PROCLAMATION 7070—FEB. 27, 1998 112 STAT. 3725 their search for information about the fate of loved ones from whom they were separated during the Holocaust. Few of us have remained untouched by the work of the Red Cross. The Red Cross collects, tests, and distributes six million units of donated blood each year, nearly half the Nation's supply. More than 1,300 Red Cross chapters in communities across America teach health and safety courses to 12 million people each year, providing them with knowledge regarding CPR, first aid, water safety, and HIV/AIDS that can— and does—save lives. The Red Cross has become a simple yet powerful symbol that transcends language and conveys a universally understood message of hope. This symbol draws its strength from the dedication of the more than 1.3 million volunteers who help disaster victims, assist at blood drives, teach health classes, and respond to urgent community needs. I commend the generous spirit of all those who carry out the important work of the American Red Cross, and I encourage all Americans to support their efforts—whether by giving blood, donating funds to help disaster victims, or becoming Red Cross volunteers themselves. In doing so, we will ensure that the American Red Cross will continue its tradition of compassionate service in the 21st century and beyond. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America and Honorary Chairman of the American Red Cross, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 1998 as American Red Cross Month. I urge all the people of the United States to support Red Cross chapters nationwide, and I challenge each of you to become active participants in advancing the noble mission of the Red Cross. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-second. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7070 of February 27, 1998 Irish-American Heritage Month, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation As it has been for many immigrants, America has always been a beacon of hope for the Irish people, a land of promise beckoning on the far shore of the Atlantic where they could build a better life for themselves and their children. Those who traveled here in the 17th and 18th centuries came primarily to escape religious, social, and political discrimination in their homeland. But millions of Irish immigrants who came to the United States in the 19th century were fleeing not only persecution, but also the specter of starvation and disease brought on by the Great Hunger, the devastating potato famine that began in the 1840s. Many of them did not survive the journey; many of those who did arrive at America's ports were htmgry, ill, and crushingly poor.
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