The
Syrian Arab Red Crescent (
SARC) is a humanitarian nonprofit organization. Its headquarters are in the Syrian capital city of Damascus. The society was founded in Damascus, Syria in 1942, and admitted to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1946. Some of founders included were Abdul-Kader Zahra, Jamil Kabara, Sami Al-Meedani, Shafiq Diyab, Mustafa Shawky, Ahmed Kadary, Wade Saydawy, Mounib Rifai, and others. The society is part of the International Federation and has been recognized by the ICRC. The SARC has 14 branches all over Syria and 75 sub-branches. Volunteer based, the SARC has around 11,000 trained volunteers that work in the areas of first aid, first aid training, disaster response and relief, psycho-social support, and health in general. SARC also partners with local charity organizations and works with the relevant components of the Syrian community, with UN agencies and NGOs.