Volunteers Help Soldiers During Yellow Ribbon Event

On Saturday, February 8, American Red Cross volunteers from our region participated in a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program conference in Minneapolis, which focused on promoting well-being by connecting service-members and families with resources throughout the deployment cycle.

The Red Cross volunteers worked with over 500 military service and family members from 30 states to discuss the manners by which the Red Cross can serve them. Some examples include linking military families during an emergency, connecting people with local community resources, providing resiliency training and supporting wounded warriors and military hospitals.

Chief Warrant Officer Michele Jammers shared how she benefited twice from the Red Cross service of linking family members during an emergency. During one deployment, it enabled her to receive news about her grandmother in a timely manner. During a later deployment, the service assisted her with receiving news about her father in the presence of a chaplain and returning from the (military) theater.

Sergeant Carol Crowe, the Community Partners Coordinator for the conference, expressed the importance of connecting military service members and families with pertinent community partners. She cited an example of when she referred a military parent with four kids to the Red Cross for assistance when that parent was down to his/her last $20.

Story by Red Cross volunteer Geno Sung and photo by Red Cross volunteer Lara Leimbach. Click here to learn more about the American Red Cross Service to the  Armed Forces Program. Click here to donate and support Red Cross SAF activities.