CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- The American Red Cross has always provided assistance to service members and their family members in need or in case of regional emergency. The recently appointed service to the armed forces manager hopes to continue that.
"My job entails overseeing all of the programs in this six-county area that benefits veterans, active-duty service members and their families," said James D. Jarvis, the new service to the armed forces manager for the American Red Cross for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station New River and the Cape Fear Area Chapter.
Prior to being the service to armed forces manager, Jarvis was the disaster program specialist and has worked for American Red Cross since July 2014. He also served as a Marine on both the officer and enlisted side.
"My focus of effort is making sure we’re taking care of service members from the time they enter the service, through their entire career and as they become veterans by making sure they are taken care of throughout the rest of their lives," said Jarvis. "One of the things for me to remember is that we’ve got a lot of great volunteers that are willing to give their time to help service members to thank them for their service."
Ninety-four percent of employees who work for the Red Cross are volunteers and provide help to service members of all branches and their families through emergency financial assistance and verifying emergency situations through communication.
"This organization does a lot in terms of offering services to service members, veterans and their families," said Jarvis. "There are the five main service lines that the Red Cross has."
One service line provided is blood services. The Red Cross provides 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply. They also provide disaster services to individual families in emergencies, service to the armed forces, health and safety classes and international programs to provide help to countries overseas.
"There’s a lot of personal satisfaction when you meet someone who may be experiencing one of the worst days of their life and you can offer them comfort and assistance that gets them to a better place," said Jarvis.