About Us

Chartered in 1917, the local Red Cross chapter is celebrating its 94th year of providing services to residents in the gulf coast region. The chapter currently assists communities in our 6 county region which consists of Victoria, Calhoun, Goliad, Lavaca, Dewitt, and Jackson county.

Core services are disaster relief and preparedness, Community Training and Safety, and military communications. The chapter is headquartered in Victoria and has a branch office in Port Lavaca. Services are provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Locally governed by a 22-member board of directors responsible for setting priorities, raising money and providing sound financial management. The current Board Chair is Jeb Lacey. Lanell Mantey serves as the Executive Director. The chapters major fundraising events are the Red Cross Bash (March), Wine and Cheese Event (June), and Penny Power Challenge (October, February).

The Chapter's workforce is about 200 people- 98% of whom are volunteers and 3 Paid staff, assist over 50 people every year in single-family disasters, usually a fire. For those effected we provide emergency shelter, food, clothing, and other emergency needs.

We train over 3,000 people every year in lifesaving skills. The chapter assist over 300 local military families with emergency communication. In addition the chapter also provides disaster preparedness materials to over 5,000 people annually.

The chapter receives no government funding to provide its services; we rely on support from the United Way and from local donors. Approximately 40% of our revenue is from the United Way. Chapter budget for FY09 (July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010) is $282,400. Audited every year by a local CPA firm - strong history of no material findings. Accountable to the national Red Cross for 16 performance standards. Last audit indicated over 85 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to programs and services.