Tag Archives: Volunteers

From disaster volunteer to engagement coordinator to mascot

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Chris Gearig takes on a multifaceted role in her chapter

By Doug Bardwell, Red Cross volunteer

Christine Gearig hails from Wauseon, Ohio, about 45 minutes due west of the Toledo
office of the American Red Cross’ Western Lake Erie Chapter (WLE). Having lived there
for 30 years, she’s used to the driving to the Toledo office, where she goes at least
twice a week.

Christine Gearig, Red Cross volunteer

She and a partner take turns as Disaster Action Team (DAT) supervisor and associate (SV and SA) responding to calls from fire departments for seriously damaged homes.

“One case always sticks out from the many cases we’ve been called to. It was a totally devastated home, and we were talking to this huge man, who had lost everything,” recalled Chris. “The more we talked, the more the realization crept in that he had lost it all, and tears began to well up in his eyes. I’d never seen such a large man in tears before, but we realized everyone handles grief differently.”

Chris also serves as the chapter’s Disaster Workforce Engagement (DWE) coordinator. She has created a newsletter for updates on training, recognition, and whatever else is timely for the month.

Apart from the Red Cross, Chris keeps active with two grown daughters, five
grandchildren, and one great-grandson. Add one cat, and they all keep her young.

After retiring, while watching TV, she looked at coverage of a national disaster and saw
Red Cross volunteers comforting the victims amid the destruction. She thought to
herself, “Well, I could do that. I love talking to people and being with people, so it
seemed like it would be the perfect match.” She went online, where to sign up,
and completed her application.

Chris Gearig distributing gifts

“Chris has been an invaluable asset to the WLE chapter,” said Deb Pressley, Disaster
Program manager. “She has taken on various roles for us, including DAT SV, DWE
coordinator, Mass Care Sheltering SA – and has most recently agreed to be our Pedro
the Penguin mascot! When Chris commits to something, I know I can depend on her
to do it thoroughly. She is dedicated, even committing to her duties while out of
town. She asks good questions and brings new ideas, especially to her role as DWE
coordinator. I really appreciate Chris and all that she brings to our team!”

When asked what she would tell someone looking for volunteer work, Chris said, “I
would tell them just to come aboard; it’s not like a permanent commitment, but just try it
out. A good friend, who is also retired, said she didn’t want to commit as much time as I
did, but she came aboard and is now a Blood Drive ambassador, working occasional
drives.”

To explore all the ways Red Cross enables you to help others, start your volunteer
exploration by clicking here.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, American Red Cross board member and volunteer

The family disaster that launched one volunteer into action

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By Ryan Lang, Red Cross Board Member and volunteer

Brian Glasscock, Red Cross volunteer

“Being able to see the immediate impact the Red Cross can have when someone’s going through one of their worst experiences – that’s what’s kept me going for the past six years.”

For Brian Glasscock, it was personal when he started volunteering for the American Red Cross. He was still living in California and his family was forced to evacuate their home due to a wildfire. That was the moment Brian decided he wanted to help people in similar situations.

Brian’s been a part of the Disaster Action Team since he began volunteering six years ago. He’s moved up to Coordinator for Summit, Portage, and Medina Counties and serves as the Disaster Response Supervisor for the region.

“When the Red Cross shows up, something is going really quite wrong in someone’s life,” Brian said. He knows – he’s been there and he’s seen the impact the Red Cross can immediately have in those moments. It’s why he does it.

Brian has since found many other perks in his volunteer work. “Being a disaster volunteer with the Red Cross has helped me learn to communicate with diverse groups of people. It has exposed me to the richness of Northeast Ohio,” he said. “Volunteering for the Red Cross has opened up a whole new lens to the community I live in.”

But like many Red Cross volunteers, Brian has a full-time job – one that requires him to travel quite a bit. How can he fit in volunteering on top of everything else? “You can do a shift every weekend, or even every other weekend,” Brian explains. “With the Disaster Action Team, you can do both – have a career and give back to the community by volunteering with the Red Cross.”

To find out how you can volunteer with the Red Cross or other ways to help, click here!

This Giving Day #HelpCantWait: Help the American Red Cross deliver vital assistance

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Red Cross Assisted 3,255 community members in Northern Ohio between July and February

By Tim Poe, American Red Cross volunteer

I first visited the American Red Cross’s Cleveland office on a bitterly cold day in February 2018 and began training as a new Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteer. A few days later I was in a Red Cross vehicle with one of the most astonishing, kindest people I have met, heading to assist a family following a home fire. As we were providing the family with supplies, financial assistance, and information needed to begin recovering, the Cleveland Fire Department was extinguishing a large fire on the other side of town. We arrived shortly after, meeting a large family as water from fire hoses streamed from the home, the smell of smoke still heavy within. As before, we provided comfort, information, and the support this devastated family would need to recover.

I soon learned such a day is typical for Northern Ohio Red Cross disaster responders. I saw firsthand, how needed and effective the assistance is, and, how it helps families begin recovering from one of their life’s most difficult events. I also discovered that when people care enough to give–whether financial support or time–how much it helps those impacted.

I have also seen how vital Blood Services, Services to the Armed Forces, smoke alarm installations, and lifesaving training are.

March 22nd is American Red Cross Giving Day, part of Red Cross month, and we ask you to consider joining with others in the community to help continue the Red Cross mission.

And as disasters increase, your help is greatly needed.

To see how busy our region’s Disaster Action Team has been, I reached out to Emily Probst, Senior Disaster Program Manager, and Barb Thomas, Regional Recovery Manager, for the Red Cross’s Northern Ohio Region.

Red Cross volunteer Mark Dietrich responding to a home fire in Conneaut, Ohio

Between July 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023, Northern Ohio DAT members responded to 769 events, opened 1,214 cases, and assisted 3,255 people. Emily added that the team has responded to three apartment fires just in the last few weeks and praised their dedication, saying, “We could not do what we do without the DAT volunteers and their commitment to delivering mission at all hours of the day.”

While most disasters in our region are home fires–736 of the 769 events–the team also assisted following other disasters, including the train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine.

East Palestine resident Michelle Massey took refuge in a Red Cross shelter for several days following the derailment of a train in February

In addition to financial support, you can help by:
– Donating blood. You will also receive a $10 Visa prepaid card throughout March and be automatically entered for a chance to win a $3,000 Visa prepaid card. Please visit
redcrossblood.org for details and to schedule a donation.
– Learning lifesaving skills by taking a class.
– And volunteering, which I have found to be an exceptionally rewarding experience.

However you wish to contribute, please consider taking part in Giving Day, as donor and volunteer support is vital. Please visit redcross.org/GivingDay or the links above, because #HelpCantWait.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross Board Member and volunteer

International Women’s Day: Women and the Red Cross

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By Eilene Guy, American Red Cross volunteer

March 8 is International Women’s Day, when we focus on the leadership, expertise, nurturing and down-and-dirty sweat labor that women contribute around the world, 365 days a year.

Coincidentally, Women’s Day falls in March – Red Cross Month – when we focus on the wide range of humanitarian services that Red Crossers contribute around the world, 12 months a year.

Red Cross volunteer Eilene Guy speaks with a resident of seaside Heights, New Jersey who refused to evacuate during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

I’m proud to be part of the American Red Cross, which was launched by a woman, is headed by women, and values the talents and dedication of women at every level.

Women like my friend, Red Crosser extraordinaire Winnie Romeril. A volunteer for nearly 30 years, she has taught first aid and CPR, coached International Humanitarian Law classes, and served as a bilingual communicator at disasters all over the United States and across the world:

Sri Lanka and the Maldives; Peru; Haiti, carrying cash from the Red Cross to kick-start earthquake relief efforts with the Haitian Red Cross; the Philippines, where she even helped build a hanging bridge to get relief supplies to a remote village; Canada; Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

She’s been posted to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland, to tell how the Red Cross brings hope across the world, and to Sierra Leone in Africa at the height of the Ebola outbreak, representing the World Health Organization.

Winnie Romeril, a Red Cross disaster response volunteer, carries a child in Croix Desprez towards a First Aid Post.

Winnie’s courage and skill reminds me of Clara Barton, who started out as a teacher, became one of the first women to work in the U.S. Patent Office, and then took to the battlefields of the Civil War, ministering to the wounded and suffering on both sides of the conflict.

After attending to civilians during the Franco-Prussian War in Europe, she returned to the United States to found the Red Cross, which for more than 130 years has mobilized women – and men – to help prepare for, prevent and respond to emergencies.

Currently, two-thirds of our Red Cross volunteers are women, nearly 70 percent of the paid workforce is women and nearly half of the executive ranks are women.

Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, chairman of the board, and Gail McGovern, president and CEO, top the leadership team.

It’s no small job to head a $2.65 billion organization that Americans rely on to respond to more than 60,000 natural and human-caused disasters a year; collect and test some 40 percent of the nation’s lifesaving blood supply; train millions of people in first aid, CPR, AED, water safety and youth preparedness; and provide more than half a million services to our men and women in the armed forces.

People like me are the hands and heart of the Red Cross too: donating blood, responding to disasters, helping install smoke alarms to make neighborhoods safer, providing leadership at the chapter level and keeping my first aid, CPR and AED skills up to date.

I’m happy to celebrate International Women’s Day by focusing on women – past and present – who provide vital services. I know it happens all over the world every day, in actions big and small.

To investigate what you – woman or man! – can do, please check out redcross.org during Red Cross Month.

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross Board Member and volunteer


Celebrating our Volunteers and Supporters this Red Cross Month

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By Samantha Puselski, American Red Cross communications volunteer

For 80 years, March has been declared American Red Cross Month with a presidential proclamation. The tradition started in 1943 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to recognize all those who have answered the call to help others through the American Red Cross.

This Red Cross Month, we celebrate the work of the Northern Ohio Red Cross volunteers – who make up over 90 percent of the Red Cross’s workforce. We also celebrate the supporters – those who have donated blood, donated funds, taken a course, shared their story or contributed to the mission in other ways. The work of the Red Cross is not possible without those who volunteer, work and provide support.

American Red Cross volunteers Callene Derrick and Jeff Mann

While the Red Cross is a national and international organization, they also have a profound impact locally every single day. Here are just a few facts that represent the history and magnitude of the work that has been done thanks to the support our communities and partners provide:

 The Red Cross and our partners have installed more than 100,000 smoke alarms and helped create more than 37,400 escape plans in Northern Ohio households through the Sound the Alarm campaign.
 The Red Cross responds to disasters providing support to those affected. Most recently the Red Cross provided more than 100 overnight stays and nearly 400 meals to those in East Palestine, Ohio.
 The Red Cross helped survivors of the Titanic.
 Service members in every U.S. conflict since the Spanish-American War have been supported by the Red Cross.
 International Committee of the Red Cross was won the most Nobel Peace Prizes.
 The Red Cross has responded to 3 million U.S. disasters since 1881.

Take Action this Red Cross Month

There are many ways you can support the Red Cross. Celebrate Red Cross Month by supporting your community through one or more of these activities:

 Donate Blood. About 40% of the nation’s blood supply comes from Red Cross blood donors. Blood drives are held every week in locations across Northern Ohio. Find an upcoming drive.
 Become a volunteer. The Red Cross offers many different opportunities to volunteer in Northern Ohio. These roles include administrative support, clinical support, disaster response, IT support, blood donor ambassadors and more.
– Interested in becoming a volunteer? Join the upcoming volunteer information session
on March 10th.
 Make a Financial Donation. Donations of any amount can make a difference. The Red Cross offers several different ways that you can make a financial contribution.
 Take a Class. Get trained and certified in a lifesaving skill. Find a class.

Posted by Ryan Lang, American Red Cross Board Member and communications volunteer



Recognizing and honoring family caregivers

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Celebrating National Caregivers Day in Northern Ohio – February 17, 2023

By Doug Bardwell, Red Cross volunteer

National Caregivers Day originated from the efforts of the Caregiver Action Network
(CAN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for family
caregivers. In 2015, CAN established the holiday to honor the millions of family
caregivers who provide care to their loved ones.

February 2012. Baltimore, Maryland. Used for the development of the 2012 American Red Cross Babysitting Training program, which provides participants with the tools needed to provide the best care to infants and children aged 10 and younger. Geared for sitters, nannies, au pairs and caregivers 16 and older, the course is composed of both online and in-person learning. Photo credit: American Red Cross © Stock photo taken for the American Red Cross.

There are many individuals in northern Ohio who serve as family caregivers, providing
compassionate care for their loved ones day in and day out. This includes spouses
caring for their partners with Alzheimer’s disease, adult children caring for parents with
chronic illnesses, and siblings caring for siblings with disabilities.

What can you do?

Some other things each of us can do to recognize these caregivers are:

  1. Offer to help with household tasks or errands, such as grocery shopping or cooking a meal.
  2. Provide emotional support and a listening ear to caregivers who may be feeling
    overwhelmed or stressed.
  3. Give caregivers a break by offering to stay with their loved one for a few hours so
    they can have some time for themselves.
  4. Offer to drive caregivers and their loved ones to medical appointments or other
    important engagements.
September 28, 2022. Clermont, Florida Red Cross volunteer Cynthia Myatt checks up on the Wilberts who are staying in the evacuation shelter at the Lost Lake Elementary School in Clermont, Fl. The shelter, staffed by Red Cross volunteers and County Health Services nurses, is caring for local residents who were forced from their homes by Hurricane Ian. “My wife is on oxygen,” related Tom Wilbert, “and I didn’t want her be at home if the electricity went out. I’m her caregiver.” Wilbert remembers the power interruptions and devastation from Hurricane Irma, and wanted to be prepared. He said that he and his wife also took shelter In this same building for a storm in 2019. The Wilberts brought along their two dogs but couldn’t corral the cat to take along with them. “I like this shelter,” he said, “because its pet friendly and they have nurses here to help me care for my wife.” Photo by Marko Kokic/American Red Cross

Let the American Red Cross help

While the Red Cross is not directly affiliated with National Caregivers Day, the
organization does provide support and resources for caregivers. The Red Cross offers a
variety of courses and training programs, including caregiving courses, to help
individuals develop the skills they need to care for their loved ones.

In addition, the Red Cross provides assistance to caregivers in times of emergencies
and disasters, such as providing relief supplies or connecting caregivers with local
resources and support services.

National Caregivers Day serves as an important reminder to recognize and support the
vital role that caregivers play in our communities. By showing our appreciation and
offering support, we can make a difference in the lives of those who dedicate their time
and energy to caring for their loved ones.

Need help getting started?

Check out the following Red Cross options:

Take a class – online, in a classroom, or a combination of both
Learn more about the Military and Veteran Caregiver Network
Shop for caregiver training manuals and DVD’s

For other local care resources, check with

Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging
Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging

Edited by Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, American Red Cross board member and volunteer

Resolve to volunteer in the New Year with the American Red Cross

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By Ryan Lang, Red Cross volunteer and board member

Bernett L. Williams, H. Peter Burg Award recipient with Ryan Lang, Red Cross Volunteer and Board Member (Photo credit: Debbie Chitester, Red Cross)

I’ve been a board member with the American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley chapter for three and a half years now. Initially, I figured I would show up to a meeting once a quarter, give a little blood, and call it a day. Little did I know how quickly I would find myself immersed in the Red Cross mission. The more I was exposed to the work the Red Cross was doing, the more I wanted to help. 

But what did I have to offer the Red Cross?  

For one, my time! And while I don’t have much of it, I had enough that I could carve out a bit for the Red Cross. It helped that the Red Cross was flexible and worked around my schedule. I told them what time I had and they told me where and when I could help.   

The Red Cross also worked with my particular skillset, finding the best way for me to help. Given my background in multimedia and the news, the Red Cross placed me with their Communications team – writing for and posting to the Northern Ohio Red Cross blog site, recording interviews for our region’s podcast, emceeing events, and more. To say it’s been rewarding is an understatement.  

Through my work with the board, I’ve found countless other opportunities to help. I’ve stuffed goodie bags for blood donors, canvased Akron neighborhoods hanging door hangers for smoke detector installation info, and so much more. I’ve felt needed and I’ve felt that my small contribution is a part of something greater – the Red Cross mission.  

While I would recommend volunteering for the Red Cross to anyone, it’s probably better to defer to the people who commit their lives to the mission. Gail Wernick, Regional Volunteer Services Officer says, “Volunteers are an essential piece of the Red Cross lifesaving mission and help people when they need it most. As we start a new year, many people begin to think about new year’s resolutions. This is a great time to remind people that volunteering is a wonderful option. Please join us in Northern Ohio and Resolve to Volunteer in 2023!” 

To find out more how you can volunteer for the Red Cross, click here.  

Monica Bunner finds meaning, adventure, and fuel for the soul as a Red Cross volunteer

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By Tim Poe, American Red Cross volunteer

A truck navigates through areas devastated by Hurricane Ian, some previously inaccessible, arriving at a Florida camp. People of all ages and backgrounds wait, others emerge from their homes. Many are migrant workers. American Red Cross personnel, among them Monica Bunner, had worked with community members to ensure those here, like all who needed aid, receive it.

Monica Bunner, American Red Cross volunteer, in Florida after Hurricane Ian

As Monica opens the truck’s doors to distribute supplies from the Red Cross and partner organizations, she notes people’s expressions. Faces convey the realization they have not been forgotten; that people care. Monica describes the feeling as what Red Cross founder Clara Barton must have experienced caring for soldiers—, as fuel for the soul.

This was during Monica Bunner’s third deployment of 2022; her second to Florida after Hurricane Ian. She estimates she has deployed around 20 times since joining the Red Cross in 2017. Based in the Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley chapter, she also serves in several capacities here in Northern Ohio.

I am often awed by the dedication, caring, competence, and experience of fellow Red Cross volunteers and staff. I recently spoke with Monica, who brings a lifetime of volunteerism, caring, and dedication to her work with the Red Cross.

Monica has volunteered throughout her life. Even before joining the Red Cross, her activities included helping people in women’s shelters, caring for animals, working with national organizations, and serving on local zoning boards. Her work helping animals is what brought her to the Red Cross.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Monica was deployed with an animal welfare organization where she worked alongside Red Cross volunteers and decided to join.

Monica Bunner, Red Cross volunteer

Monica has since helped a tremendous number of people in many roles, including the three 2022 deployments. The first was to Puerto Rico in a disaster technology capacity role, where she assisted with flooding and helped prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

Shortly after Ian, Monica deployed to Florida to supervise family reunification efforts. She spoke of the intensity of helping families reach loved ones, many of whom had medical issues. As several areas were not reachable, she worked with search and rescue personnel, a realtor, and others to help locate people. Monica described connecting the dots and reunifying a family as elating and sharing in the joy.

After taking a short break to celebrate her 32nd wedding anniversary, Monica returned to Florida and worked with community partnerships and engagement, particularly with Latino communities, as she is bilingual. She, her team, and partner organizations worked to reach those in need who may not have realized assistance was available. This deployment was when she brought supplies to the camp.

Monica said adventure has always been part of her approach to life, as well as a love of learning, and the Red Cross offers both. She said her Red Cross work is an opportunity to go out and do good with like-minded and like-hearted people. It also offers the ability to align belief with actions and fuel the soul.

For those interested in volunteering, Monica pointed out there are opportunities for all ages and backgrounds, but to be flexible as each deployment is different, and to “Go for it!” Visit redcross.org/volunteertoday to learn more.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross board member and volunteer

On Veterans Day and every day, Red Cross helps active-duty military, veterans and families cope

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By Eilene E. Guy, American Red Cross volunteer

Today is Veterans Day, when we honor those who have served in our military. But tomorrow and every day after this national holiday passes, the American Red Cross will continue to honor and support veterans, military members and their families. For more than 100 years, the Red Cross has been helping active-duty men and women in uniform, their families and veterans deal with the unique challenges of military service.

It’s no secret that military life is stressful. Those of us in civilian life can only imagine the toll it takes to be in combat or challenged with heavy responsibilities, leaving and reuniting with family and home, being uprooted, adjusting to assignment after assignment.

Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces has a whole catalogue of programs to ease those burdens – everything from a reassuring presence on battlefields, deployment stations and military hospitals across the globe to reunification and readjustment workshops here on the home front.

There are even Red Cross programs designed specifically for children who have to deal with the unique social and emotional challenges of military life.

Northern Ohio Region Red Cross volunteer Tom Adams of Cleveland uses his education, training and skills as a clinical social worker to facilitate free, confidential resiliency
workshops on bases around the country. He recently returned from Texas, where he has done sessions at Fort Bliss, Fort Hood and Fort Tyler. Some of the highlights of his assignments over more than a dozen years include assisting service members at Fort Pickett in Virginia, Orlando, Fla. and Wright-Patterson here in Ohio.

Tom sees genuine gratitude in the people he works with. Explaining why he volunteers he said, “I can give up a weekend without pay to give them a thumbnail sketch of how to handle what life throws at them. I find it really humbling to be able to do this.”

Tom structures his small-group workshops as conversations, encouraging participants to share the challenges they face in a safe space. “Then I suggest options for handling these situations,” Tom said. “I’m not there to ‘teach.’ My goal is to give them tools they can use, when they need them.”

Here in northern Ohio, the Red Cross is also active with National Guard and Reserve units, conducting workshops to help ease the transitions of deployment and reconnection after active duty.

Jessica Tischler, regional director of Service to the Armed Forces for the Northern Ohio Red Cross recruits and trains volunteers with certification in mental health and social work fields for that program.

“I have the privilege of interacting with veterans every day and hearing their stories of service and sacrifice,” she said. “It’s gratifying every Veterans Day to see the American public come together as a community to thank the men and women who served our country.”

The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the public. Our support for the U.S. military dates back to World War I, and we’re proud to maintain our founders’ commitment to the men and women who have served or continue to serve.

For more information or to volunteer or donate to support the Red Cross mission of helping active and retired military members, visit redcross.org or our Spanish site, CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on Twitter at @RedCross.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, American Red Cross board member and volunteer

Northern Ohio volunteer delivered supplies and hope in the wake of Hurricane Ian

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By Michael deVulpillieres, American Red Cross

Destruction was everywhere as a large truck with an American Red Cross logo taped to its side made its way slowly through Coastal Estates, a small Fort Myers neighborhood lined with single family homes, most either wiped out entirely or badly damaged by Hurricane Ian.

On one side of the street, a stray cat wandered inside a blown-out manufactured home. A few doors down, the driver paused at the sight of a metal roof wrapped around a palm tree.

“Within 30 minutes, we had five feet of water here,” Reba Fennessy told Red Cross volunteers Lisa Mize and David Tolander. “It was so scary.”

American Red Cross volunteers David Tolander of Iowa and Lisa Mize of Huron, Ohio deliver relief supplies to a small neighborhood in Fort Myers, Florida, hit hard by Hurricane Ian. Photo credit: Michael deVulpillieres, American Red Cross

Mize, who is from Huron, Ohio, and Tolander, from Waterloo, Iowa, first met a week earlier after arriving in Southwest Florida to be part of the hurricane relief efforts. They were assigned to deliver supplies together in some of the hardest hit parts of the state.

Their presence meant more than the much-needed free relief items like tarps, bins, brooms, rakes, batteries, bleach and trash bags that filled their truck. Mize and Tolander also represented the reassurance that help would continue to be available as long as needed.

“We’re here where the Gulf (of Mexico) meets the Bay (of the Caloosahatchee River), so we got a double whammy,” Catherine Casby said. The storm surge, pushed by 160-mile-an-hour winds, destroyed so many of the homes around hers. Though damaged, her small house is still standing.

Catherine Casby, a resident of Fort Myers, Fla., hit hard by Hurricane Ian, speaks with Red Cross volunteer Lisa Mize. Photo Credit: Michael deVulpillieres, American Red Cross

Casby spends her days clearing debris, cleaning up inside, and keeping an eye on her neighbors. “We look after each other,” she said of her tight-knit community. In fact, the night Ian made landfall, Casby braved the winds and flood waters to check on residents next door, injuring her leg in the process.

While Mize, who works as a nurse back home, was handing out supplies, she asked Casby about her noticeable limp. Casby said she spent a few days in the hospital after the storm and is slowly recovering.

“That’s the hardest part, the stories,” Mize said of the physical and emotional scars left by Ian. Yet during her Red Cross deployment, Mize has learned how to “laugh and smile, even in the worst of it.” Her positive disposition and sense of humor lifted the spirits of those around her.

“The people are so appreciative of seeing anyone here,” Tolander said. “Many told us the Red Cross was the first and only people they’ve seen (helping).”

Fennessy recalled how, a week after landfall, the Red Cross was in Coastal Estates providing warm meals. “It made us feel that someone cared,” she said, her voice breaking up with emotion.

Before accepting some cleanup supplies from the truck, Fennessy looked up at Mize in the back of the vehicle and said, “If I could come up there, I’d give you a hug.” Mize promptly climbed down to share an embrace.

Despite having just met a week earlier, Mize and Tolander talked and joked as if they’d known each other for years. There was a seamlessness about the way they worked together.

“We’ve clicked really well,” said Mize, who recently joined the Red Cross. “This is my first deployment. But Dave has been on a lot, so he’s taught me quite a bit.” She paused. “He taught me that it’s OK to cry sometimes.”

American Red Cross relief is free to anyone with disaster-caused needs, thanks to the generosity of the American people. To become a trained disaster volunteer, like Mize and Tolander, go to redcross.org/volunteer or call 1-800-REDCROSS.

If you would like to support the Hurricane Ian response financially, visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, text the words IAN to 90999 to make a $10 donation, or call 1-800-HELP NOW.

Edited by Eilene Guy, American Red Cross volunteer
Posted by Ryan Lang, American Red Cross board member and volunteer