In addition to knitting millions of socks and sweaters for World War I soldiers, the American Red Cross encouraged its volunteers to “do your bit” and make quilts  and “save the blankets for our boys over there.”

According to the Red Cross, by the end of World War I, 20,000,000 adults and 11,000,000 youths volunteered for the organization compared to only 17,000 in 1914 when the war began. The volunteers created over 372 million relief items valued at $400 million. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division