The following is an open letter to the American public from Jack McGuire, American Red Cross Interim President and CEO, and Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman of the American Red Cross.

Dear America:

The American Red Cross belongs to the American people. The past few weeks have been very challenging for the extraordinarily hardworking and dedicated volunteers, employees and Board members of the American Red Cross.

At the end of last year, Chairman Grassley of the Senate Finance Committee initiated a Congressional inquiry regarding several aspects of the governance. More recently, on February 27 Senator Grassley sent the American Red Cross a second letter expressing concerns about our Board size, participation and independence, our mission and our organizational culture.

What has been difficult for so many of our volunteers who selflessly volunteer their time, energy, money and blood has been the steady stream of very negative media attention about the Red Cross … something usually reserved for evidence of fraud or criminal malfeasance. This is certainly not the case. We fully support taking any measure that improves how we deliver our vital services and our governance; however, it is critical that this inquiry strengthens the noble and necessary work of the American Red Cross and does not do irreparable harm to our ability to serve the American people.

It is absolutely appropriate and vital for Congress to play a role in our governance and work. As a Congressional chartered organization, it was Congress that established our current 50-member Board. Ultimately, it is in Congress's hands to change the size of our Board and our mandate, if necessary.

The American Red Cross will do everything in its power to streamline and improve our governance structure as well as the delivery of our services. We are hosting a Corporate Governance Summit which will bring renowned for-profit and non-profit governance experts to share their thoughts on governance best practices. The Red Cross Board has also recently launched an independent review of its governance practices as well. Both efforts will produce specific and concrete suggestions for improving Red Cross governance and performance. We are also bringing to swift conclusion a vigorous lessons learned process regarding our Katrina response in order to implement critical changes to enhance our performance and delivery of services.

Although these are difficult days, we cannot lose sight of what we need to do today in order to prepare for the uncertainty of tomorrow. While we welcome Senator Grassley"s inquiry, we also recognize that we are approaching a critical time as we prepare for the upcoming hurricane season … which is only three months away … and the potential next catastrophic disaster.

March is Red Cross Month; a time when volunteers and victims—soldiers and survivors—donors and corporate colleagues—celebrate and honor the selfless call to service. This year our celebration is even more significant as we celebrate our 125th anniversary. The American Red Cross has been at the forefront of every single major disaster for every one of those 125 years. We have stood tirelessly beside firefighters, police officers, medics and the lifeguard at your swimming pool. We have been at the forefront of providing aid and comfort during wartime and we have provided lifesaving blood and transfusions to those most in need.

The American people deserve our continued commitment to improving the delivery of critical services in the face of disaster, the world’s safest blood supply and good governance. We look forward to completing this important work without doing irreparable damage to the good name of this vital American institution and the volunteer spirit that it inspires.

Thank you.