It’s National Volunteer Week, and the staff and board members here in the Northern Minnesota Region have much to be thankful for. This year we decided to write creative thank you notes to volunteers in celebration of their service to the Red Cross. These notes will be compiled into a poster, which we’ll bring to each of the upcoming volunteer appreciation events this spring. But in honor of National Volunteer Week, here’s a preview of how thankful we are for our fabulous Red Cross volunteers.
Imagine that you’ve just returned home after being deployed to the American Red Cross Hurricane Sandy disaster relief operation. You worked twelve-hour days for three weeks helping Sandy survivors rebuild their lives. You’re a Red Cross disaster relief worker–most likely you’re a volunteer. You’re exhausted. You’ve seen a lot. Your experiences range from the devastating to the inspiring. You could use a little emotional support, but you’re not sure how or who to ask for it.
The next thing you know, you receive a call from a Red Cross Disaster Mental Health volunteer who’s checking in to see how you’re doing and to assist you in dealing with stress and high impact experiences. The volunteer listens to you, offers support and lets you know that you’re not alone. Sandi Lindgren could be the person who calls.
“Disaster deployments are a special kind of response that I believe calls for increased attention,” Sandi says. “When you return home friends and family usually want to know some of what you’ve experienced, but often they don’t want to know as much as you want to tell. It’s not because they don’t care – it’s because they don’t understand, and they themselves have had life continue while you were away. Sometimes it can be helpful to process some of these experiences in a post deployment call, to get support, ideas and sometimes just have someone to listen.”
Sandi–who also deploys to disaster relief operations away from home–most often serves the Red Cross in Minnesota as part of a team of trained and licensed mental health volunteers. Together, the team has made more than one hundred post-deployment calls to Hurricane Sandy relief workers from Minnesota.
Though it’s a service many people aren’t aware of, this kind of outreach can make a world of difference to those it supports. For example, one volunteer says that the the Disaster Mental Health volunteer who contacted her after her return from Hurricane Sandy “went way beyond what I could ever have expected a volunteer to do in the amount of time she devoted to [my post-deployment needs] and the caring for me and the Red Cross.”
Disaster Mental Health responders worry about the negative stigma sometimes associated with mental health and want volunteers to know that talking with someone is a normal and healthy way to process a deployment experience. Sandi explains that “The Disaster Mental Health Team and its volunteers don’t approach you and talk to you because we secretly think you’re crazy and in need of an intervention! Sometimes, we just want to chat, or meet new people, or find out what’s going on. I like to remind people that we’re the mental HEALTH team…it’s all about how to be your best, so that you can then support others in the most effective manner.”
Thank you to all of the Disaster Mental Health team volunteers for your compassionate support of our regional volunteers. Your work is truly appreciated.
Story by Lisa Joyslin, Volunteer Resources Director, American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region. Click here to learn more about Red Cross opportunities.
Dear Red Cross Volunteers,
We think that you’re fabulous. We appreciate your positive attitude, your willingness to help out in anyway that you can, and your desire to learn and share your expertise. We love your commitment, your sense of humor and your compassion. Our hearts pound with joy when we think of how smart and dedicated you are, and how you share time, talent and grace under tremendous pressure. We see how wonderful you are and we know that what you give to the Red Cross and the people we serve means more than we could ever write on a card.
Thank you for everything that you do, for everything that you are, and for your friendship and support. So, will you be our valentines?
With much love from,
The Staff at American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region
by Anne Florenzano/American Red Cross
A tired Yvonne Johnson sat at a table in her apartment complex community room. “I am still in disbelief,” she said. “You hear of people in the news who have fires like this, but I never thought it would be ME in this situation. It still seems so unreal!” she said.
Yvonne, her teen daughter and nephew had enjoyed Christmas together in their apartment in Plymouth when their building fire alarm went off at about 12:30 a.m. They were still up, and dressed, and they grabbed their new gifts and put on their boots and coats and went outside. A half-hour later they were given the okay to go back into their apartment. At approximately 3:30 a.m. Yvonne was woken out of her sleep by the smell of smoke and her daughter saw sparks and flame out of the balcony window coming down from above. Yvonne and the two teens raced out of the apartment, this time dressed only in pajamas and unable to save anything but a clutch with her phone and keys.
The three of them took refuge in their car to stay warm. Eventually Yvonne was able to send her kids to warmth and sleep with her sister while she made arrangements for help from the Red Cross for temporary lodging, clothes and food. The firemen have told her that her apartment is uninhabitable because of water damage. Fortunately her landlord has some empty units where Yvonne can begin rebuilding her home, but she won’t know until she can get back into her apartment if any of the kids’ Christmas gifts or the furniture she recently inherited from her Mom can be salvaged. Yvonne is a middle school English teacher at the Woodson Institute for Student Excellence, and she said, “I’ve never had any help or assistance before – never in my life – but I need this help today.”
Disasters are hard any time of year, but can be especially hard around the holidays. Since Friday, December 22, the Northern Minnesota Red Cross has helped more than 8 families, including 20 adults and 15 children. Our volunteers respond to more than a disaster a day here in our region. In addition, more than 100 volunteers from our area have deployed east to help those affected by Superstorm Sandy–several are on their second deployment, missing holidays with their families because they want to help those in need. Everyone can help those affected by local and national disasters: please consider making a year-end gift to the Red Cross at redcross.org.
Red Cross volunteer Claudia Kelly, on the ground responding to Superstorm Sandy, sends us “Greetings from New York City”:
I’m halfway through my third week on this operation. I started in Mass Care Sheltering, and was sent to manage a shelter in Glen Cove, Nassau County, Long Island during and immediately after the storm. I had the chance to work with some fabulous people there. Our shelter population stayed small, ranging from 3 to 18 residents, but many community members stopped by during the day to charge their phones and to escape their powerless and increasingly cold homes. A group of Seniors joined us to eat one afternoon (this was a few days into my super effective all-cold-sandwich diet), and they had so much fun that several of them registered as shelter guests and proceeded to stay up all night laughing, chatting, and watching DVDs.
Later, some shelter consolidation took place and I joined the staff of an 800-resident mega shelter at the Nassau County Community College just before Election Day. The state Board of Elections brought in absentee ballots for the residents, and Best Buy provided TVs, computers and WiFi hotspots so they could follow the election results. (Over at the staff shelter, we were all just exhausted and went right to sleep.) The mega shelter had many other amenities as well: a free laundry service, a medical clinic, a cell phone charging and loan station, and a supervised children’s play area. Nevertheless, a population that large is chaotic. Several residents were transferred to hospitals, including one in full labor who gave birth to a baby boy (+1 to shelter count since Mom was still registered!).
After two weeks in Sheltering I transferred to Client Casework, which is based out of Operation Headquarters at the New York City Red Cross office building. I’ve been on Staten Island for the past few days representing the Red Cross at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center near the shore. There was a tremendous amount of damage there, and our presence seems meaningful as a validation of the incredible loss the community has suffered. I am being sent to a different area tomorrow, as I am among the fearless and possibly foolish few who are willing to take on New York City driving, and another team’s driver is having a day off. Traffic here is truly abysmal, as some of the tunnels remain closed, and many streets in Lower Manhattan are clogged with recovery trucks and trailers. But that’s only half the fun: New York City drivers are an aggressive lot. I’m working on my swerve technique in hopes that defensive driving becomes an Olympic sport in Rio in 2016.
Hope to see you all soon back in Minnesota.
Best,
Claudia
Question: Who are those people working tirelessly to get Red Cross relief workers deployed to disaster locations, such as Superstorm Sandy? Answer: They’re Emergency Services Staffing volunteers!
In the case of our American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region, we’re talking about volunteers Kris Posey, Susan Waananen & Cari McCollor. Although they’re often not working on the ground in affected disaster areas, they’re working hard to get those who are responding in the field out the door quickly and safely.
Emergency Services volunteers work behind the scenes 24/7 when disaster occurs. They’re in the Red Cross offices on weekends monitoring email, helping arrange training and processing volunteers. They’ve been doing this nearly every day since before Superstorm Sandy made landfall on the East Coast. Every day, they return calls and answer emails that come in from our 700+ volunteers across our Red Cross region.
In addition, we’ve had staff services volunteers in the office these past few weeks learning all there is to know about national deployment. Thank you Steve, Marcia, Lois, Bonnie, Barb, Jan & John. We’re building great capacity throughout our region.
Thank you to Emergency Services staffing volunteers. You help make our mission happen. And we love you for it!
P.S. Emergency Services staffing volunteers also deploy to disasters. Cari (pictured) is now on the East Coast working as part of the Red Cross field response to Superstorm Sandy. Return home happy and safe!
P.P.S. Question: Do you want to join our team? Answer: Yes, I do. I really really do 🙂
Special Post From Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Dun Bui
Red Cross volunteers from Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin are working together at the shelter at Maple Place School in Oceanport, New Jersey.
Over 600 people have checked into the Red Cross shelter established at Maple Place School in Oceanport over the past 48 hours. Many have come in for a hot meal, chance to charge some electronic devices, file a claim with FEMA or just talk with a friendly volunteer.
A majority of the Red Cross volunteers are not even from this area or state. A husband and wife drove from Kentucky, one woman came in from Ohio, another from up-state New York while two others are from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Volunteers are needed at the shelter to assist with serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also people are needed to help watch and supervise children and play games with senior citizens. The shelter is open 24 hours. And if you can spare an hour or so, stop over and make someone smile.
Thank you to Dun Bui and the other 5,400 Red Cross volunteers responding to the Superstorm Sandy disaster on the East Coast. Take care and return home safe and happy.
Six American Red Cross volunteers from the Northern Minnesota Region are heading to Florida where Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to make landfall in the next few days. Among those responding are Cathy Miller from Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Miller, a licensed psychologist, has served for four years as an American Red Cross disaster mental health volunteer. “I love the Red Cross,” says Miller, who is retired. “I like to feel like I’m contributing.”And she has. To date, Miller has deployed to numerous disaster, including the devastating tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, last year. Nicole Anderson, whose job it is to get Red Cross volunteers ready for deployment with few hours notice, says Miller is a “rock star” volunteer because “when I need her she’s on it.” In addition to moving hundreds of trained disaster workers into Florida, the Red Cross has 22 emergency response vehicles already in the state with an additional 78 on stand-by; five truckloads of disaster supplies in route; and more relief supplies ready to ship from warehouses in nearby states. To learn more about the American Red Cross, click here.
Story and photos by Red Cross Volunteer Amy Conger
Hudson, Wisconsin resident Nathan Steen was watching TV around 2:30 in the morning, July 5, 2012, when he started to smell an odd, almost chemical-like, smell in his basement apartment. He opened the door to his unit and was shocked to see thick black smoke in the hallway. Running to the fire alarm pull switch in the hallway, he yanked it several times but did not hear the alarm. Nathan couldn’t see flames or the source of the fire, so he went back to his apartment, woke his wife and two children, and called then called 911. He then ran to the other apartments, banging on doors to alert his neighbors to the fire. He was pounding on windows from outside, yelling “Fire!”, when the police arrived and began to assist getting people out from the other 9 units of the building.
The other residents report opening their doors to thick black smoke before rushing out of the building. A main concern of all the residents was the failure of the alarms to sound. Nathan Steen was truly a hero to alert everyone to the danger before it spread to other areas of the building. The fire appears to have occurred in a basement storage area, but the incident is under investigation by the Hudson Police Department.
Red Cross volunteer workers Jason Winget and John Trieb assisted residents of the two lower units with emergency disaster relief. They will be able to return to their homes after the smoke damage is cleared. Everyone assisted by the Red Cross was thankful for the help. Kevin Williams, who was displaced by the fire with his mother, said that the Red Cross helped bring relief and comfort to them. He didn’t know that Red Cross volunteers helped people in situations like this and said that he would consider volunteering himself in the future to help others dealing with disaster from fire.
Visit our website redcrossmn.org to learn more about Red Cross services and opportunities.
A year ago, May 22, 2011, an EF1 tornado swept through Minneapolis, mostly on the North Side where it ripped up homes and trees, displaced hundreds of our neighbors, killed two people, and injured dozens of others. The American Red Cross responded immediately, providing safe shelter, food, water, and emotional support to survivors. Like others, right now we’re remembering this tragic event. Watch our tribute video.
Disaster relief workers at the Red Cross shelter lifted spirits and gave people a shoulder to cry on. They connected displaced families with a network of organizations focused on long-term recovery. In all, the Red Cross provided 1,377 overnight stays for people with no place else to go and more than 151,000 meals and snacks. (Photo credit, left: Amanda Mark, American Red Cross)
“People often enter a shelter at their lowest point. Sometimes that’s really what people need…someone to support them and provide energy they don’t have.” A Red Cross Shelter Worker responding to the Minneapolis tornado that hit May 22, 2011.
Red Cross emergency disaster relief also includes distribution of bulk items, such as blankets, personal hygiene items, and cleaning supplies. Red Cross workers distributed more than 10,800 such items, including 1400 comfort kits for individuals, to meet basic needs after the tornado. (Photo credit, left: Carrie Carlson-Guest, American Red Cross)
“Thank you Red Cross! We’re getting what we need thanks to you.” A Minneapolis Tornado Survivor after receiving relief supplies from the Red Cross.
Disasters affect everyone, adults and children alike. Red Cross disaster mental health volunteers responded and met with individuals and families, providing more than 2,800 health and mental health consultations to help people cope with the tornado, its destruction, and the stress of rebuilding a life after disaster. (Photo credit: Lynette Nyman, American Red Cross)
“Without the American Red Cross we would have nowhere to go.” A Tornado Survivor who relied on the Red Cross shelter for many nights after the disaster.
More than 350 Red Cross workers were part of the Minneapolis tornado relief operation. Ninety-five percent were Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota and around the country who contributed more than 25,000 volunteer hours worth nearly $600,000. (Photo credit, left: Lynette Nyman, American Red Cross)
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” From everyone…
The Red Cross relies on donated money and goods from individuals and organizations to help our community. Donations for Red Cross disaster relief from the storm included $525,000 in money and $188,000 in goods – totaling $713,000. However, due to the scope of the disaster, the Red Cross spent $793,000 on the response – $80,000 more than what was donated – to help those in need. (Photo credit, left: Anne Florenzano, American Red Cross)
If this post inspires you, consider becoming a part of the Red Cross. There’s a place for everyone. You could give time, money, or blood. You could help us prepare for the next disaster, tornado, or emergency. You could learn CPR or First Aid. You could provide comfort when people need it the most. Learn more on our website.
“Many many thanks…” From all of us…
American Red Cross Minnesota and Dakotas Region 