Statement by the President Recorded for the Opening of the Red Cross Campaign.

AS PRESIDENT of the United States and in accordance with custom, I am proclaiming the month of March as Red Cross Month. And, as Honorary Chairman of the Red Cross, I earnestly ask your help for this great cause. All of us are familiar with the work of the Red Cross, what it does for our servicemen, their families here and overseas, what it does for those who have been struck by disaster, whether by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, what it does in collecting blood for the thousands of people in our hospitals, whose lives might be lost without this assistance. Voluntary giving has been part of our American tradition since our earliest days and I hope, this year, in these difficult times that the American people will once again respond as they have so often in the past, generously and with a full heart. We have much to be thankful for and one of the ways we can indicate our support for this country, our support for this work, is to respond generously.

Thank you very much.