Contributing to a Noble Cause

Since 1881, The American Red Cross (ARC) has been trying to lessen the effects that major disasters have on people all over the world. The mission statement of the organization states, "The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors" (redcross.org). The impact that donors and volunteers have on the ARC is substantial, and without those volunteers the ARC would not be able to help half as many people as they currently do because they would not have the resources to do so. The compassion that volunteers and donors have is what makes the ARC as successful as it is. Benefactors assist the ARC by donating personal …show more content…
In one of the ARC's visual advertisements there is a volunteer to the right hand side wearing an American Red Cross jacket, looking out into the rubble after an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The jacket symbolizes the ARC's presence during major relief events. At the bottom left of the picture, the ARC's logo is prominently displayed, along with a link to their website to find out how to help with relief efforts. The target audience for this advertisement is adults willing to help in the United States because the advertisement thanks "countless Seattle area individuals" who have helped during the particular disaster in the advertisement. The background of the advertisement consists of a large area that has been completely destroyed by the natural disasters, and triggers people to want to give to help the cause. The colors that are used throughout this advertisement are important because they highlight important information, and accentuate the characteristics of the ARC. The blue background behind the text, "The Hope of Tomorrow is the Greatest Gift." is important because it shows the bright sky protruding out from the rubble, and the bright blue makes viewers think of happy, sunny days. The rubble is the main point of the background, but because the text that is over it is white the text stands out more than the rubble, and makes the viewer want to read it. The ARC wants to make people aware of three things by using this advertisement; people are in desperate need of help, people donate to a specific cause, and people who donate can make a difference. This advertisement appeals to the viewer's emotions by portraying what happened to Japan after an earthquake and a tsunami went through their country and destroyed everything. There is also a sense of credibility to the image by establishing that volunteers go to relief sites to help. This