The Bermuda Red Cross will host an open house this afternoon, marking its 65th anniversary.

Formed on August 1, 1950, as a branch of the British Red Cross Society, it was originally a nursing reserve, growing over the years to provide other community-based programmes.

In 1996, the group moved into its permanent headquarters at Berry Hill in Paget, where it provides a wealth of services including training courses, baby gear and medical equipment rental, a thrift shop and meeting rooms for hire.

“Because it’s our 65th we felt this was the perfect opportunity to share with everybody what the Red Cross is,” president Ann Spencer-Arscott told The Royal Gazette.

“While we do so much in the community, we find that there are still people that don’t know what we do. We appreciate that if you need our services, you’ll find out, but if you don’t, where’s the need?

“We thought it would be really nice to open the property up for people to come and find out more about us and maybe offer opportunities for volunteering as well as opportunities to understand what we do and therefore know when they might need our services.”

Mrs Spencer-Arscott, who is about to enter her 24th year at the Red Cross, added: “I’ve been around for a while and I still enjoy it! I still get up and want to go to work.”

Fundraising and communications manager Suzanne DeCouto said: “We’re inviting Bermuda. The idea is to showcase what we do within the community.”

Doors will open from 1pm to 7pm welcoming all members of the community. For more information call 236-8253 or email communications@bermudaredcross.com