American Red Cross’ Post

What started as looking up to her parents as first aid instructors turned into a 40-year Red Cross volunteer journey for Deb Gibson. 🥹 Deb's parents introduced her to the Red Cross mission while teaching Standard and Advanced First Aid Lifesaving courses. Deb remembers helping her mom roll bandages for class when pre-rolled gauze wasn’t widely available yet. She even helped her parents prepare care packages for service members during the Vietnam War after her dad retired from the military. It was no surprise that Deb would be inspired to join the Red Cross as an adult. She found her niche responding to disasters and deployed for the first time to help South Carolina families recover from devastating Hurricane Hugo in 1989. “When I respond to disasters, I see the best of people at their worst time," Deb said. "It's because the community comes together to help.” Whether she is operating a forklift, feeding families or running a shelter, Deb is always ready to help in any way that is needed. She has responded to multiple hurricanes, wildfires and floods across the country throughout her four-decade volunteer career. Deb is so dedicated, that she spent five months out of 2023 deploying to disasters. Deb honors her first aid family roots, too. For 10 years in a row, she has volunteered at the first aid stations the American Red Cross of Louisiana provides during Mardi Gras. Thank you, Deb, for your lifelong commitment to serving others and providing comfort when it's needed most. ❤️

When she was just 12 years old, Tania Rodriguez saved her mother's life only months after learning first aid with the Red Cross. This led to a lifelong commitment and passion for serving others through our mission. While living in Chihuahua, Mexico, where she was proudly born and raised, Tania saw fliers for first aid classes around her neighborhood. She started taking classes every Saturday and quickly became a leader in the Red Cross youth program. “I went from taking classes to teaching classes for kids my age," Tania said. Despite her age, Tania's community trusted and relied on her — and so would her family after her mother's medical emergency. “She just fell, and it was just the two of us at home," Tania said. "I never imagined I was going to take those classes and then perform CPR on my mom.” After arriving at the hospital, the doctor credited Tania's brave actions for saving her mom's life. To that, she said, "No, it wasn’t me, it was the knowledge Red Cross gave me." A few years later, Tania's family lost their home and moved to the U.S. She had to start her life from scratch. Tania often faced adversity and discrimination for not speaking English, but she constantly broke barriers. She learned English and Portuguese, earned a culinary arts degree, and found a home within the American Red Cross of Utah. There's nothing Tania doesn't do as a volunteer today. She educates families on disaster preparedness, teaches lifesaving skills, and even provides media interviews in Spanish. “I’m not doing this to get recognition," Tania said. "I’m doing this because I was born to do this. I knew it since I was tiny.” In addition to her busy life of service, Tania owns a food truck business, making authentic homemade churros. But even her career is a vessel to do good in her community. "I did it so that I could have control over my schedule and still volunteer," Tania said. Tania's values are being passed down to her two children. They want to follow in her footsteps, and are already educating their classmates, asking if they have working smoke alarms. "Volunteering connects with everything that we are — our principles and ideals," Tania said. “I can’t see my life without Red Cross.” Tania is a true, selfless humanitarian who is invaluable to our lifesaving mission. We are beyond grateful for her perseverance, strength and giving spirit.

We’re on a mission to reduce our environmental impact on the planet and contribute to building a sustainable future for generations to come! 💪🏽🌎Test your knowledge to see if you know which sustainable practice we're adopting, and we’ll come back tomorrow with the correct answer. #EarthDay

Flex that Red Cross knowledge, Shelbi! 💪 Shelbi Stogdill is a third-year law student at Texas Tech University School of Law who recently organized and participated in a competition at our National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition brought together 13 law schools from the U.S., Canada and Brazil and three U.S. military academies for a simulation-based event that tested their knowledge on the real-world challenges facing humanitarians during armed conflict. “The competition truly is one of the highlights of my law school career," Shelbi said. "It has been very rewarding to see the competition come to life.” Thank you for dedicating your time to making this such a successful event, Shelbi! #ThanksVolunteers #ClaraBarton

How are you giving back to your community? If you're ready to make a switch, we have job openings across the country that will enable you to give back every day. Here's a peek at a few: - District Manager 📍 Manchester, New Hampshire - Strategic Business Planning Manager 📍Remote in New Hampshire - QC Laboratory Technologists 📍 New York, Utah and multiple locations Learn more: https://rdcrss.org/3rB23vb

Could you imagine receiving an unexpected call and learning your home is on fire? That’s what happened to Ann Rofkahr while she was out to lunch with a friend one Thursday afternoon. “Before heading out, I was outside and around my home and all was in order,” Ann said. “I was in shock and disbelief that my neighbor was telling me that my home of 23 years — 23 years of love and work into it — was going up in flames.” Ann quickly returned home to find a huge blaze and black, billowing smoke surrounding her house. The winds were so strong that day, that it made it nearly impossible for firefighters to extinguish the flames. A total of 27 neighboring fire departments assisted in maintaining the fire. While Ann was sitting in the fire truck, she received a call she'll never forget. ➡️ “My phone rang, and it was a volunteer with the Red Cross,” she said. “I knew of the Red Cross because I am a blood donor, but I didn’t realize how the Red Cross helps people in situations like this. The moral support, making sure I was okay, I will never forget that call and what it meant to me. That type of support is what helps one through a devastating loss — in my case, my home.” On the other side of that call was American Red Cross of Illinois volunteer Diane Carter, who experienced Red Cross services firsthand while serving in the military. “I will never forget, as a military service member, how they were there for me when I was deployed and had an emergency back home,” she said. “You never forget that moment, just like Ann doesn’t forget that call she received from us.” The fire that destroyed Ann’s home started from a pile of mulch that spread to her shed and garage from the high winds. Although it was a tragic loss for Ann, she is grateful for the support she received and can now begin her recovery. “I was thankful for the clothes on my back, the shoes on my feet, my purse and car, and the incredible outpouring of support I received starting with the Red Cross,” she said. “I am working on being patient as I rebuild my home and encourage us all to be giving and help others — it will all come back to you when you most need it.” ❤️

These are just some of the many lab workers who help get blood donations to patients who need them most. We couldn’t make lifesaving blood available to hospitals without the hard work of our 2,200+ team members working at 146 laboratories and manufacturing sites across the country. ❤️ This Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, join us in celebrating the incredible people who work behind the scenes to process and test the blood needed for patients at about 2,500 hospitals each day! #LabWeek American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania American Red Cross of Northern Ohio American Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region

Little Bit, Lady Lace, Mr. Bandit and Miss Cuddles. ❤️ These are some of the therapy dogs Terri Carruthers has raised throughout her life. Terri has been responding to disasters with the Red Cross since 1998, including Hurricane Katrina. But she also makes a point to ease the stress of everyday life for people even when disasters aren't happening — like when she visits the @American Red Cross of Arizona office with her current therapy dog, Miss Cuddles. "We give everyone Lifesavers," Terri said. "Saving one life at a time. That's what the Red Cross is all about, right?" Miss Cuddles came into Terri's life when her vet suggested getting her late dog, Mr. Bandit, a partner. According to Terri, the two dogs had an instant connection. "When they saw each other, they did a little dance and seemed to say, 'Woo-hoo, I like you!'" she said. "It was meant to be." When we spoke to Terri, she reminded us why giving to others can be so meaningful. "It's about sharing and caring and letting people know that they're special," she said. "That's what volunteering is all about."

Every action counts! That’s why we’re transforming the way we operate and use our facilities, vehicles, supplies and water as an organization. We have long embraced recycling programs, but our goal now is to strengthen those efforts — including reducing our waste by 30% overall and increasing our recycling rate to 50%. How are we doing that? By performing waste audits and implementing recycling best practices throughout our facilities to ensure proper waste disposal and recycling. We’re also actively transitioning to sustainable, eco-friendly supplies like compostable meal containers and cutlery during disasters, and we're investing in reusable or recyclable supplies over single-use items when possible. #ClimateCrisis #EarthMonth

Today is #WawaDay, and we're honored to celebrate our partner of 10 years, the Wawa, Inc. Foundation! Over the last decade, the Wawa Foundation has donated over $11.6 million to the Red Cross, supporting disaster relief, hosting lifesaving blood drives, installing smoke alarms and so much more. That's roughly: • Millions of blankets for people affected by disasters. • Hundreds of thousands of homes made safer through free smoke alarm installations. • More than 20,000 units of blood collected for patients in need. We can't provide help and hope without our generous partners. Thank you, Wawa Foundation, for standing with us!