The Cincinnati Area Chapter provides service to military personnel and their families including emergency communications and access to Military Financial Aid Societies. In 2006, 1,203 military people were served in Armed Forces Emergency Communication services and 4,608 Military families were briefed and assisted with deployment support services.


Services provided:
Emergency Communications
Access to Military Financial Aid Societies
Assistance for Military Families


If you have urgent concerns such as emergency military communication, please contact the chapter via phone at 513-579-3966 or 800-255-7070, which is staffed 24/7 rather than sending an email.

Emergency Communications

The American Red Cross sends emergency messages to members of the United States military to notify service members of emergency situations. Messages are sent in regards to such situations as births, serious illnesses, deaths, financial problems, and breakdowns in childcare. The American Red Cross verifies the emergency and provides the information to the service member and their command, so the command can make a decision regarding emergency leave. Please note that all leave decisions are at the sole discretion of the command. American Red Cross caseworkers are on duty 24 hours a day to assist you in sending emergency communications.

To send an emergency message, you will need to:

• Contact your local American Red Cross. In the Greater Cincinnati Area, call 513-579-3966 or 1-800-255-7070.
• The military caseworker will ask you for the following information: service member’s full name, rank, branch of service, social security number, date of birth, and military address. Please provide as much of this information as possible. Also, you will need information regarding the emergency, such as the nature of the emergency and where it can be verified (i.e. doctor, funeral home, hospital, etc.).
• If the message is in regards to an illness, it is helpful for the family to let the doctor or nurses who are attending to the patient know that the Red Cross will be contacting them. Due to medical privacy laws, release consent forms may need to be signed by the family prior to the medical authorities releasing information to the American Red Cross.
• The American Red Cross will verify the emergency and forward the message onto the service member and the command.

Access to Military Financial Aid Societies

Although there is not an active duty base within fifty miles of most of the areas we serve, service members still have a means to access their branch’s Aid Society through the American Red Cross. Each branch of service has an aid society to provide emergency financial assistance for service members on active duty, Reservists and National Guardsmen under certain types of activation orders, and military retirees.

Approval for assistance is determined by the aid societies – Air Force Aid Society, Army Emergency Relief, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, and Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. The financial assistance is provided in the form of no-interest loans and grants for situations such as emergency travel, urgent health and welfare needs such as food and shelter, and burial assistance.

Your American Red Cross caseworker will gather information from you to determine your eligibility, verify the need, determine your current budget, and process your application.

 
The Red Cross continues to meet the needs of military families in greater Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Area Chapter is collecting items for Family Care packages to be distributed to the families in the Greater Cincinnati Area. The items that we are collecting for the family care packages are: Grocery store gift certificates, gas station gift cards, and pre-paid phone cards in increments of $10 (or more) which must have international access. These are items the Chapter can distribute to families immediately. Please call 579-3966 for information about collecting these items and how to deliver them to the Red Cross.

 You can support U.S. military members and their families financially through the American Red Cross as we provide assistance and comfort. The Cincinnati Area Chapter assisted more than 5,000 members of military families and military personnel by providing support services, including comfort items and mental health counseling during recent military deployments. Financial support helps the Red Cross provide these services and materials to military personnel and their families. For the families left behind, the Red Cross will provide emergency financial assistance based on hardships due to deployment.The Red Cross is not a government agency and the Cincinnati Area Chapter receives no funding from the government. The assistance we provide is FREE, made possible by voluntary gifts of time and money from the American people.

To make a financial donation, click here The Chapter also accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express. You can call 513-579-3056 or 1-800-255-7070 during working hours. Checks can be mailed to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 692000, Cincinnati, OH 45269-2000 and noted "AFES Support" (Armed Forces Emergency Services).



 Deployment Tips for Families