The Broward County Chapter was established in 1918 when community pioneer Ivy Stranahan and a committee of business and civic leaders met to establish a Red Cross Chapter in the Fort Lauderdale area.  Ivy Stranahan and her husband Frank are considered the founding family of Fort Lauderdale.  Ivy was born in 1881, moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1899 and became one of Florida's first schoolteachers.

In addition to founding the American Red Cross, Fort Lauderdale Chapter, Stranahan was directly involved in numerous social projects including women's suffrage, the Audubon Society, and the establishment of the Everglades National Park.  Her most noted accomplishment was the foundation of the "Friends of the Seminoles" and her role in persuading some of the Seminoles to move to the newly created reservation at Dania.  Ivy and her husband also helped establish Broward Memorial Hospital.  Ivy Stranahan died in 1971.

Today the Broward Chapter is governed by a group of approximately 15 volunteer board members, representing a cross section of our very diverse community.  The Broward Chapter has a staff of 22 and a volunteer base of more than 500 people.  The chapter's services include educating the public about HIV/AIDS, learn to swim and lifeguard certification programs, CPR and First Aid certification, responding to fires, tornadoes, and hurricanes, assisting military service men and women and their families with emergency communication, and much more.  All the services provided by the Broward Chapter are made possible through the generous contributions of time and money from the Broward Community.