April is National Volunteer Month, so as I started to write
I thought about what a volunteer is and what it means to volunteer. That led me to the dictionary to look up the
“official” definition.
Wait a minute! Something
is missing.
Where is the kindness shown to those who need a helping
hand? No mention of the dedication that
brings you out on a stormy evening to respond to a call for help. What about the tenacity it takes to schedule
a preparedness presentation? I can’t
find a mention of the generosity that moves you to give your precious time to
teach others to cope with emergencies.
332 volunteers are the American Red Cross of Northeast
Tennessee. I wish it were possible to
list each of them so you could understand the need to expand the dictionary’s
definition of volunteer. Let me give you
just a few examples.
Courtney – Coordinates our Pillowcase Project by scheduling
presentations to schools and youth groups as we teach preparedness skills to
young people. She also is an
administrative assistant in our office.
Rena – Data entry is critical if we are to have reliable,
complete information for our constituents including donors and the community.
Bryan & Peggy – A husband and wife team who work on
providing quality services to military members and their families, retirees and
veterans. They are also active disaster
responders.
Jim – Manages our fleet of vehicles and trailers making sure
we can get to people who need our assistance.
He is also a disaster responder focusing on Mass Care feeding.
Powell – Need to learn CPR/FA? Powell is one of the volunteer instructors
who teach us the correct way to respond.
Sid – Provides experienced leadership in Disaster Cycle
Services, leading the team that provides guidance and planning for our disaster
program.
Stewart & Deb, Ron & Ray – These two teams of volunteers
just left to go to two fires and assist families who need food, clothing, and
shelter. The backbone of our disaster
response, the Disaster Action Team members are the first Red Crossers to
respond.
Jeff – A member of our Board of Directors, he is working to
increase our Community Outreach by leading a “Ready Rating” lunch and learn
this month. This program gives tools to
small and medium businesses so they can be prepared for emergencies.
Vince, Sara, and Ellen – This rotating team answers our
phone between 5PM and 8:30AM and on weekends and holidays. They deploy our response teams and answer
lots of questions while the rest of us sleep!
These 15 along with their 317 co-workers are very special
people. As the definition states they freely offer to serve our community by
providing Red Cross services. They are volunteers and so very much more. Together, they are the heart and soul of our
organization.
Thank you to each of our volunteers! For me, you
are the definition of “volunteer”.
Glenda
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