Libby Anne Inabinet
The SCWLA Midlands area held its December holiday luncheon on December 2, 2011 at Columbia’s Summit Club. Libby Anne Inabinet, Regional Chief Development Officer for the American Red Cross, Columbia Region, was our guest speaker. She is a South Carolina native and has over twenty years of nonprofit experience, and she was also a teacher in the Richland County area for nineteen years. Among her many accomplishments, Libby Anne opened the first office of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic in South Carolina and served as its first State Director. In her introduction, Cindy Ouzts noted that Libby Anne has received numerous awards for her outstanding charitable work and services to the community.
The worldwide International Red Cross and Red Crescent network was originally formed after a Swiss businessman, Henry Dunant, witnessed a battle in 1859 outside the Italian town of Solferino. He set out to organize care for those wounded in war. At an International Conference in 1864, representatives of sixteen European states and four philanthropic institutions adopted the first Geneva Convention, a treaty to save lives and alleviate the suffering of wounded or sick military personnel. The red cross, a reversal of the Swiss flag’s white cross on a red background, was designated as the symbol to identify medical personnel and facilities and their neutral status. The 1864 Geneva Convention became the foundation of what is now known as international humanitarian law (IHL), which encompasses humanitarian principles and international treaties directed at helping both combatants and noncombatants during armed conflicts.
Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881. Libby Anne stated the relief offered by the American Red Cross has expanded over time, and it now encompasses help in five major areas: (1) Biomedical Services (including the delivery of medical supplies), (2) International Disasters (recent examples include Japan and Haiti), (3) Local Disasters (relief from apartment fires and other events, which occur locally every eight hours), (4) Services to the Armed Forces, and (5) Health, Safety, and Youth Education Programs (including a training program for babysitters, CPR instruction, and swimming lessons). The American Red Cross still oversees the vital function of blood donation, and Libby Anne gave a very moving account of how one of her sons was saved by blood donations. He is now healthy and is a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, where another son plays football for the Gamecocks. She noted the Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders helps support the humanitarian mission of the American Red Cross.
Libby Anne was a very gracious speaker and the perfect representative for such a worthwhile organization, which has touched lives in this community and beyond. For more information on the programs and services of the American Red Cross and how you can help, please contact Libby Anne at InabinetLib@usa.redcross.org, (803) 540-1220 (business) or (803) 309-3069, or at P.O. Box 91, Columbia, SC 29202 (the physical street address is 2751 Bull Street). Happy Holidays!
-Karen Huelson, S.C. Supreme Court
