The Red Cross Youth was founded during the World War I as a result to the spontaneous contribution of children and young people aiming to nurse and to support both materially and morally children victims. In 1930, during the International Conference in Brussels, Red Cross Youth was recognized as an integral part of Red Cross under the Red Cross statute of the country each one belongs.

The purposes of the Red Cross Youth are:
 1.Protection of health and life
 2.Delivering assistance to those in need
 3.Promoting the spirit of love, understanding and friendship between young people from different countries.
 4.Environmental protection

The Hellenic Red Cross Youth was established in 1924 in order to disseminate to the Greek teens the Red Cross fundamental principles. In response to this invitation young people welcomed the HRC Youth by actively participating to the National Society’s activities and initiatives in general and to those of the Youth more specifically.

During its first years, Youth was partially active in school groups supported by teachers and professors. Later, its task was expanded by developing social assistance activities all over Greece and abroad. Today, the HRC Youth has approximately 30.000 members all over Greece and acts autonomously within the framework of the HRC activities, but also in collaboration with other National Societies of Red Cross.

Red Cross Youth is a worldwide community of millions of teens and children from approximately 170 countries that join their forces to make the world a better place.

HRC Youth Activities

1. Social Services

 •Providing moral and material support to the poor and to families with many children, to children with special needs, to orphans or to abandoned children.
 •Visiting old people’s homes and helping and supporting lonely people that need care and relief.
 •Supplying schools in borderlands with educational material and equipment.
 •Delivering assistance to poor families supplying them with clothes and food.
 •Collecting First Aid supplies to assist population that is affected by war or natural disasters.
 •Visiting orphanages, hospitals and other institutions, offering moral support to those in need.

2. Cultural activities
 •Organization of seminars and lectures in order to disseminate the Red Cross idea.
 •Organization of entertaining and cultural events in order to strengthen and to cultivate friendships between Youth members.
 •Organization of competitions with various topics (visual arts contests, literature competitions etc.)
 •Organization of sport teams
 •Organization of excursions to historical, archeological sites.
 •Publication of the monthly magazine called “The Youth’s News” to the HRC website in the special section on Youth, with topics related to the various activities of Red Cross Youth in Greece and worldwide.
 • Establishment of HRC Youth cultural centers in order to host social and cultural activities of the HRC members.
 •Teaching traditional dances and music.

3. Health and environmental protection

 •Training seminars regarding:
  - health protection
  - prevention and treatment of drugs, of smoking and of AIDS
 •Organization of blood donation programs and recruitment of new blood donors.
 •Reforestations, protection and maintenance of seaside areas

4. International activities

 •Participation to international meetings and camps in order to exchange ideas and opinions on the development of new programs and on the creation of spirit of friendship spirit among young people and children from different countries.
 •International award of the HRC Youth through its election as a member of the Youth Committee of the Federation COMMISSION DE LA JEUNESSE, with a four –year term of office 1993 – 1997 and participation to important meetings of the RC/RC Youth Commission.
 •Organization of the 12th European Youth Conference in Athens (15 – 20 October 1994) by the HRC Youth assigned by the European National Societies.
 •Organization of international literature, albums, painting competitions etc

The Hellenic Red Cross Youth addresses all young people and children protecting and promoting the values of voluntarism and selfless offer. In a period in which principles and human relations go through a crisis, the HRC stands in the front line providing a creative and humane way out to the young people who are fully aware, driven by the romanticism and idealism of their age, that there can be a better future as long as there are people that turn into reality their will to offer.