WHEREAS, March is American Red Cross Month, a special time to honor the kindness of our neighbors who aid families in need every day in Maine, across the United States and around the world as they carry out the 144-year mission of preventing and alleviating suffering in the face of emergencies; and

WHEREAS, the American Red Cross aspires to turn compassion into action, and Maine people – American Red Cross volunteers – help each other when we are in need; and

WHEREAS, in supporting the American Red Cross, Maine people have helped our neighbors get back on their feet after devastating mass casualty events, home fires, and storms, and assisted communities across the country after record-breaking hurricanes, floods and wildfires; and

WHEREAS, thanks to the American Red Cross’s statewide community of volunteers and partners, people in Maine facing a disaster can meet their basic emergency needs, including having access to safe shelter, food, and critical health and mental health services, for free, day or night; and

WHEREAS, because of the American Red Cross’s work, children and youth in Maine know how to prepare for and stay safe during a disaster, people have working smoke alarms and emergency escape plans, and there are always trained individuals nearby ready to use their skills to save lives; and

WHEREAS, due to the American Red Cross’s efforts and local communities hosting blood drives and donating life-saving blood, anyone can access blood and blood products, and we have a healthy and plentiful blood supply that helps to extend or save lives; and

WHEREAS, military personnel, veterans and their families, have access to global emergency communication services and the support they need to cope with deployments and reintegrating back into the community because of the American Red Cross; and

WHEREAS, Red Cross Restoring Family Links helps reconnect families separated by international crises such as armed conflict, international disasters and migration; and

WHEREAS, this life saving work is vital to strengthening our community’s resilience, and this month of March is dedicated to all of those who continue to advance the noble legacy of the American Red Cross;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the month of March 2026 as

Red Cross Month

in Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize the tremendous contributions that the Red Cross and its volunteers make in Maine every day.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this tenth day of February Two Thousand Twenty-Six