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American Red Cross outlines disaster, blood and veteran services for Cumberland County
Summary
Rachel Lipoff, executive director of the American Red Cross of Southern New Jersey, outlined local Red Cross programs including disaster response, free smoke-alarm installations, blood drives and services for veterans and military families during a May 13 presentation to the Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners.
Rachel Lipoff, executive director of the American Red Cross of Southern New Jersey, told the Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners on May 13 that the Red Cross provides disaster relief, preparedness programs, blood-collection services and support to service members and veterans across the county.
The Red Cross “responds to a disaster” about every eight minutes nationally, Lipoff said, and locally 26 Red Cross responders logged 92 responses in Cumberland County over the past two years to incidents ranging from single-family home fires to explosions. The organization provides financial assistance, relief supplies, health and mental-health support and, in some cases, shelter.
Why it matters: County officials were briefed on services they can call on in an emergency and on prevention programs the Red Cross offers to reduce future harm.
Lipoff described the Red Cross’s preparedness and prevention work, including school programs such as “Prepare with Pedro” for kindergarten through second grade, hands-only CPR trainings for organizations and the Ready Rating program for businesses, schools and non‑profits. She highlighted the national Home Fire Campaign: since 2014 the Red Cross has installed more than 3 million free smoke alarms nationally and, she said, 1,339 alarms in Cumberland County that made 564 homes safer.
On blood collection, Lipoff said the Red Cross provides roughly 40% of the nation’s blood supply and is focused on recruiting donors from diverse communities to support patients with conditions such as sickle cell disease. She reported that between July 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, Cumberland County hosted 905 blood drives and collected 2,306 units of blood.
Lipoff also described the American Red Cross’s Service to the Armed Forces program, which offers support from enlistment through veterans’ status, and noted that the county has 6,153 veterans (data cited to 2023). She said 90 cents of every dollar raised goes to the Red Cross mission and that the organization is about 90% volunteer driven; as of March 2025, volunteers in New Jersey logged 133,901 hours, and the county has 20 local volunteers.
Lipoff asked county officials to continue referring local disaster calls to the Red Cross and to partner on volunteer recruitment and smoke-alarm installations. She provided contact information and said volunteers, donors and program requests can be routed through 1-800-RED-CROSS or redcross.org.
County responses were brief: officials thanked Lipoff and noted they look forward to further coordination and outreach.
