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It’s easy to see that red is Joy Geizer’s favourite colour. Her winter coat is red. Her car is red. All her Christmas ornaments are red. A disaster management volunteer for seven years, Joy stopped by the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Red Cross office to talk about her passion for helping others while balancing her life as a full-time working mom in the health industry.  

Since the tragic attack in Novye Atagi in 1996, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has dedicated December 17 as a day to remember colleagues who lost their lives in the line of duty, and reflect on their sacrifices. This year, to mark the 20^th anniversary, family members of deceased Red Cross workers will be travelling to Geneva to take part in a series of in memoriam events. The families of Canadian aid workers Nancy Malloy and Vatche Arslanian, will be among those in attendance.  

Did you know you can find lots of gift ideas online through Shop Red Cross? Instead of buying your brother yet another ugly Christmas sweater, why not give him an emergency preparedness kit with essential items in case of a disaster.

Think of it as a way of showing how much you care about him and his family. It’s also reassuring to know they will be ready in an emergency.

A pilot project that would see the installation of underwater cameras in three Edmonton pools is expected to get underway by 2017. Participants at the 7^th annual Alberta Red Cross Water Safety Conference in Edmonton in October learned about the initiative. “We are always striving to improve water safety in Canada,” says Sarah Jackson, Red Cross Water Safety Representative for northern Alberta and NWT. “Conferences like this are a great opportunity to learn from each other.”

It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
 
You could call it the unofficial motto of the Dilke Red Cross Society, with close-knit friendships being one of the reasons why the organization has lasted the test of time.
 
The group from the small Saskatchewan community of Dilke is celebrating 100 years this year.

The work of the Canadian Red Cross is made possible through the tireless work of our dedicated volunteers. Today we want to celebrate the work of all our amazing volunteers, and take a moment to introduce you to Erina. 

It’s humbling to speak with someone who refers to the Second World War as simply “the war,” as a real experience not out of a history textbook. For Red Cross volunteer Joan Chapella, this reality is simply a chapter in an exciting life that has taken her across the globe.

When watching or reading the news it isn’t hard to see the impacts of war and armed conflicts, seeing this kind of suffering and destruction can lead us to ask if there are any rules or limits to violent armed conflict  – that’s where International Humanitarian Law comes in.