The oldest Red Cross Chapter in Iowa is celebrating a milestone today. A ceremony in Cedar Falls will mark the 90th anniversary of the Hawkeye Chapter of the Red Cross. Alan McKean is the executive director of the chapter headquartered in Waterloo and serving eastern Iowa.
He says the chapter was started in Cedar Falls and received its charter in April of 1916. The event is the first of many planned over the next year to celebrate the anniversary. McKean says it’s important to recognize the milestone and the strong community support the chapter has received through the years.
McKean says the Cedar Falls was the oldest chapter in Iowa and in 1917 the Waterloo chapter came along, and then in 1972 the two chapters merged to form the Hawkeye chapter. He says he thinks they’ve been around so long because they’ve had good support, people have valued their services, and he says the chapter has followed through on expectations. The anniversary event kicks off a two-year fund-raising campaign for the Hawkeye Chapter. The goal is to raise 180-thousand dollars.
He says their goal is to raise 90-thousand dollars, or “90 for 90 years of operation, and he says they’ll do the same next year. The ceremony begins this morning (Friday) at 10 o’clock and will include a presentation on the history of the Red Cross and its service to the community.