My Red Cross Volunteer Story: Shirley Gaines

Written by: Courtney Clarke, Communications Volunteer

Shirley Gaines has personal experience with
two lines of service at the American Red Cross.

Years of service: 3

Resides: Woodbridge, VA

Profession: Retired Medical Transcriptionist, Kaiser Permanente

Why do you believe in the work of the Red Cross?

Shirley and her family have had several personal experiences with the Red Cross, dating back over 50 years! They have been assisted by two lines of service within the Red Cross: Service to the Armed Forces and Disaster Services.

In the late 1960s, her brother was in the Army, stationed in Vietnam. The family would go long stretches of time without hearing from him, and they would worry about his safety. During one especially long period without contact from him, the family asked the Red Cross to track him down. The Red Cross was able to locate him and learn that he was recovering from malaria and was assigned to a clerical post in Vietnam. The family was relieved to learn that he was alive and well. 

Years later, Shirley’s mother’s home in Arlington, VA caught on fire. As the flames blazed, Shirley’s mother felt a sense of hopelessness and desperation. The Red Cross was instrumental in providing her mother, brother and sister with hotel accommodations until the soot that covered everything in their house was cleaned up and they received their homeowner’s insurance payment. Even more importantly than the financial assistance, the Red Cross restored her sense of calm and peace. Shirley doesn’t know what the family would have done without the Red Cross.

Based on her personal experience with the Red Cross, Shirley firmly believes in the organization and its mission. "You know where your money and resources are going when you donate to the Red Cross. I feel that the resources are going to the right place," she explains. Even for those who don’t have financial resources to donate, Shirley encourages people to donate blood, which is what she does. 

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"I believe in the Red Cross and I give blood because they do a lot of good work.  This is my way of helping people - I don't always have cash to make financial donations, but I have blood and if i can give blood, that's something."

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Why do you donate blood to the Red Cross?

Shirley is an Army veteran and has been active with the American Legion in the DC area for fifteen years. The Legion introduced her to donating blood around three years ago, when they had a blood drive on-site, and she has been donating quarterly ever since. This adds up to about 12 pints of blood, and each pint can save up to three lives!

With less than 38% of the U.S. population eligible to give blood, Shirley knows that her gift is an important one. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illness or traumatic injuries. “Donating blood is my way of helping to save lives,” Shirley boasts.

Donating blood is easy!

Donating blood is a simple process. First, go to redcrossblood.org to locate your nearest blood donation center and schedule an appointment. Then, to save time, click on the "RapidPass" link and complete your pre-reading and health history questions. When you arrive for your appointment, you'll be seated comfortably while a pint of blood is drawn; the actual donation only takes 8-10 minutes. After donating, you can enjoy a snack and a drink for 10-15 minutes before resuming your day. The entire donation process takes about an hour.

Click here to learn more about our Service to Armed Forces services. 

Click here to learn more about donating blood with the American Red Cross near you.