While watching the news during Hurricane Katrina I knew I needed to get involved in some way to help.
Once my kids were a bit older I researched organizations that help during disasters and the Red Cross kept coming up.
The more I read, the more I wanted to join.
In my initial interview, I found out about Red Cross DAT (Disaster Action Teams) and SAF (Service to Armed Forces) – there was so much more to the organization than responding to large disasters – I wanted to be a part of it.
I simply fell in love with the mission.
I was previously employed with the Red Cross and truly miss it. The culture and volunteers are like no other place I’ve experienced and I mean that in a good way.
Today, I have to work around my schedule and can’t volunteer as much as I wish I could. I recently deployed to help with hurricane response efforts, but wasn’t able to stay as long as I would like. What we were doing meant so much to me. The people of St. Thomas really needed us, but I knew those Red Crossers who were coming next would continue our good work and mission.
American Red Cross NW Region 