My Red Cross Story: Manny Zuniga

By Ian Levine, Volunteer

Over a decade ago, on the eighteenth hole of a lush golf course, a friend asked retired Manny Zuniga if he'd ever volunteer with the American Red Cross. “No, thank you,” Manny said, "I don’t like needles and I don’t like blood."

Little did Manny know, he'd soon discover everything he thought he knew about the American Red Cross was wrong. And, he was about to give his life a horse kick to the chest.

It’s not that Manny’s life before the American Red Cross was boring. He grew up in the chaos of a low-income family plagued by drug addiction and violence. His cousins were some of the founding members of La Eme; a deadly collaboration between thirteen Hispanic street gangs, which formed the Mexican-American mafia. His other cousins sold and used drugs. When Manny watched the family around him look for only immediate relief instead of toward their future, he decided to choose a different path. That’s when Manny sought giving (rather than taking) as a way to save his life. Then he rose from the blunt ashes like a Phoenix.

Manny started volunteering with the United States Junior Chamber, also called the Jaycees. Jaycees is a “not-for-profit organization of young active citizens…ages 18-40, [who] develop themselves personally and professionally by bringing energy and insight to solving problems locally and around the world.”

That led him to volunteer at some of the country’s most momentous sports occasions; such as the 1984 Olympics, the 80th Rose Bowl Game, and Superbowl XXXVII. In fact, Manny’s cousins valued sports so much that when they saw him volunteering, it motivated them to better themselves, as well. One cousin earned a soccer scholarship. Another cousin became a baseball coach. Witnessing the impact volunteering can have on the “mind, soul, and body,” Manny considered the American Red Cross.

That’s when he found out that the American Red Cross isn’t just needles and blood. Manny deploys all over the country on a moment’s notice during natural disasters. He sets up the communication devices first responders need to save lives. Manny’s always moving. One time, he deployed to Puerto Rico for Hurricanes Irma and Maria. He returned home for a week. Then, deployed again to California for its wildfires. Much like avant-garde engineer and American Red Cross volunteer Ken Jones, it’s Manny’s responsibility to stay on top of changes in technology. But technology changes so often, he crams between emergency deployments. Manny tells me he wouldn’t have it any other way. He often thinks about his family, and strongly believes that if he were to become a couch potato, he “wouldn’t be around for much longer.”

Honoring Manny Zuniga and his family at the Red Cross Night
with the Nationals game for his volunteer service in July 2018.

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