On a typical Wednesday morning, having more than one hundred eighth graders seated on the auditorium floor might not seem out of the ordinary. However, witnessing them perform synchronized CPR maneuvers while learning to save lives is impressive. On October 22, the local Red Cross Training Services Team, in partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS), hosted a record-setting youth CPR/AED certification event for nearly 350 eighth-grade students over two 90-minute sessions at Antioch’s Park Middle School.
The holiday season is traditionally hard on the nation’s blood supply. The American Red Cross typically sees a decrease in blood donations through the end of the year. To help boost blood donations and ensure patients have access to lifesaving blood and platelets, autonomous driving technology company, Waymo, partnered with the Red Cross to host its second annual blood drive from November 4-10 in San Francisco. The company generously offered two free rides to Waymo riders and employees who donated blood or platelets at the Red Cross San Francisco Blood Donation Center located on Market Street.
Naomi Stamper (left) inspired her friend Linda Wulf (right) to become a regular blood donor. They said that one of the highest of levels of Jewish charity is when the donor doesn’t know the identity of the person who receives and the one who receives doesn’t know the identity of the donor. So, for these long-time friends, donating blood is pure, uncomplicated satisfaction. Photo courtesy of Naomi Stamper
When Naomi Stamper was about to turn 70 years young, her friends asked her what she wanted to do to celebrate. “I didn’t want to just go out to lunch with my lady friends,” she said. “I wanted to do something important.”
So, she asked her friends to give blood, with the goal of getting 70 donations. She arranged for her synagogue to do a 70th birthday blood drive for her friends, and the word spread to friends and family across the country. “We got over 70 donations at that time, and the donations kept on growing,” Naomi, who is now 83, said. “People kept going and donating blood for years, like my friend Linda.”
Nikita Johnson at the CFSBC office Photo courtesy of Nikita Johnson
A home fire is one of the many unthinkable, tragic events that cause massive disruptions to the lives of those affected. While these tragedies are often preventable, an American Red Cross survey demonstrated that the majority of Americans are more unprepared to survive a home fire than they believe. This is why the partnership between the Red Cross and the Community Foundation of San Benito County (CFSBC), which started back in 2019, is so integral to protecting communities against home fires.
Zahra (left) with her older sister, Crystal, enjoying the holidays circa 1993. – Photo courtesy of Zahra Moutabakkir
At just two years old, Zahra Moutabakkir was fighting for her life. Diagnosed with a mysterious autoimmune disease, she spent 12 weeks in the hospital, undergoing numerous blood transfusions as doctors struggled to save her. “My mom prayed for a miracle,” Zahra recalls, “and after weeks of uncertainty, my white blood cell count miraculously started to recover.” Those transfusions saved her life, leaving an impactful mark that would shape her future and create a lifelong bond with the American Red Cross while donning the honorable military uniform
“My connection to the Red Cross began as a child, and it’s been a constant in my life ever since,” Zahra says. “Without those blood transfusions, I wouldn’t be here. I’ve been donating blood ever since I could, knowing how important it is.”
“I was born to help people. That’s what brings me the most joy.” Caro (Carolina) Dratva, a Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region’s Disaster Cycle Services Team member and Communications volunteer, heard the call to help others early. When she was 12 and still living in Colombia, a volcanic eruption buried a close friend’s hometown, Armero. “I could only watch TV, listen to the radio, and follow up with my friend,” whose parents had died in the disaster with 23,000 others. Responders with the Red Cross emblem arrived to rescue victims and remove debris during an operation that she would remember later when, at age 15, she noticed the same emblem among response teams in San Francisco in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which she witnessed. At that time, she revealed, “I didn’t realize that the Red Cross was mainly run by volunteers.” It was only after she asked how much responders were paid that she understood that most rescuers offered their unpaid time and effort to save others, a fact that must have deeply moved this scuba diver, surfer, conservationist, and explorer to dive deep and dedicate more than two decades to volunteering.
After all, when Caro set off for the Bahamas several years ago on a dolphin trip with her closest friend, she couldn’t have predicted that her life would be deeply impacted again. “During the night,” she recently shared, “I went to swim with dolphins 85 miles out on a boat. We were anchored, and I was the only one swimming. Everyone else was on the boat. So, I went off with the dolphins. There was a full moon, and I lost my sense of direction. But because of the moonlight reflecting on the water, I couldn’t find the boat. I couldn’t see it. For the first time, I felt panic, like, ‘I’m going to die here.’ But the dolphins were still hanging with me. So, I literally spoke to them: ‘Could you please bring me back to the boat.’ And then, one pushed me on one side, the other pushed me on the other, and they brought me right back to the boat.’” This profound moment of trust and connection with the dolphins helped her realize the power of relying on others during moments of crisis. Just as the dolphins guided her to safety, Caro felt compelled to help guide others through challenging times, which ultimately led her to dedicate her time to lifesaving organizations such as the American Red Cross.
Photos courtesy of Caro Dratva
“There has to be a way that I can volunteer.” The real work began with 9/11, when the Twin Towers came down in Manhattan’s Battery. She needed to help, so she joined the Red Cross. “I thought, if I have to deploy to New York, I’ll do it. But then, I realized I needed training.” Getting that training during such a fraught time for the country and those who’d lost loved ones required sensitivity and an ability to ask the right questions.
“My first training was in San Francisco,” she recalled, “connecting the missing people on lists with their families.” Mainly, she conducted interviews meant for search and rescue teams, gathering descriptions of missing people, noting the floors they worked on and what they were wearing the last time they were seen. Even now, twenty-two years later, Caro remembers one moving experience when she used her native language skills to search for a distraught woman’s husband who’d worked in the Towers. “She spoke Spanish, and the good news was that the woman’s husband was alive and able to reconnect with her.”
Later, after a one-year hiatus in Europe, she continued to dedicate herself to helping others, getting involved in Red Cross blood drives, donation collection campaigns, and numerous disaster relief operations, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Caro and Red Cross Volunteers supporting communities affected by wildfires in North Bay, 2017
Since then, Caro has watched the Red Cross grow even more effective, learning from hard knocks like Katrina. Better organizational tools have improved efficiency before, during, and after disasters, allowing volunteers like her to give time even when time is sometimes hard to spare. Holding down two jobs—one focused on ocean conservation and the other on architectural design—Caro still finds time to volunteer in numerous ways. “Because of good organization and how the Red Cross has grown, I can be on standby for the Disaster Action Team (DAT). I’m also trained for sheltering, and I’m part of the Public Affairs and Communications team.”
All this volunteering has added up over the years. From one training session to another, Caro has developed expertise through online and real-world experience. With every exposure she’s had to disasters, shelters, and blood drives, she has noticed, listened to, and recognized others as they face some of the most challenging moments of their lives. This may be one reason why she still swims for life, giving a great gift to others along the way: how to save others while saving oneself.
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