good morning and welcome to viewpoint. this morning our focus is the work of the american red cross in our community here and the country and the world. we're pleased to have with us this sunday morning linda mathis, ceo of the american red cross national capital region. welcome to you both. great to see you once again. >> great to be here. thank you. >> i'd love to start out if we can and show our viewers a tape in your long history with the red cross and your father's legacy as well. you are being saluted at your service gala coming up on the 18th and i want to talk more about that coming up down the road too but first let's look back at this short piece about

your years of work and your father's legacy and the rededication of the dr. charles drew blood center. >> i feel tied to the american red cross in many wonderful ways. not only because my father dr. charles r. drew was so involved in the storage and delivery of blood at the request of the american red cross for the blood for britain project in 1940 and 1941. but also because my mother introduced all of us to the american red cross as young people and to its work with the candy stripers and to its devotion to good. my mom was lenore robins before she became lenore drew. my dad and mom met in atlanta, georgia in 1939.

my mother was teaching at spellman college and my father had gone to make! a presentatio at atlanta university. they met at a party and my dad had to leave to go make his presentation but he was so submiten he went back to the united states last night and demanded he see my mother who was living as a dorm mother essentially and he was not permitted to see her but he insisted he would and he did. i was then born a year after that and this was the very time my father was doing the work with the red cross that he had  for britain project in which blood and plasma was shipped overseas and it was such anu%3ñ important time because there were so many soldiers wounded in the war. what my father discovered was

that red blood and plasma could be preserved and shipped overseas and he also devised the first mobile red cross truck, essentially, to refrigerate the blood and preserve it. so that was an important contribution and it was the first time that he worked with the american red cross. my dad's legacy is one of deep passion for the work which he did as a clinician, for the work that he did as a teacher of other surgeons, for the passion that he had for improving the lives of others, the passion that he had for so many things other than that directly involved with his clinical or teaching work. he was a saxophonist.

he loved classical opera. he was adh gardener. he was a fabulous swimmer. he was a four letterman in college. he was a man that was such a classical person in the larger sense that his shadow is big but his -- but our pride is large in what he was able to accomplish. >> wow and the passion continues. dr. jarvis this exceptional service award you'll be receiving, what does this mean to you. >> this award of the red cross is very meaningful to me because my father's work at the red cross was seminole work. it was work that drew on his thesis of banked blood that he did at presbyterian hospital after he became a surgeon and what he discovered as i said is

the storage and preservation of blood and plasma. plasma was shipped overseas during the war. blood needs to be refrigerated. blood needs to be typed. plasma doesn't need either so the use of plaza ma on the battlefield was critical in saving thousands of lives. so i'm very proud to be honored by the red cross. >> take us back to the beginning. a big overview. the american red cross, the red cross itself, the formittive years, way back. we saw some photos. >> they're great reminders of rich history. the work of the red cross was born out of the battlefield situation when people are suffering and needed help and still do today. it was actually clara barton that founded the american red cross in our country on the field of -- the battlefield, but

she followed the work of a swiss business man that actually initiated the work of the international movement of thef6 red cross years prior. it's a rich history and legacy that we keep alive today and what we do for the men and women of the military and their families. >> still. >> absolutely. every day and every night. what we do for people that experience disasters, literally every day and night in our community and communities across the country and around the world and then we also train people in how to save lives, how to prevent injuries and what to do about it when they do occur. we do this every day. >> i want to talk much more about all three areas because the work is phenomenal and how the red cross has grown in our region. if you'd like to learn more about the national capital red cross chapter go to their website and you can find out about donating and volunteering

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welcome back. our focus this morning again is the american red cross. i'd love to talk a little bit about the region and your work here if we can. in our news coverage it seems almost every week that we mention red cross is helping out an individual or families in need. a lot of us think about disasters. when we talk disasters in this region almost 500 disasters last year. >> that's right, jim. it's literally every day and night and typically about 500 local disasters each year. across country the red cross responds to some 70,000 disasters but right here in our own community it's about 500 a year. these are mostly fires that burn one or more families out of their home but we also had flooding, we had snow, we had

snowstorms, we had terrorist attacks and anthrax attack, microburst, literally all kinds of disasters here so our team works to help people prevent, prepare for,p, respond to and recover from disasters literally every day. >> you know we talked about the transformation there that your father is responsible for but now the mission is so broad for the american red cross it seems that it touches so many lives in so many different ways. >> well it does and what the red work with the military that's really extraordinarily important. we all know how many of our soldiers come back with very see veer injuries and whose families need to be supported. that is the red cross. they're not only there with floods and fires and that kind of disaster. the red cross is a helping hand

in many other ways that are unsung but very importantly they need help. they need help with volunteers they need help with contributions. they need help in the explanation of why it is important to give blood and that's one of the things that i have done over the years. it is especially important to ask that people of all ethnic groups contribute. african americans use more o type blood. so more african americans should be making a contribution to the blood bank at the american red cross. >> what do you find? do you find that people are donating more or less or about the same say five or ten years ago? >> linda can probably answer that question. >> we need everyone that can donate to make an appointment to donate. we need clean, safe, adequate blood every day in this community. while we're here talking about it somebody needs blood so we urge everyone that can to do so.

>> how easy is it to step up. >> call 1-800-red cross. make an appointment for a place close to you and donate blood. the process takes less than an hour to do so and it's safe. it's a very safe process and everyone who donates can be help save three lives. it's a beautiful way of helping other people. >> it's interesting over the decades when we cover crisis or disaster we hear that the need is greater. that we're in an emergency situation. late. is that a good sign? >> well, there's an on on going steady need. i receive alerts almost every day encouraging others to step up to the plate and take the time to donate. it really makes a difference. >> talk about making a difference and volunteers are critical to the red cross and

you run across them in all of your work. both of you do. how important are they and how much of a part do they make up of the good work that you do. >> the american red cross involves people as volunteers in a very unique way and that is in everything we do. our work, our services are totally dependent upon volunteers. in this area we have about 3,000 volunteers, people of all kinds helping people of all kinds. our work is totally dependent upon people giving whatever time they have available to help us help. totally dependent. >> great. with that we'll take another short break and if you'd like to learn more about volunteering go to their website. you can find out more about donating not just your time but money as well. we'll be right back on viewpoint.

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we're talking about blood donation a getting people to donate and there's been myths over the decade truly with regard to your father and the way he died. >> yes, i found out when i was going around the country with red cross chapters trying to encourage people to give blood that african americans, some african americans believed a myth that my dad died on a highway in north carolina in a] hospital because he wasn't given a transfusion or given plasma. in fact, my father was very badly injured. he could not have survived. he was not denied. he was treated. my mother knew the surgeons that treated him. so what i have tried to do is get rid of the notion that that happened. that is a myth and to say that them that it's so critically important if they want to honor my dad to give blood because that's what he did. he was a lifesaver.

>> he was, indeed. let's talk a little bit about dr. jarvis's daughter and the recognition he's going to be receiving and why this award for dr. jarvis here. >> look at what she has done herself for the people of this community for many years. we're so excited about this opportunity to honor her. we honored her father in particular at a rededication ceremony last week but we truly are eager to charlene as part of our salute to service. she has just told you a lot about what she has done to encourage people to donate blood and bone marrow to save lives but she has done so much more from this community as an elected officials for many years and she continues her work to ask people to get involved in helping other people. she has a beautiful rich life of service and we want to honor

her. >> i'm looking and thinking back about that picture when you must have been 7 or 8 and you could see in her eyes she's going to do great things. >> she's still going. she's still doing it. >> of course. let's talk the big picture if we can. when we talk about how many people donate and how many people benefit. >> you know, thousands of people do donate. last year we received i think it was over 60,000 units of blo that are turned around and used to help save people's lives. used in cancer treatments. used for auto accidents and other things every day and night and when there's a need in another part of the country if necessary we provide blood elsewhere too. so again there's a on going steady need for blood. there's times like summer months when people are out of town or the holiday season when people are busy focused on other things that we need people to give extra attention for the need for

and the opportunity to donate blood. >> we talk about in the infancy the formative years and infancy you touched on the military and military families how they benefit from the red cross today. in what ways? >> military families receive a lot of different kinds of support from the american red cross. you have soldiers return whing require a great deal of support from the medical community but also have families, families who come to visit them in this area. family who is are at walter reid. families who are up in bethesda and they're working with families with social workers with children in order to make the injury of that parent something that is a, understood. where there is need in the family where the home has been disrupted all kinds of services are given by the american red

cross. encouraging people to give blood particularly if you have soldiers that have particular kinds of needs of blood. so they're helping. they're helping where ever it is needed with those families that are trying to reintegrate and the soldiers trying to reintegrate into their communities after serving their country and suffering wounds as a result. >> we'll take another quick break. stay with us on viewpoint.

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count on them every day. talk a little bit about we have blood marrow centers that are in just as much need as the blood donation centers themselves. >> we do encourage people who can donate bone marrow to do so. to find out about it and do so. charlene has done so much work to encourage people to do that. >> that's critical. >> it is critical. the best possibility of a match for a american with a blood disease is a ethnic group. if you're hispanic, if you're african american, if you're white, if you're asian you need to have your name on the computer. you need to have your protein typed so if someone has a need they can go to the computer, they can call you and they can say will you help? and there's a real integration of the work of marrow and of blood.

and i want to say just about my family that my older sister is named for a blood bank because -- >> okay. >> the nurses at the hospital named her because my parents hadn't done that and she is b.b. >> blood bank. >> she is b.b. for blood bank. >> i love it. >> i always like people to know that. that's a special distinction that she has. >> she's told6í that story man times. how did you get your name? who else can tell that story? we talk about the many hats the american red cross wears but health and safety education and training talk about that facet of the work you all do. >> thank you. every household and every business to have people in it that know w to save a life as a result of training and first aid and cpr and how to use an aad. we try to make this as easy and convenient as possible. we have training online. we have training in class rooms. we'll bring it to you at your

work site. there's a number of ways to do it. it works. it works to help save lives and treat injuries when they do occur. we urge everyone to take the time to be prepared for emergencies by having this kind of training. by having a family emergency preparedness plan and having emergency supplies. >> what's the biggest challenge these days for the red cross and red cross chapters around the country i guess? you get your funding where? it comes from various sources? private, donations. >> our fund as good primarily from people, individual people in our community and a challenge is to make sure that people know our services are dependent on their gift which is we turn into service for people in the community every day dependent upon people giving their financial support, their time as volunteers and blood out of their arms. we're the only that will ask for

your time, money, and blood to turn it into surgeries for people. >> i'm thinking of the tragedies that you see around the country and you know where your money is going and it's being used right then and there when you donate to the red cross. when you donate blood you know where it's going as well. we're a town of chities and nonprofits but it makes a difference to know that. >> absolutely. and there's mental and emotional support and the kind of emergency support that we do with the men and women of the military. it's a beautiful way of giving of ones self-to other people. >> congratulations dr. jarvis and thank you for the work your organization does. again the big gala is coming up on october 18th. >> thanks for having us on vu d viewpoint this morning. now back to news 4 today. enjoy the rest of your weekend everybody.

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cheers at nats game but not for the home team. the likely play that likely cost them a critical win. how police from am cross virginia are pulling their resources together to find missing student hannah graham. bundled up. the cold weather has officially moved in. how long will it stick around? good morning, everyone. i'm angie goff. i'm richard jordan. that cold aramaic catch you off guard. >> that's right. this is the coldest at