History

The Gateway Area Chapter of the American Red Cross was founded as the Clinton County Chapter of the American Red Cross in 1916 to provide Humanity in the midst of World War I. Nurses and members provided soldier comfort kits and collected blood donations from the Clinton area. In 1920, the Chapter began teaching CPR, first aid, and aquatics related classes. Our chapter’s first disaster response was close to home: the Great Flood of 1965. The chapter helped sandbagging efforts, prepare for the pending disaster, and shelter those affected by the flooding.

In the 1970’s, we rounded out our services to include Disaster Relief, Community Disaster Preparedness, Health and Safety Services, Blood Services, and Service to Armed Forces.

In 1999, the Clinton County Chapter grew its jurisdiction by now covering the western part of Whiteside County in Illinios. In this process, a contest to rename the chapter was held.  The winning name, provided by a volunteer, was the Gateway Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.

In early 2000, the Gateway Area Chapter began offering service delivery including disaster services and health & safety programming in Jackson County in Iowa, in addition to Clinton County and western Whiteside County.  In 2007, Jackson County became an official part of the Gateway Area Chapter jurisdiction.

In 2004, we decided to add some spark to our Health and Safety class offerings.  Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) provide early defibrillation on-scene to heart attack victims.  We now offer AED’s and AED training.