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Four leaders from the American Red Cross visited Welfare Square and the Bishops’ Central Storehouse in Salt Lake City on August 19, 2025. The visit was intended to give the Red Cross officials a closer look at the humanitarian work of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to strengthen relationships with Church leaders.
“Mission leaders like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are vital to the Red Cross, powering our work through volunteerism, providing the capacity to respond immediately in times of crisis and supporting lifesaving blood services," said Trevor Riggen, president of Humanitarian Services for the American Red Cross. “We are profoundly grateful for the Church’s heartfelt generosity which helps safeguard our ability to care for those in need when the unthinkable happens.”
Riggen was accompanied by Chad Priest, division vice president; Steven Greimann, division fundraising vice president; and Jennifer Alt, division philanthropy director—all from ARC’s Southwest and Rocky Mountain Division.
The visit followed an announcement made less than two weeks earlier that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would donate $5.1 million to support key initiatives at the American Red Cross. These include equipment for new blood donor centers and projects aimed at improving treatment for sickle cell disease.
The Church is currently recognized as the largest sponsor of blood drives for the American Red Cross. Members have donated over 1.3 million units of blood so far. In addition to direct donations, Church funding has enabled eight mobile blood donation centers and supplied community emergency vehicles and medical equipment needed to maintain supplies.
“Our collaboration with the American Red Cross continues to be a powerful expression of faith in action,” said Blaine R. Maxfield, managing director of Welfare and Self-Reliance Services. “Every act of service — whether it’s a blood donation or disaster response — offers relief, healing, and hope to God's children. Working with the American Red Cross allows us to respond to urgent situations while following the Savior’s example to care for those in need. Together we can more effectively uplift communities.”
The relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ and the American Red Cross goes back more than a century. Early cooperation began when Clara Barton, founder of ARC, corresponded with Emmeline B. Wells from the Church’s Relief Society about aid efforts during the Spanish-American War.
The first official ARC blood drive hosted by The Church took place in 1996. Since then, it has become ARC's largest single contributor through these drives. Each year, Latter-day Saints donate around 97,000 units across thousands of events organized by local congregations. Over thirty years, these efforts have produced more than one million units collected at about 37,000 drives held by the Church.
The donations reflect part of a wider philanthropic effort by The Church that last year surpassed $1.45 billion globally.
This year’s $5.1 million contribution follows previous giving: last year saw $7.35 million donated for ARC programs related to blood collection and other initiatives; earlier this year another $1.2 million went toward Southern California wildfire relief efforts led by ARC; additional recent support included aid for flood response operations in Kerrville, Texas.
