Red Cross disaster relief worker Jacob Tolle (l) and Daniel Schultz (r) are meeting one-on-one with families affected by the May 22 tornado in Minneapolis. Photo credit: Jason Viana/American Red Cross
Volunteers have come from many Red Cross chapters across the country to help the north Minneapolis residents recover from the devastating tornado that swept through town on May 22.
Take Jacob Tolle, 20, a caseworker for the Red Cross. Here from Cinncinati, Ohio, he has been trained for Red Cross disaster relief deployment for only five months.
“I want to give my attention to the families in need,” says Jacob.
His inspiration is one of amazing strength. At the age of 16 Jacob decided to take part in a demolition derby. The night before the derby Jacob’s stepfather told him he was nervous and thought participating in the derby was a bad idea. Despite what his father told him, Jacob took the risk.
“Not more than ten minutes into the derby my car started on fire and the whole car shot into flames while I was trapped inside with my seat belt on,” Jacob explains.
He was rescued from the burning car and rushed to Adams County Hospital where he was given multiple numbing medications. From there he was sent Shriners Hospital Burn Center.
“From day one of treatment, the doctors told me that I would be unable to walk for at least 6 months,” says Jacob.
With perseverance on his side, Jacob walked with a gait belt support within 3 days of his recovery treatment. A week later he walked on his own to check-up at the hospital.
Jacob has used his accident as a way to inspire others to never give up.
“That’s why I volunteer for the Red Cross, because of the devastation of someone telling you that you won’t walk,” say Jacob.
Jacob arrived in Minneapolis on May 27, just a few days after the tornado,and he plans to stay and help until things settle down.
The Red Cross has served thousands of meals to people working to hold back the rising Red River waters. Right now, Mark Doble, a Red Cross volunteer from the Twin Cities, is up north managing mass care (aka watering and feeding) for this disaster operation.
Mark reports: “In Fargo, we are getting ready to start sandbagging operations. What I mean is that we are going to start feeding people as all of the sand bags that have been pre-made are now being put around the homes. It’s been great here and the Red Cross Minn-Kota Chapter has been wonderful. I’m looking forward to getting home.”
Our mass care man, Mark Doble, up north. Photo credit: Tammie Pech/American Red Cross
The Red Cross relies on multiple generous hands during disaster response. Behind the scenes hands include the folks who locate water and food donations, the people who are around to help unload the relief supplies when they arrive, and the person who grabs a camera running after those who are doing the heavy lifting, literally. xoxo, redcrosstc
Pallets upon pallets of donated water, juice, and snacks arrive Friday afternoon at the Red Cross in Minneapolis. These items are to feed hundreds of people who will be sand bagging on Saturday as part of flood mitigation. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross
Red Cross workers unload snacks that sand baggers will be grateful to have. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross11 pallets, 10868 pounds. They're getting a work out! Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross Even the best of the best lends a hand to the off load. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red CrossThank you, Target, for your donation. Photo credit: Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross
The Red Cross in the Twin Cities is among the first in the country to open Stores of Hope this holiday season. In the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area, we have two locations opening Friday, November 26: Eden Prairie Center and Ridgedale Center.
Red Cross Dispatchers Help Get Disaster Response Off the Ground
by Jason Viana, Red Cross Staff, Twin Cities Area Chapter
Sopheak Srun is a volunteer disaster response dispatcher for the American Red Cross Twin Cities Area Chapter. Photo provided by Sopheak Srun.
You won’t see them in pictures, they don’t grab headlines, and most of those they help don’t even know they exist. Yet without Disaster Action Team (DAT) dispatchers, the Red Cross disaster response would have a hard time getting off the ground. While they may never set foot on the scene, the decisions they make and the moves they orchestrate are key to almost every Red Cross disaster response.
Twenty six-year-old Sopheak Srun recently joined the group of unsung DAT heroes as he chose to become a DAT dispatcher in the fall. Srun spends the majority of his days working as a microbiologist and engineer at his family’s medical device assembly and packaging company in Bloomington and says he really enjoys his work as a Red Cross volunteer. The Red Cross first crossed Srun’s radar while completing his graduate work in St. Louis and once he returned to the Twin Cities he completed training and became a DAT volunteer.
Having responded to numerous local disasters over the last two years as a DAT member, Srun already had a good understanding of the importance of dispatchers in disaster response. However, after having become a dispatcher himself, he quickly gained a deeper appreciation of the role he now plays in coordinating Red Cross efforts.
As Srun coordinated the disaster response efforts in response to a recent house fire in St. Paul, Srun not only consoled a family who had just lost a child, but also connected them with all of the help and resources that the Red Cross had to offer. The full-time microbiologist quickly and compassionately prepared each of the DAT members for what they were about to face and ensured that all of the proper team members were selected to respond.
“It was really sad, “Srun recalled. “They had just lost their child and they were pretty incoherent. I just tried to stay calm and get them all the help I could.”
Srun has learned since taking on the role of dispatcher that the key to the position is about more than calling other volunteers and passing along information, it’s really about judgment and leadership. “We are the voice of the Red Cross to these people…we are pivotal in the response because we coordinate nearly everything,” said Srun as he looked back on his first six months as a dispatcher. “After hours it’s just us.”
The thought of serving as a DAT dispatcher had crossed Srun’s mind on several occasions, but an email appeal from local disaster coordinator Ruth Talford convinced him to take the next step. “It seemed like a logical extension to the work I was already doing, “Srun said. “With my experience as a DAT first-responder I felt like I was ready for a leadership role.”
Srun has embraced his new role and found that he really enjoys coordinating the disaster response efforts of the DAT volunteers. While the role of dispatcher has proven demanding, Srun said it also comes with its perks. “It’s nice, I don’t really have to get up and leave in the middle of the night to actually help someone…I can do it from home.” The smile was obvious in Srun’s voice as he described the convenience of being able to do a great deal of dispatching right from the palm of his hand…with his IPhone.
Srun says that all you really need is an internet connection, a telephone, access to the DAT list and the willingness to help people during exceptionally difficult times. “The situations are all pretty heavy. These people have usually lost their homes and most of their possessions.” Srun stated matter of factly. “But that’s the nature of our work. I am just glad we are there to help.”
