Red Cross Recruits New Volunteers Through Virtual Open House

By Laura Cantagallo, American Red Cross Volunteer

With COVID-19 bringing an end to in-person meetings, the American Red Cross has adopted virtual communication platforms to recruit new volunteers for their five lines of services: Disaster, Blood Services, Training Services (health and safety), International, and Service to the Armed Forces (SAF). Red Cross volunteers make-up 90% of the Red Cross workforce and respond to more than 60,000 disasters a year – they are the backbone of this humanitarian organization.

The American Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region conducted a virtual open house on Microsoft Teams on Tuesday, July 14, led by the Red Cross Volunteer Services recruitment team made up of Kristi Giles, Nanveet Prasad, and Sheleasa Omogbai – all who represent different parts of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware – and included several esteemed guest speakers. Prospective volunteers were given a virtual guided tour of the Red Cross and its history, principles and unique mission, and a look at the all-encompassing list of volunteer opportunities offered to those seeking a way to give back to their communities. 

Pictured clockwise from top:
Shawn Felder, Kristi Giles, and Sheleasa Omogbai 

Some of the volunteers the team is currently recruiting for include volunteers for Disaster Services, Blood Services, and Service to the Armed Forces.

Disaster volunteers can explore several roles: preparedness team members educate communities on self-reliance and personal resilience in the face of disaster, how to respond efficiently, and how to cope after the disaster has occurred. Recovery team members help those affected by disasters begin the road to recovery with initial assistance (food, clothing, shelter), casework, and identification of local, state, and even federal resources for which they may be eligible. 

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. The Red Cross is committed to providing our nation with a safe and plentiful blood supply, putting blood services volunteers at the very core of the Red Cross operation, especially during this global health crisis. 

This unit is made up of over 25,000 volunteers and all blood is currently being tested for COVID-19 antibodies, and convalescent plasma products are also being collected and distributed treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Blood Services is looking for Blood Donor Screeners, Ambassadors, and Transportation Specialists at all of the nine blood donation centers in our region, including locations in Washington, D.C., Rockville, Lutherville, Frederick, and Baltimore, Maryland, and Fairfax, Virginia. You can see where they are all here.

There are even opportunities for younger volunteers! The event-based volunteer position for the Blood Donor Screener is open to those 15 and older who seek to contribute to a blood drive by temperature screening donors. Volunteers can sign up for 4-5 hour shifts anywhere across the region.

The American Red Cross was born on the battlefield. Our founder, Clara Barton, first delivered aid and comfort to Union soldiers during the Civil War. Today, the Red Cross continues this proud tradition through the SAF program that comprises several different volunteer opportunities to support those serving our country and their families. There are over 1,000 SAF volunteers spread throughout medical hospitals around the region, as well as volunteers at the Pentagon and Naval Academy. SAF caseworkers provide virtual assistance to help meet military family’s needs when someone is deployed, or when they are experiencing hardship. Caseworkers make initial contact to assess needs, follow up calls, and provide other services to make sure these families are receiving the essential aid they need. 

So, how has an almost completely hands-on volunteer program changed and adapted in 2020 due to the Coronavirus? 

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“COVID doesn’t stop us, it only changes how we do it,”

- Shawn Felder, Red Cross Disaster Program Manager

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The recruitment team touched on this in the meeting, explaining all the precautions and safety measures that are being taken to ensure the safety of the people we serve in the community and volunteers, all while still being able to give a hand and help those who desperately need Red Cross services. 

“Trainings are all virtual online; some are self-paced modules that you work through and complete,” says Kristi Giles, Senior Recruitment Specialist for the Central Maryland Chapter regarding how volunteers are given training for their duties. 

Red Cross relief also includes financial assistance and mental and spiritual health assistance, provided by volunteers virtually and by phone, done by our Disaster Action Team (DAT). Red Cross members have been reaching those affected by disaster via email, video, and text, practicing social distancing, encouraging touchless distribution of client assistance cards, and wearing masks and gloves.

Disaster Action Teams continue to serve disaster-affected communities and offer help around the clock to clients. 

Another virtual need the Red Cross is currently looking for is recruitment team members. This includes recruiting volunteers for our five lines of service and promoting volunteer opportunities on social media platforms – all virtually.

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“We can’t do our job without the help of our volunteers;
they’re the most valuable part of our job.”

- Nanveet Prasad, Recruitment Specialist for the Red Cross 

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Giles adds, “We hope that people feel that it’s a rewarding experience and we hope our volunteers understand the impact they’re making in people’s lives.”

If you’re ready to join us and become a Red Cross volunteer, an upcoming virtual open house is scheduled for August 20, 2020 from 10:00-11:00 AM on Microsoft Teams. 

Prospective volunteers can also apply online at www.redcross.org/volunteer and take a quiz to see what opportunities are available, and which would best fit their skill-set and hours of availability. 

National Volunteer Month: Join Us!

By Cathy Simpson, Volunteer

April is National Volunteer Month, a month dedicated to honoring all of the volunteers in our communities as well as encouraging volunteerism throughout the month.

Have you thought about being an American Red Cross volunteer? Volunteers are the heart of the Red Cross. Volunteers carry out 90% of the humanitarian work of the Red Cross. That’s 15 volunteers for every one employee. The Red Cross is always in need of new volunteers, and we are ready to match your skills, experience and schedule with our needs.

To begin your journey to become a Red Cross volunteer, take a look at the American Red Cross history and mission statement found on the Red Cross website. With the mission in mind, click on the Volunteer heading to view videos and access a list and descriptions of the many ways the Red Cross needs your help.

Some of the major areas where help is needed include: biomedical/blood services, communications/public affairs, corporate finance, corporate management and oversight, disaster cycle services, human resources, international services, office administration, preparedness and health & safety services, military and veteran communities services and volunteer services.

Needs in all of these areas result in such volunteer opportunities as helping at a blood drive; providing on ground disaster assistance; offering military and veteran assistance; transporting blood, supplies and food; writing communications; helping assemble packets and kits; participating in fundraising; teaching CPR, first aid or babysitting; and becoming a special events or special projects coordinator.

Location is another important consideration. Volunteers can work on-site in places such as, at National Headquarters, in regional offices, on disaster sites, in hospitals or from home.
Once you have an idea of your area of interest and determine if you want an in-person or from home environment, log on to the Red Cross volunteer website where you’ll find positions that fit your talents and your schedule. To apply and find more information, visit the Volunteer Connection site here and click the red 'Get Started' button. This will begin the process to join the Red Cross volunteer team.

The process to become a Red Cross volunteer is completed once you have submitted your online application, activated your account, read and agreed to the Red Cross policies, initiated your background check and completed a phone interview with a Red Cross intake volunteer.

Being a Red Cross volunteer gives you the opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills while you are making a difference. The American Red Cross values your time and skills. We look forward to your joining our team.

For more information on how to volunteer, click here!

Blood Services Volunteer of the Month: Hillary Sandy

Hillary Sandy has been providing excellent customer service to donors at the Dr. Charles R. Drew Donor Center in DC since March of 2013! She volunteers as a Blood Donor Ambassador most Fridays and several Mondays each month.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Hillary came to the area on her 21st birthday. Hillary is a nurse by profession and an Army veteran. She was mobilized to Germany in 2011, where she volunteered with the Red Cross and USO. Since her retirement, Hillary took the opportunity to volunteer with the American Red Cross.

Hillary comes from a family that is rooted in community service. Her mother was a nurse and midwife, and volunteer work has always been part of Hillary’s upbringing. In addition to volunteering at blood drives, Hillary volunteers at the VA and is a Deputy Representative for military families, veterans and active service members. She also volunteers at her church, and helps elderly people in her community with grocery shopping and transport to and from medical appointments.

On top of all her volunteer work, Hillary still finds time six days a week to exercise at Rock Creek Park. She loves to travel and has been all over the world, particularly Europe.

Hillary’s favorite aspect of volunteering at the donor center is talking with and helping the blood donors. “Being gracious to [the donors] for donating their blood” is of the utmost importance to her.

Please join us in congratulating Hillary Sandy – Blood Services Volunteer of the Month for June 2018!

My Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Story: Herb Brennen

Pictured: Herb Brennen (Right) and Don Brauninger (Left)

Written by: Rose Ellen O’Connor, volunteer 

Herb Brennen felt a deep emptiness when his wife Susan died of breast cancer 20 years ago. Then he gave up his job as a budget administrator at Lockheed Martin in an early buyout and he had unexpected time on his hands, which only heightened his loneliness. He was looking for things to do and saw an ad for the Red Cross. 

“It was after she had passed away that I got into the Red Cross,” Herb says. “Her death left a big hole in my life and I was looking for things to fill it.”

Herb was quickly hooked on the Red Cross. In 2002, he deployed to Louisiana for Hurricane Lili, the second most destructive hurricane of that year. Since then, he’s been on a dozen deployments to all sorts of disasters from wildfires and mudslides in California, to tornados in North Carolina and Tennessee, to hurricanes in New York and Florida. His shortest deployment lasted several days; his longest was two and a half months in Houston for Hurricane Katrina. That devastating hurricane struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005, packing winds of up to 175 miles an hour. It killed 1,836 people and resulted in $81 billion in damage. An estimated 1.5 million people were evacuated and tens of thousands fled to shelter in Houston.

Herb’s task on deployment is to arrange short-term financial assistance for disaster victims. Sometimes he’s removed from one-on-one contact. In Houston, he oversaw 400 people inputting data to set up financial assistance for hurricane victims and didn’t interact with them. Other times, he deals directly with the hurricane survivors. He sees a lot of desperation and is rewarded by being able to help.

“When you’re in a situation where people are absolutely needy and you’re able to give them a credit card and they can then use that money to provide for their family, the look on their face tells it all,” Herb says. “Relief. And gratitude.”

Sometimes his volunteer work can be very emotional. Herb recalls a mother he helped in Chattanooga, TN. He was deployed there after heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides. She had an infant, two toddlers, and was fighting drug addiction. She became very emotional as she told her story to Herb and he couldn’t get her to stop crying, so he sent for a mental health expert to help her. After she calmed down, Herb began to tell her that he was arranging a hotel room for her and would give her a credit card so she could buy food for herself and the children and formula for the baby. She was so grateful, she grabbed his arms and thanked him and became very emotional again.

“She started to cry again and I got emotional,” Herb recalls. “And the three of us were sitting there, all of us practically crying.”

Herb says most of the hurricane clients used the financial aid to get out of the shelter. Some used the money to go back to their homes and wait for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to give them money to repair their houses, and others, having lost everything, used the money to move on.

In September 2004, Herb deployed to Fort Pierce, FL for Hurricane Frances. He remembers giving assistance to a mother of three small children who needed bus fare to get to family who could give them housing in another part of the state. In August, after Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana, killing at least 88 people and doing $125 billion in damage, Herb deployed to Houston. Among those needing financial assistance was a homeless man looking for fare to another part of Texas where a friend was going to give him a job. In each case, the recipient of the assistance was, again, relieved. 

“Total relief,” Herb says. “Because they were broke and they had no way to get out of the shelter and they wanted to leave the shelter and the assistance gave them the means to do it.”

When Herb isn’t taking off for floods or hurricanes or wildfires, he works local disaster relief in Prince William County, VA. He responds to house fires about once or twice a month. Asked what drives him, his answer is simple.

“I think the same thing that drives anyone as a volunteer for Red Cross,” Herb says. “You volunteer because you see there’s a need and there’s something you can do about it. I think every Red Cross volunteer will tell you the same thing.”

Herb lives in Haymarket, VA. He has two children, Adina and Greg, and five grandchildren. Before working for Lockheed Martin, he worked for 27 years as a budget administrator for IBM.

My Red Cross Blood Donor Story: George DeFilippi

Written by: Rose Ellen O’Connor, volunteer

When his older son, Geoffrey, was a toddler, a nurse at the doctor’s office commented on how long he bled after a finger prick. George DeFilippi and his wife Patricia didn’t think much of it. Then his second son James came along in 1978 and they were given a diagnosis. It was not good. Both sons had hemophilia, a bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot normally and bleeding can be uncontrolled and spontaneous.

“We were scared,” George says.

George, a retired Air Force Colonel, was then stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just outside Dayton, OH. When word got out of his sons’ hemophilia, the community rallied around his family.

“A bunch of our friends, unbeknownst to us, had a blood drive for us. There were 90 people that donated blood. A variety of them were scared about getting stuck with a needle, but they donated nonetheless,” George recalls. “We were just shocked and immensely grateful. We couldn’t believe the outpouring. That people would do such a thing for us was just a marvelous feeling.”

That was George’s first experience with the Red Cross. He was so moved he wanted to give back and began donating blood. Since 1978, he has given blood or platelets a little over 240 times. He started out giving blood, which can be donated every 56 days. He wanted to do more so he switched to platelets, which can be given 24 times a year or about every two weeks. George, 70, has slowed down a bit and now gives between 15 and 20 times a year. The process takes about two and a half hours.

As it turned out, George says, his sons had mild cases of hemophilia and only needed transfusions when they had injuries, probably a couple of times a month. As youngsters, they played a variety of sports and rollerbladed. They were very good at rollerblading but occasionally would fall, scrape a knee and need to be infused. George and his wife learned to do the infusions at home so they could usually avoid the hospital, but not always. Geoffrey, for example, had a bad sprain in the knee and was hospitalized for a couple of days.

As a youngster, James was a daredevil. He would get gashes in his head that would have to be treated.

“We found him a couple of times stacking chairs on top of chairs to try to get to cookies that were on top of the refrigerator when he was three or four,” George says. “He always was kind of a risk taker, doing those kinds of things where he would stretch the limits of his balance.”

Both sons are now in their 40’s and are healthy and very athletic. Geoffrey mountain climbs and James competes in triathlons.

George lives with his wife Patricia in Falls Church, VA. Along with his sons, he has two daughters, Jocelyn and Gwendolyn. After he retired from the Air Force, he worked in government relations for Cobham, a defense contractor, and then as a Navy civil servant.

Learn more about donating blood at RedCrossBlood.org. 

Blood Services Volunteer of the Month: Virgie Sullivan

Virgie Sullivan volunteers at the Dr. Charles R. Drew Donor Center in Washington, DC as a Blood Donor Ambassador. In addition to donating blood herself, Virgie can be relied upon to volunteer almost every Friday and has done so since 2005! 

Born in Wilson, NC, Virgie moved to the DC area for work in 1974. She has one daughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren! 

Virgie initially volunteered at blood drives at her place of employment starting in the 1990's. When she retired after 30 years of government service, she started helping out at the donor center and has been a fixture there ever since

In addition to her work with the Red Cross, Virgie volunteers very often for her church, where she helps with the food bank, cooks for special events, mentors young women, assists seniors and sings in the choir. Her free time consists of exercise, looking out for neighborhood children and taking trips to visit family in NC. Virgie is busy all the time! 

Meeting our blood donors and talking with them is what Virgie enjoys most about volunteering at blood drives. She finds it commendable that some of the donors wait for quite awhile and still have a pleasant attitude about donating blood. She enjoys talking to and thanking donors, and has gotten to know many donors by name.

Please join us in congratulating Virgie Sullivan – Volunteer of the Month for April 2018!

My Lifesaving Red Cross Blood Donor Story: Virginia Hamilton

Written by: Rose Ellen O’Connor, volunteer

Virginia Hamilton is still moved by a letter she received some three decades ago from the American Red Cross. It thanked her for saving a life. Virginia, 73, had been donating blood since her 20’s and platelets since her 30’s, but this was a special case.

A little boy who had a bone marrow transplant was in the hospital and not doing well. The Red Cross asked if she would be willing to donate platelets continuously over a period of months and she said yes. For the first several weeks, Virginia went in three days a week to donate at the Red Cross office in Merrifield, VA. The next several weeks, she came in twice a week, then once a week, then once every other week and then once a month. The Red Cross was so concerned she would be dangerously low in proteins because of all the blood she was donating that they recommended she consume extra nutrients. She drank a glass of milk with a peanut butter sandwich for lunch every day and had a daily bowl of rice and beans. By the time she finished donating it was Christmas and the little boy was better.

“They sent me a note saying he got to home for Christmas,” Virginia says. “He wasn’t doing very well and then he got my blood and he got better. I really was walking around on a cloud for a very long time.”

Sometimes it was hard to get the blood from Virginia because she has one arm where the veins “roll” when the needle is inserted. “They brought in a special nurse and she was really good at getting the needle in so they could get the platelets out,” Virginia says.

Virginia has AB positive blood, which is rare, and there is not a lot of demand for it, so she started donating platelets instead. She estimates that she gave five gallons of platelets to the Red Cross from her 20’s to her 50’s. For the next 10 years she donated to Inova Fairfax Hospital because it had blood donation centers that were closer to her job or her home. She has no estimate of how much blood she gave to Inova. Virginia stopped giving blood a couple of years ago after a couple of failed attempts to draw her blood.

“After 50 years of giving blood, its time for someone else to take over,” Virginia says.

Virginia’s family’s commitment to donating blood spans three generations. She was inspired by her aunts who started giving blood during World War II and then just kept it up afterwards. Virginia’s daughter started giving blood as soon as she was old enough. For years she had accompanied her mother on her treks to give blood, first to the Red Cross downtown and later, when it opened up, to the office in Merrifield, which was much closer to home.

Virginia lives in Sterling, VA with her cockatoo, Charlie. She has a daughter Mary Ann. She’s retired from a job in construction where she reviewed blueprints and estimated building costs.

The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood. 

My Red Cross Volunteer Story: Carol McKenzie

Written by: Rose Ellen O’Connor, volunteer


One chilly fall night in 2014, on a joyride gone awry, teenagers plowed an SUV into the glass door of a bottom floor apartment in Leesburg, VA. The family who lived in the apartment was understandably distressed. Two preschoolers, a boy and a girl, were crying and wanted to go back into their home. The parents were visibly agitated.

Carol McKenzie, who joined the Red Cross as a volunteer in 2007, arrived on the scene at 10 p.m. as a fairly new DAT (Disaster Action Team) lead responder. She arranged a place for the family to stay, wrapped the children in blankets and gave them Mickey Mouse stuffed toys to distract them from their tears. Most important, perhaps, Carol gave the family something quintessentially ‘Red Cross.’

“I had a calm, collected manner, which is what people in a disaster need,” Carol says. “They were upset. Sometimes another person who is quiet and calm and not distracted by the emergency can really help.”

Carol, 66, is the disaster lead for Loudoun County, VA, meaning she responds to calls for help with home fires, floods and other emergencies. She is also on call 24/7. Disaster leads in Prince William County, VA back her up and she, in return, backs up those volunteer leads when someone is unavailable to respond.

“We all try to help each other out,” Carol says. “When you’re working in a situation that’s highly charged, you come to rely on other people. We’re all in this together.”

Fortunately, Carol says, Loudoun County has a relatively low incidence of house fires, which frees up  her time to volunteer for other Red Cross needs. Among her projects, she coordinates the Loudoun and Prince William Counties’ home fire campaigns, known as Sound the Alarm.

Since 2016, Carol and her group of Red Cross volunteers have made monthly visits to neighborhoods considered at-risk for home fires, including immigrant communities and neighborhoods with older construction. Carol gets community leaders involved by asking them to alert residents that the Red Cross is coming. During the Saturday visits, volunteers go door-to-door, installing free smoke alarms and providing fire safety information, such as fire escape plans.

Despite all her volunteering, Carol finds time to run her own organizing business. She helps clients get rid of clutter from mounds of papers to closets full of old belongings, and helps them better organize their time. She also manages a neighbor’s business. Still, Carol says, she’s not running at full steam.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, Carol underwent what seemed like an endless round of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. She was too sick to work and is still regaining her energy, she says. She would have loved to have joined the more than 100 Red Cross volunteers from the National Capitol Region who deployed to California, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands in the wake of recent hurricanes, floods and wildfires, but didn’t feel she was strong enough yet. She hopes to deploy to a disaster sometime in the next two years.

Cancer brought her even closer to her fellow volunteers. While she was too sick to work or volunteer, fellow volunteers kept tabs on her, regularly checking in to see how she was doing. When you join the Red Cross, you join a community, she says.

“It meant a lot when I wasn’t able to participate in volunteering to have that contact,” McKenzie says. “It was important to me and to my recovery.”

Carol, who lives in rural Lovettsville, VA, with her cats Jet, Marmalade and Ms. Engine, was inspired by her mother to volunteer. Her father was an officer in the Navy, and she and her two younger brothers were raised in Cuba, Italy and Japan. Her mom, who died in 2012, volunteered for the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and countless military causes. She frequently taught her daughter how to contribute to the benefit of her family as well as others.

“My mother was quite the volunteer,” Carol recalls. “Always modest about her service, she’d often say that just a little bit of time can make a huge difference.”

Carol is now trying to pass on the volunteer bug to her son, Matthew, 28, who lives in Ashburn, VA. She tells him how blessed they are and how important it is to give back. He helps when she takes on a project that weighs more than she can handle, such as organizing cases of DAT supplies.

“He’s not a Red Cross volunteer yet,” Carol says with a big smile, “but I’m working on it.”

“My Red Cross Experience As A Platelet Donor And A Disaster Action Team Volunteer”: Alan Vollman’s Story

Written by: Rosalind SE Carney, volunteer

Alan Vollman first started to donate blood to the Red Cross in 1971 when he was in graduate school in California. He had read an article describing how heart transplants were becoming more common, but the amount of blood required for these operations put a strain on local blood supplies. He continued to give blood during his first career as a public school teacher. At that time, donors could bank their blood and specify who could receive the units donated at no cost. Alan often chose family members of his school community when families made emergency requests for blood.

When Alan moved to Washington, DC years later, he sought out a Red Cross blood donation center near his downtown law office. On a slow workday, he would to go to donate blood -- a time to relax with a short nap on a comfortable recliner. Once he became a regular donor, volunteers encouraged him to donate platelets instead of whole blood. In the US, platelets are needed every 30 seconds as they are transfused into cancer, surgery, transplant, and blood disorder patients. 

The platelet donation process takes a little longer than a whole blood donation. Blood is taken from one arm, platelets are extracted by a machine, and the remaining blood components are returned to the other arm. Alan finds this downtime relaxing and uses it to listen to lectures on interesting topics or to work on his Spanish. One time, a friend gave him DVDs of the Best of Dave Chappelle to watch during the donation. Alan laughed so hard that he started to cry, but he was unable to wipe away the tears since needles were in his arms. Other people heard him laugh and gathered to watch the shows with him. By the end of the extraction process, streaks of salt marked his cheeks where the tears had evaporated.

Alan has been donating platelets for 15 years and still donates whole blood occasionally. These donations give him a positive feeling, and he enjoys receiving emails notifying him of the type of patient who received his donation. Alan says, “I have family and friends who have needed platelets. I have met parents whose children have received them. These people know how important platelets are and tell me that donors like me have kept them or their child alive. A couple of quiet hours on a cozy recliner can provide months or years to someone who could die without platelets.”

Alan has also been a volunteer with the Disaster Action Team (DAT) since 2009 thanks to encouragement from his wife, Ann. Ann is currently a volunteer in casework recovery planning at the Red Cross headquarters in Fairfax, VA. Ann has also volunteered with DAT for many local and national disasters since 2005. As a DAT volunteer, Alan has enjoyed meeting new people from all walks of life. Alan says, “What Red Cross volunteers have in common is that they all care about their community. Volunteers quickly learn that there is a lot of suffering in the neighborhoods of our wealthy National Capital Region. Some people are living on the edge, and no matter how small a fire or other home disaster may be, it is often a personal Katrina for that household.”

Alan’s message to someone considering volunteer work with the Red Cross is this: “Good deeds are the dues we pay for being members of our community.” As a friend once told him, “Giving money is not hard to do for some; money comes and goes. But time is a gift one can’t earn back; it is unconditional.” Or to put it in lawyer speak, “Money is fungible; time isn’t.”

Learn more about donating blood and platelets at www.redcrossblood.org.

My 35 Year Blood Donor Story: Miguel Mitchell

Interviewed by: Rosalind SE Carney, volunteer

Miguel Mitchell, a PhD organic chemist and Rockville, MD, resident talks to the Red Cross about his experience as a long-term blood donor. (Note: no part of this story constitutes medical advice.)

What motivates you to donate blood to the Red Cross?

“I have been a blood donor since 1982. My mother is a nurse and it was always a family expectation to help people. Donating blood is a great way to help people.”

How often do you donate blood?

“As often as I can. The donation periods are every 8 weeks for whole blood.”

Have there been any times when you have not been able to donate blood?

“Yes, it has happened on four occasions. I realized that my body was not hydrated enough each time. Being a chemist who understands physiology, I was able to develop a method that works for my own body. Now, on the day that I donate, I make sure to drink enough water and electrolytes and ensure that I have eaten. This is an important process as it is incredibly disappointing not to be able to donate and to have to wait until the next donation cycle.”

Can you briefly describe the process at the donation center?

“As I am already a registered donor, I have a brief assessment each time I donate. This involves answering questions on a screen about recent travel, diseases, and general physical health. Then, I have a mini-physical where someone checks my blood pressure, body temperature, pulse and does a test to determine hemoglobin levels in a small blood sample. Then I donate a pint of blood. The people working at the Rockville donation center are very professional and friendly.”

What message would you give to someone who is considering becoming a blood donor?

“I feel there is an assumption that blood donation is only really needed at times of natural disasters. That is not true; there is a constant need for blood. For example, car accidents happen on a daily basis or blood is needed for people undergoing surgery. Members of my own family have needed blood donations, so I am very sensitive to its importance.”

Do you have any suggestions regarding the Red Cross blood donation process?

“Yes. They used to give a certificate per gallon of blood donated, but they no longer do that. I would love to see it return as it is inspirational to look up your own achievement over time and it encourages you to continue. When life is stressful, any type of inspiration is helpful and donating blood is a constant source of inspiration to me.”

Learn More About Donating Blood to the Red Cross.

Red Crosser delivers in Puerto Rico: “I wasn’t gonna let her down”

“I was in Patron, Morovis, Puerto Rico and this little old lady comes up to me and starts patting me on the chest and talking in Spanish,” remembers John Hendricks, a Red Cross volunteer from Detroit, Michigan serving in Puerto Rico for the Hurricane Maria relief effort. His voice is raspy from camping out in the mountains with his Red Cross team delivering water filters to the most remote communities, house by house. “I said to her, ‘I’m a gringo, I don’t speak Spanish,’ but I got one of my teammates to translate for me.” John’s eyes get misty. His translator said, “She is patting your chest because she saw you in the mountains and she loves your heart.”

John was touched by Rosa Maldonado Ortiz’s gesture and, with translation assistance, learned more about her situation. At 87 years old, she lost part of her house during the hurricane. Three of her grandchildren live upstairs in her home. Like most homes on the highlands of Puerto Rico, there is no running water and families collect water from mountain springs. Mrs. Ortiz happily accepted a high-volume Sawyer water filter, one of 13,000 (and counting!) units Red Cross volunteers have placed into the hands of the most isolated Puerto Ricans. The training she received on its use will help her keep her family safe from bacteria, viruses and toxins. However, she desperately needed tarps to keep out the seasonal downpours, she told John. He promised to return.

When John went to the closest Red Cross warehouse, all the tarps had been distributed and the next shipment had not yet arrived. “I wasn’t gonna let her down, so I went to Home Depot and bought her tarps,” John says in his matter-of-fact, Middle America style. “When I took her the tarps, she told me she needed a cat.” Mrs. Ortiz was worried about the increasing number of rats, mice and the diseases they might transmit to her grandchildren.

As it so happens, an abandoned kitten was rescued on a relief distribution in Juana Diaz during a thunderstorm. “We couldn’t leave the kitten there in a downpour, so we took it to a veterinarian,” said Leo Taraborrelli. “The vet estimated it was born about the time that Hurricane Irma came through.” When John told Leo about Mrs. Ortiz, he gladly offered up the rescued kitten to the cause. After all, as Red Cross volunteers, they have been working 15-hour days and are mostly away from their shelter. This way, the kitten would be in a home with children to love him.

Later that night, John and Leo made a special trip back to Patron, Morovis to Mrs. Ortiz’s home with the cat. “I’m so happy, thank you!” said Mrs. Ortiz. Red Cross responders, like John and Leo, continue their emergency relief efforts in Puerto Rico with a strong sense of urgency due to sustained damage to critical infrastructure like water and electricity. Red Cross teams continue distributing water filters in rural areas as a longer-term solution to the lack of access to clean water.

Click here for more Hurricane Maria Relief Information.

My Red Cross Volunteer Story: Susan Saslow

Susan Saslow has volunteered several times a month as a Blood Donor Ambassador in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Virginia since 2007. Susan is the one to call on in a pinch for a drive in her area, and is very flexible and reliable! In January 2017, Susan took on the additional responsibility of training other Blood Donor Ambassadors in her area.

A retired Oncology Nurse, Susan has lived in Oak Hill, VA since 1988 with her husband. She has one daughter and three cats. Susan enjoys spending time with her extended family, many of whom live in the DC area, and watching college and professional sports. She also enjoys quilting and exercises every day!

When she was working, Susan volunteered with the American Cancer Society on the Professional Education Committee, where she spoke at nursing conferences and presented continuing education programs regarding oncology.

After multiple spinal surgeries, Susan realized she would not be able to return to work and decided to start volunteering with the American Red Cross.

“The reason I thought of the Red Cross was because of their stellar reputation and my experience with oncology patients and families needing blood products,” she says.

Please join us in congratulating Susan Saslow – Greater Chesapeake & Potomac Blood Services Region's Volunteer of the Month for November 2017!

Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts: Peter’s Story as a Volunteer Deployed to Texas

Written by: Rosalind SE Carney, volunteer

At 6 pm on Saturday, August 26, 2017, Peter Benjamin received an urgent request from the Red Cross Disaster Relief Response Team to deploy the following morning to Texas to help with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. At 9 am the next morning, Peter and a fellow volunteer drove an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) from Washington, DC to Houston, TX, a journey that would take four days. Peter’s initial plan was to drive to Houston via Dallas in order to avoid the hurricane. Approaching Texas, he received instructions to go via Baton Rouge, LA. However, weather maps showed this was not advisable due to the path of the hurricane, so Peter went back to his initial plan. When he and his co-driver arrived in Dallas, he called the Red Cross disaster response headquarters in Houston to ask the best route to get there. The response was “By boat!” Roads to the east and north of Houston were closed, so the only option was to go west of the center of the hurricane. After driving to Austin and then going east, Peter and his co-driver had covered two-thirds of Texas by the time they reached Houston.

Peter then spent nine days serving the community of Katy, part of greater Houston. Each morning, the ERV was loaded up with meals prepared by the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief mobile kitchen. He and at least one other person then went to locations where the hurricane had done substantial damage and people were returning to their homes. Sounding the horn of the ERV and speaking through the loudspeaker “American Red Cross, free hot food” he encouraged locals to come outside. From the ERV, Peter and his team served hot food, snacks and water. Much-needed support was also given by simply talking with people, letting them know that the Red Cross was there for them, that they will get through this and facilitating connections with local resources. After the lunch meals were served, Peter drove the ERV back to the mobile kitchen to load up meals for dinner and went back into the community. Because he was able to provide assistance to people at their time of great need, the impact of his volunteer work was incredibly rewarding. The photo shows handmade thank you cards that Peter received from two children whose family he helped during his service.

In Peter’s role as Volunteer Disaster Action Team Lead, he also assists people in Montgomery Country and the Washington DC region who are displaced from their homes by fires, floods or other disasters. He provides advice, support and immediate financial assistance to people in their time of need.

Peter has been involved with the Red Cross for 12 years and travels to as many as three major disasters annually. He has worked in public service throughout his career, from mission planning and crew training for the Apollo lunar missions, to an executive role in the Federal Transit Administration, to Chairman of the Board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Peter is now serving his sixth two-year term as Mayor of Garrett Park, MD.

Peter finds great satisfaction from his volunteer work and knows the difference he makes to people’s lives. Whether responding to a local or national disaster, the people he helps typically have a common response, “It is so wonderful that you have been here to help, I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

Learn more about Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Response and Relief