Evidence of a reduced emphasis on membership appeared in the 1960s when the Red Cross no longer included membership numbers in its annual reports. The concept of membership, however, did not disappear. The chart on the following page gives the total number of members and volunteers as reported in the American Red Cross annual reports and elsewhere since accurate counts began in 1905. Note that numbers rise sharply as the public responds to U.S. involvement in wars and subside during peacetime. Accompanying the dramatic increase in adult membership at the time of the First World War was the addition of the Junior Red Cross, created in 1917 to respond to a wave of student interest in Red Cross activities.
Some figures are estimates rather than exact counts.
The American National Red Cross. All Rights Reserved.