Tag Archives: Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces

Committed to helping those who serve

Posted on by
Reply

May is Military Appreciation Month

By Tim Poe, American Red Cross volunteer

As American Red Cross volunteers and staff members, we have been honored to work alongside several veterans, some of whom we have had the honor of featuring on this blog. In addition to the values of service, commitment, and being part of an effective team, they speak of the importance of Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF). SAF has been vital during their military careers and as veterans, often leading them to join the Red Cross themselves.

Contributing authors and those profiled include Cynthia Skidmore, Brinton Lincoln, Chiane Martin, Dave Riegler, Brook Harless, Sally Falasca, Paul Svasta and of course the CEO of the American Red Cross Northern Ohio Region and Rear Admiral, US Coast Guard (Retired), Mike Parks.

May is Military Appreciation Month and May 20th is Armed Forces Day. The Red Cross has been committed to assisting military members, veterans, and their families since its inception in 1881. Services include emergency financial assistance, counseling, and support for veterans.

One of the most important roles is providing emergency communication services. Whether a natural disaster, family illness, or other crises, members of the Red Cross help connect military families. Speaking personally as a member of an extended military family, I have often seen the effectiveness of these services in bringing relatives home when needed.

Pre-deployment event at Youngstown Air Reserve Station

Military families receive support to help cope with the challenges of military life, such as frequent moves, deployments, and separations. One very popular program is animal visitation.

Additional Red Cross services help improve the well-being of service members, veterans, and military families. These include reconnection workshops to help adjust to post-deployment life, and military hospital programs to provide comfort and support to wounded service members and their families.

For Military Appreciation Month, please join us in thanking military members, veterans, and military families for their service. Please also consider helping support them through volunteering with the Red Cross or providing a donation.

SAF volunteer roles include:

  • Delivering critical emergency messages through the Red Cross Hero Care Network.
  • For both medical and non-medical volunteers, providing patient comfort and care for injured service members and their families.
  • For mental health professionals, leading free resiliency workshops for military families in need.

You can get more information about how you can volunteer to help members of the military, veterans and their families here.

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross board member and volunteer


Volunteers share their pets to help members of the military and veterans

Posted on by
1

By Eilene E. Guy, American Red Cross volunteer

Pet visitation has long been offered by the American Red Cross as a service to the armed forces. In the Northern Ohio Region, the pet visitation program was recently expanded.

Pre-deployment event at Youngstown Air Reserve Station

Bree, a Goldendoodle, and Shane, a Rough Collie, are trained members of the Red Cross Animal Visitation Program (AVP) here in northern Ohio. They – along with their owners, Paul and Katie Svasta of Canfield – bring comfort to members of all branches of the military who deploy from or return to the Youngstown Air Reserve Station. The dogs are also welcome at family days at the air base.

Paul and Katie Svasta with Bree and Shasta

“Bree is spot on,” Paul said. “She can identify somebody who needs her. She’ll pull me over to the person, and if that person gives me the go-ahead, she’ll lean right up next to them, for
them to pet her or hug her.

“It breaks the tension, the anxiety. That unconditional connection,” he said. “It’s rewarding, that something so simple can give so much comfort.”

Paul and Katie began acclimating Bree to therapy work five years ago, when she was a puppy, so she’s the pro of the pair. Shane got a slow start because pandemic protocols interrupted the conditioning all therapy dogs go through. “But he’s coming along,” Paul said affectionately.

The animal visitation program has been operating at the Youngstown base, which hosts the 910th Airlift Wing, for a number of years. The Svastas are part of a team of more than three dozen handlers and their dogs who attend events there.

Red Cross volunteer Kate Mazzolini and Sully

Recently, Jessica Tischler, manager of Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces in northern Ohio expanded the visitation program to send canine therapy teams into the northeast Ohio VA healthcare system, to lift the spirits of hospitalized veterans.

“We’re so grateful that our volunteers are willing to share the love these animals offer during their visits,” Jessica said. Now she’s looking to make contact with more dog owners who already have therapy experience, as the Svastas did.

The Red Cross has been training and dispatching therapy dogs into military hospitals to comfort wounded warriors and veterans undergoing treatment since shortly after World War II.

Red Cross volunteer Michael Falatach and Macee

At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Jen O’Keefe and her Leonberger (“They were bred to look like lions.”) Digory carry on the tradition. Digory is a three-legged cancer survivor, so he’s a uniquely positive presence, especially for amputees.

“We (Digory and I) can’t fix people, but we can help lift the anxiety, the stress, for patients, their families – and for the staff,” she said. “The staff is a huge part of our job.

“For me, this is the highlight of my week,” she said. “This is how I de-stress from my job as an emergency veterinarian. I don’t often get to bring good news, but with Digory, I know we’re welcome.”

If you’d like more information about the animal visitation program or any of the other volunteer opportunities with the Red Cross, go to redcross.org/volunteer.

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross volunteer