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National Award Recognizes Local Disaster Responder 

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By Alex Keilty, American Red Cross Volunteer 

How does one American Red Cross award recipient know her volunteer work is helping people?

Jody loading up a trunk with free smoke alarms

“It’s the look of relief when someone realizes they have a safe place to go, when a family gets the help they need to take their next step, or when someone who has lost so much realizes they aren’t facing it alone,” Red Cross Volunteer Jody Kimbrel says. Jody has seen that relieved expression on people’s faces countless times while responding to 70 major disasters, including Hurricane Helene and wildfires in Maui and California.

In recognition of her efforts, Jody was awarded the Bob Hassmiller Excellence in Disaster Services Award in Washington, D.C. in April this year. This national level award celebrates a volunteer who has made a significant, positive impact on the American Red Cross, the community and the people we serve in the areas of disaster preparedness, response, or recovery.

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Training Kicks In: Capitola Police Sergeant Honored for Saving Child’s Life 

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By: Dave Sieburg, interim executive director of the American Red Cross Central Coast Chapter

Capitola Police Sgt. Scott Newton receives the American Red Cross Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action at a Capitola City Council meeting. Newton is joined by fellow department staff and 911 dispatchers, who also received a proclamation from the mayor of Capitola recognizing their roles in the lifesaving response.

When Capitola Police Sgt. Scott Newton responded to a priority call in the Opal Cliffs area on March 31, he didn’t know he was about to face a moment that would stay with him long after the emergency was over. 

As Newton arrived in the area, a woman ran from a residence and flagged him down. He followed her inside and found her 11-month-old granddaughter unconscious and not breathing after choking on an object. The child’s mother was performing CPR while receiving instructions from a 911 dispatcher.

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One Year Later: Resilience (and Romance) in the Wake of Devastating Disaster

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By Barbara Wood, American Red Cross volunteer

Polina Ken searches through the ashes on her property. She saved almost nothing from the flames because she was outside watering down her home when she was told to evacuate, jumping in her car with only her phone and the clothes she was wearing after trying unsuccessfully to find her dog, Waldo.   

What happened to Polina Ken one year ago on September 2, 2025, when a lightning-sparked fire turned her Chinese Camp home and almost everything she owned to ash and mangled metal, might lead some to self-pity.  

Not Polina, who as a Cambodian refugee has had to rebuild her life from scratch more than once.   

“I’m tough. I do anything to survive. I don’t give up,” Polina said after the fire.   

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Red Cross Volunteers Distribute Emergency Supplies Along the Road to Recovery 

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Red Cross volunteer Marcel on holiday

By Alex Keilty, American Red Cross Volunteer

“A little bit of physical work and a lot of satisfaction,” is how one American Red Cross volunteer describes his experience distributing emergency supplies after a disaster. It’s a simple description from Marcel Pajuelo-Schwartz, but it captures the heart of the distribution of emergency supplies volunteer role perfectly. The physical work comes from lifting and carrying buckets of essential items, while the satisfaction comes from knowing you have helped people in a real, hands-on way when they need it most. 

Marcel, who lives in Daly City, Calif., has been a Red Cross volunteer since 1967. He has tried many volunteer roles over the years but he especially enjoys this one. His efforts to distribute emergency supplies play a critical role in helping individuals and families recover in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. His role is to provide items essential to basic survival, health and sanitation as quickly and equitably as possible to people whose homes and neighborhoods have been affected. These essential supplies may include flashlights, food coolers, buckets, shovels, masks, gloves, cleaning products and garbage bags — everything people need to begin cleaning up their yards and their homes after a disaster turns life upside down. 

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You Don’t Have to Be a Chef to Feed a Community in Crisis 

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A wildfire near Santa Rosa, Calif. had forced more than 180,000 people to evacuate from their homes, and many would be looking for a place to stay. American Red Cross volunteers rushed to the Civic Center in San Rafael to open a shelter.    

Red Cross volunteer Anna Lane at the North Coast Emergency Food System Partnership meeting in Hopland, Calif.

Volunteer Anna Lane arrived to see that electricity had been cut for the entire county, although there were generators to provide power on site. She recalls, “The shelter manager said to me, ‘Anna, we need breakfast things, coffee and food, something.’ So I go to the grocery store, but the grocery stores are locked down because they have no power. They can’t open the doors.   

“I thought, ‘Where am I going to get stuff?’”  

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Michael Weber’s Decades of Donations to the Red Cross

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Michael donates blood at the Pleasanton Red Cross donation center, just a three-minute walk from his office at Simpson Strong-Tie.

The work of the American Red Cross would not be possible without the many volunteers and donors who selflessly continue to give their time and resources in support of the organization’s mission. Michael Weber is one of those supporters who has donated both blood and funds several times, exemplifying the values and company culture of his employer, Simpson Strong-Tie.

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