At Thanksgiving, family and friends gather to give thanks for their good fortune over the past year.

The Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross gives thanks to our volunteers who so generously give their time, energy and spirit and to our financial donors who enable us to effectively carry out our mission to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

Thousands of volunteers and members of our community have given their energy, talent and generosity over the past year to help those in need. As a result, your Jersey Coast Chapter was able to provide disaster relief to 238 victims in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

With your donated time, we taught more than 40,000 members of your community life-saving skills such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid, and automated external defibrillator (AED) training.

We also taught your children how to swim, educated your neighbors about disaster preparedness, and provided worldwide emergency communications for local military personnel and their families.

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf states, almost 900 residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties were trained to help the disaster victims. Eighty-one have been deployed to the Gulf states and 17 to Florida after Hurricane Wilma made landfall.

These vital services would not have been possible without the valuable contributions of our financial donors. Together, our volunteers and donors are the heart and soul of the American Red Cross. You turn America’s caring and concern for the victims of disaster into immediate action.

Whether the disaster is a single-family fire or a highly publicized hurricane, flood or act of terrorism, we thank our volunteers and donors who stand ready to provide vital relief services to our community. It is your continuous commitment to providing warmth and support to other members of our community for which we at the Jersey Coast Chapter are so thankful.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and know that you have truly made a positive difference this year.

Bill Murray

Jersey Coast Chapter

American Red Cross

Tinton Falls