 American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station located at Jacksonville Beach. | |
| Industry | Lifeguarding |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1914 |
 | This article needs to be updated.(July 2022) |
The American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps, known as the Life-Saving Service of the American Red Cross, is the lifeguard body of the American Red Cross that began in 1912 as a response to the growing number of drowning deaths in the United States. [1]
Recognizing an epidemic of water-related death, Wilbert Longfellow, in 1912, presented a plan to the American Red Cross for improved water safety. The Red Cross adopted the nationwide plan in January 1914 and established the Red Cross Life Saving Corps. The corps is the forerunner of the present-day Red Cross water safety program. Longfellow organized the lifesaving program. [1]
The Jacksonville Beach Volunteer Corps is the last of its kind in the country. [2] The American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places Program. [3]
In 2021, a long-standing relationship between the City of Jacksonville Beach and the Volunteer Life Saving Corps became strained following a U.S. Department of Labor ruling, which found that paid city lifeguards volunteering with the Corps on Sundays and holidays violated federal labor law. This led the city to pay back wages to affected employees, change its staffing procedures, and ultimately lock the volunteers out of the historic lifeguard station in April 2022. [4]
The Volunteer Life Saving Corps then sued the city, alleging breach of contract related to a 2016 agreement that entitled them to operate on Sundays and holidays. After months of negotiation and mediation, the two parties reached a new five-year agreement in April 2023, allowing volunteers to return to duty on Sundays and holidays, thus preserving over a century of volunteer lifeguarding tradition at Jacksonville Beach. [5]