volunteers on a whole, we could not achieve what we do as a Movement,” stated Director General, Lily Bowman. At the Belize Red Cross, we will empower young people to continue to fulfill leadership roles so they can do more, do better and reach further in service to the most vulnerable. For example, on the Governing Board of the Belize Red Cross sits a youth, representing the young volunteers. To see “Youth on the move” in our National Societies around the world, visit our online photo exhibition available at ifrc.org. The exhibition will include images and short stories of Red Cross Red Crescent youth in action. Other activities and events taking place on 8th May will be highlighted on the IFRC and ICRC Face book pages, Twitter pages and the “Our World. Your Move” blog. For more information please contact: Lily Bowman, Director General, Belize Red Cross Tel: 227-3319 or 627-8801 Email: bzercshq@btl.net