Second-hand clothing

Red Cross branches throughout the country collect second-hand clothing, which is sold in Red Cross stores or made available free of charge to vulnerable people in Iceland.  Most of the clothing is sold in Europe and the profits are used for international aid.

Do you want to help?
Please bring your second-hand clothing to the Red Cross branch located in your region.  In the capital area, the Icelandic Red Cross collects second-hand clothing in collaboration with “Sorpa” recycling centers. In all of “Sorpa’s” recycling centers (see www.sorpa.is for additional information) you can find a collection container from the clothing collection service of the Icelandic Red Cross. The containers are white and are clearly marked.

All second-hand items (or new items) must be clean, useable and of quality. If you wouldn’t buy it then we probably won’t be able to sell it! The better the quality of your items, the more money we can raise from their sale.

Do you want to become a volunteer?
Please contact the clothing collection service of the Icelandic Red Cross (telephone: 587 0900, e-mail: fataflokkun@redcross.is).

Clothes for aid

Individuals and groups of volunteers work to support a good cause by creating clothing for infants and young children. The clothing is created by volunteers, for example, from surplus and good second-hand materials. These items of clothing are made available for families in need and some are sent to developing countries. Additionally, these items are also sold at the Red Cross stores.

Are you interested in participating in this project?
Please contact an Icelandic Red Cross branch near you.

First-aid

The Icelandic Red Cross provides comprehensive and useful first-aid courses tailored to the needs of different groups (e.g., the general public, professionals and workers in particular businesses).  Every year, 6.000-8.000 people are trained by the Icelandic Red Cross in first-aid.

Are you are interested becoming a Red Cross first-aid instructor?
Please contact Gunnhildur Sveinsdóttir (telephone: 570 4031, e-mail: gunnhildur@redcross.is).
Note: Good Icelandic proficiency is required for those wishing to become Red Cross first-aid instructors.

Red Cross 24-hour Helpline 1717

The Red Cross Helpline 1717 is a toll-free number open 24 hours a day for those who need assistance due to grief, anxiety, fear, depression and/or suicidal thoughts. Red Cross volunteers offer immediate emotional support to those who feel distressed or lonely, and when needed provide information on how to receive further assistance.

Do you want to become a volunteer and answer 1717 calls in your own language?
Please contact the Reykjavik branch of the Red Cross (telephone: 545 0400, e-mail: reykjavik@redcross.is).
Note: Good Icelandic proficiency is required for those interested in answering 1717 calls.

Home Visiting Service

The goal and purpose of the Home Visiting Service is to visit people who might be socially isolated and to offer them friendship, comfort and warmth. The person receiving the visitor is a host and the one making the visit is a visitation friend.

We all have a need for companionship but different situations can force us to loose contact with others and we might become socially isolated.

The visitation friend and the host enjoy a variety of activities together, such as playing cards or chess, reading, chatting, taking walks, going for or a drive or to a café, watching a film, and much more. Volunteers sometimes bring a pet along to the visits.

Visiting friends, visit prisoners, refugees, asylum seekers, the ill, the elderly, lonely people and others who ask for home visits.

Do you want to by become a visiting friend?
Please contact the Head office of the Red Cross (telephone: 570 4000, e-mail: central@redcross.is).

Home Visits to Asylum Seekers

An asylum seeker is a person who has submitted an application to the authorities of the receiving country, seeking to be recognized as a refugee, with all the rights this status entails. Thus, all refugees are in the beginning classified as asylum seekers. Once a request for asylum has been granted by the authorities, the applicant will receive official recognition of his/her refugee status. Asylum seekers in Iceland live in accommodations provided by the municipality of Reykjanesbær.

Volunteers from the Hafnarfjördur branch of the Icelandic Red Cross pay visits to asylum seekers once a week, as part of the Home Visiting Service. Red Cross volunteers undertake a range of activities to help asylum seekers deal with the challenges they face and bring some joy into their daily lives. To be enlisted into the Asylum Seekers Home Visiting Programme the volunteer must be over 23 and must be fluent in at least one foreign language (not including Nordic languages). He or she should be prepared to make one visit per month. A volunteer is also required to take a Red Cross basic training course.

Do you want to lend a hand and pay home visits to asylum seekers?
Please contact the Hafnarfjördur Branch of the Icelandic Red Cross (telephone: 565-122, e-mail: hafnarfjordur@redcross.is).

Child and Youth Programmes

The main goal of the child and youth programmes is to promote the principles of the Red Cross and introduce Red Cross activities. The youth programmes provide young people with the opportunity to learn about the Red Cross Movement and offers them the opportunity to participate in diverse projects.

Are you are interested in participating in Red Cross youth programmes?
Please contact the following:
Reykjavík: telephone: 545 0400, e-mail: urkir@redcross.is
Kópavogur: telephone: 554 6626, e-mail: kopavogur@redcross.is
Hafnarfjörður: telephone: 565 1222, e-mail: hafnarfjordur@redcross.is
Mosfellsbær: telephone: 564 6035, e-mail: moso@redcross.is
Akranes: telephone: 431 2270, e-mail: akranes@redcross.is

If you live in another region of the country please contact the Head office of the Red Cross (telephone: 570 4000, e-mail: central@redcross.is).