American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps

Jacksonville Beach Lifeguard Foundation

American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station located at Jacksonville Beach.
Type	Non-profit EIN: 59-3731804
Industry	Lifeguarding
Founded	1912
Founders	Lyman G. Haskell, Clarence H. Macdonald
Website	www.redcrosslifeguard.org

The American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps (ARCVLSC) is a non-profit organization made up of volunteer lifeguards. It is a division of the American Red Cross, which provides volunteer lifeguards to Jacksonville beaches and internationally through Lifeguards Without Borders.^[1]

History

In the summer of 1912,^[2] Lyman G. Haskell, a medical doctor in Jacksonville who also worked as the Physical Director of the YMCA, and Clarence H. MacDonald, Playground Director for the City of Jacksonville, conceptualized and founded the United States Volunteer Life Saving Corps at what was then called Pablo Beach, Florida. These men became the first Medical Officer and Captain, respectively.^[3] In 1914, the seventeen charter members of the Corps became part of the American Red Cross’s national water safety program as the American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps, Coast Guard Division #1.

Today

The ARCVLSC volunteer ranks include more than 120 active members and hundreds of alumni of the Corps. In its 100 years of service, members of the Corps have recorded 1,430 lifesaving rescues, 1,753 assists to swimmers in distress, and more than 25,000 first aid cases ranging from jellyfish stings to broken limbs. This service to the community has been accomplished through almost 1,300,000 hours of volunteer service by the 4,000 members and alumni of the Volunteer Life Saving Corps.^[4] But 102 years after its founding, the Jacksonville Beach volunteer corps is the last of its kind in the country.^[5] The American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places Program.^[6]

References