By Eilene Guy, American Red Cross volunteer

Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was known for many things, among them her outstanding leadership skills.

To this day, her Red Cross cultivates leadership across its paid and volunteer staff as well as among its supporters.

The Tiffany Circle is one example of that leadership. Members of Tiffany Circles across the country, all women, provide significant financial support to the Red Cross, deepen their understanding of Red Cross services and impact, and spearhead mission-related activities.

Recently, members of the Northern Ohio Tiffany Circle visited “ground zero” of the Red Cross – Dansville, New York – where Barton established the very first local chapter of her fledgling organization on Aug. 22, 1881.

“It was like taking a step back 145 years, to walk through the lovely house where Clara Barton launched her first disaster relief operation,” said Jill Patterson, Red Cross liaison to the Northern Ohio Circle. “In September 1881, Clara appealed to the public for money and clothes for thousands of people left homeless by wildfires in Michigan.

“The little town of Dansville in western New York is obviously proud to be the site of the very first local chapter in what has become a nationwide organization.”

Tiffany Circle members from northern Ohio and western New York enjoyed a guided tour and luncheon in the recently-restored home – now designated a National Historic Site by the National Park Service – followed by a walking tour of the community that backed Clara’s humanitarian vision.

They also heard from Tiffany Circle members Patricia Horvath and Kathy Coleman. They shared their experiences with the Clara Barton Competition, which focuses on international humanitarian law, and the Clara Barton Study Tours, which connect the organization’s rich history with present-day volunteerism and leadership.

The trip was particularly significant for Northern Ohio Tiffany Circle member Noelle Sayles, and her husband, Nick Noyes, a relative of Clara’s friend Emma Noyes, whose family donated the house to the Red Cross in 1949.

“Together, the day honored Clara Barton’s legacy while strengthening our shared commitment to the Red Cross mission, ‘to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors’,” Jill said.

If you’re interested in more information about the Northern Ohio Tiffany Circle, you can reach Jill Patterson at 330-618-0523.

Or, if you’d like to find out more about the many humanitarian services of the Red Cross and its leadership opportunities, go to redcross.org.