It is, perhaps, not farfetched to say that whenever one talks about disaster relief, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) immediately comes to mind. The institution has been at the forefront of giving humanitarian aid in the country, whether through its regular blood donation campaigns or through its various services that include relief and rehabilitation, rescue and welfare intervention. As the PRC celebrates its 75th anniversary on April 15, with its 42nd Biennial National Convention happening later this December, it is fitting to honor one of the country’s foremost humanitarian organizations. The celebrations include the inauguration of the PRC Library, launching of its 75th Yearbook, as well as the awarding of the first 36 original PRC chapters. Speaking of chapters, there are now 103 of them nationwide, proving that the extent of the services the PRC provides is wide of scope. It is fitting, therefore, that this 75th anniversary is headline with the theme, “A Tradition of Service.” There is no other way to describe what the PRC and its host of volunteers do for the Philippines and the Filipino. It is service, of the kind that truly inspires and changes lives, particularly those of the most vulnerable. Not only is this brand of service limited to times of disasters and emergencies, which the country has experienced quite a number of during the years—the most recent of which, and is still ongoing, is the Covid-19 pandemic. Headlines over the past 2020 and 2021 are filled with stories of how the PRC has been crucial in providing mass Covid-19 testing, critical in the efforts to monitor the spread of the pandemic. The PRC has also been helpful with the vaccination drive to inoculate many Filipinos. In a sense, the PRC has also served as a bloodline to the Filipino’s spirit of volunteerism. It has become an avenue for many Filipinos to exercise that brand of bayanihan of which the country is known for. By giving ordinary folks a chance to help others, whether by becoming volunteers or by getting into the habit of regularly donating blood, the PRC has helped channel this inherent desire to help one’s fellowman into something concrete and effective. So, on its 75th anniversary, on this milestone year, what the PRC celebrates is not just its existence as an organization. It celebrates the kindness, the concern, the spirit of service that many Filipinos have. After all, what is an institution if not a sum of all its parts, a manifestation of that collective concern its members have for the welfare of the Filipino people. But it is this and more, as the principles upon which the Red Cross has been founded have become the guide for this volunteerism—an effective funnel that has helped secure the welfare of so many Filipinos over the past 75 years.