We're movie stars...but do you really KNOW us?

Imbed video


We’re movie stars…well sort of. We’re going to be in a new movie (OK well not really in a movie-kind of hard to fit all of us in one place) but the Red Cross is mentioned in a scene in the new release “What Just Happened” from Academy Award winning director Barry Levinson and starring Robert DeNiro and Bruce Willis (more on the movie later) and that’s pretty cool in itself.
I am excited about our name being in the movie.
It’s just well… sometimes I feel like as often as they hear our name many people just don’t really know us.
I worry that the message about what we do every day gets lost a bit because we do so many high profile things. Yes we collect blood (lots of it, ½ the nation’s blood supply) and respond to large national disasters. We do those things and they are very important but we are also working in your neighborhood all the time doing things like teaching new parents infant CPR and little kids how to prevent fires.
Much of what we do in the Chicago area is help people who lost their possessions in a home fire. We get called (three to four times daily) frequently in the middle of a cold, dark night-and asked to go out and help people who lost everything in a fire. We get out of our beds and go out and make sure they have basic things like blankets, shoes, food and a place to sleep. Things that at that point suddenly stop seeming so basic and can really add up to replace.
I know that being mentioned in a movie doesn’t necessarily tell people what we’re about. I’m just kind of hoping if they hear our name enough it might lead them to investigate us more.
So back to where this started…the film. If you're still here you might want to know what it's about. The web site What Just Happened says that the film depicts two weeks in the life of a fading Hollywood producer (DeNiro) who is having a rough time trying to get his new picture made with a difficult actor (Willis).

Martha Carlos likes DeNiro (who doesn’t?) and will probably see the movie. She’s sure to jab her husband or whoever happens to be sitting next to her when the Red Cross part comes on because she’s geeky like that.