A former Iranian solider and long-time volunteer, Mahmood Jafari, now calls the Canadian Red Cross his family.

After leaving friends and relatives behind in 1997 to migrate to Calgary, his lonely transition was made easier after he met two former Red Cross staffers, Peter Worsley and Vince Bodnar, who encouraged him to volunteer. Although Mahmood suffered a serious injury in Iraq that left him in a wheelchair, he agreed Red Cross would be a good way to help others.

How do some countries and regions escape relatively unscathed from major disasters, while others struggle to recover from these events? Many factors are at play, and while it’s impossible to compare one disaster with another, it’s clear that the level of preparedness and the local capacity to respond quickly to the disaster can significantly improve the outcomes.

Calling all youth to snap selfies and share on social media for a chance to win an iTunes gift card!
Post a photo of what a healthy relationship means to you to participate in the #RedCrossRespect challenge.

Catherine Mitchell calls herself the bionic woman. She jokes, but it’s partly true...she does have a bionic leg at least. A bad fall left Catherine with a shattered femur that required two months in hospital and three months at a nursing home before being able to return home. Once she did, she realized she needed additional support in place to live independently.

On October 21 at 7 p.m. EST, join in our Twitter chat on relationships, respect and abuse prevention.  
Use the hashtag #RedCrossRespect to join the conversation and help build momentum for a healthy and positive community.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year (cue the iconic back to school shopping commercial). This catchy jingle is not the best reflection of the majority of children and teens who are returning to class. For some, it’s the end of summer vacation that stings the most, but for others it is the fear of returning to a place where they are bullied.

In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Red Cross is not only helping to improve the healthcare infrastructure, such as adding gravity-fed water supply systems for hospitals, but also helping to build greenhouses on the outskirts of cities to supplement vegetable production.

Today, August 19, marks World Humanitarian Day and to honour aid workers and volunteers around the world, we’ve compiled a few stories of people who dedicate their time to humanitarian efforts.