Our region proudly hosted the second annual Summer Internship Program (SIP), a program designed to foster talent, build a robust pipeline of skilled individuals and provide a dynamic learning environment where youth are empowered to grow, learn and make meaningful contributions to our mission.
Over 10 weeks, eight local students supported a variety of departments, each bringing their unique talents, creativity and passion. These young leaders immersed themselves in hands-on experiences, received valuable mentorship and tackled real-world challenges across various projects.
For many volunteers like Katie Mahon, donating blood is an easy and impactful way to make a difference in others’ lives. But for Katie, her donations also serve a deeper purpose: honoring and commemorating her late brother, Kevin.
Giving blood has been a constant part of Katie’s life since her brother passed away at the young age of 12 from cancer.
Katie and her brothers, fall 1995, L to R: Jack, Katie, Kevin, and Ben
“When I was a kid, my parents adopted my cousin. He was like a little brother to me, so I always called him that. For me, calling him brother makes more sense because he was closer than a cousin. He was just like one of us right away,” she said. “He had a pretty rough life before he came to live with my family and had spent a lot of time in the hospital.”
While Kevin was sick, Katie saw how donating blood became a routine part of her family’s life. Her mother would donate blood every two weeks, and Katie herself began donating blood as soon as she was old enough at 16 years old.
Katie’s family turned their grief over Kevin’s death into a source of strength and goodness by choosing to take action in honor of him.
At Kevin’s funeral, Katie’s father urged their friends and family to donate blood, highlighting that Kevin got to live for as long as he could due to the generosity of other blood donors. She recalled how her father described the experience of donating blood during his eulogy.
“He said it felt about as painful as getting a haircut. It’s less painful than that,” she said. “As soon as my family started donating, I remember thinking ‘Okay, this is just part of my life now.’ They were donating while Kevin was sick after they learned how important it was.”
Even after Kevin’s death, Katie’s family continued the call for blood donations throughout her adolescence. They would host blood drives and organize blood drive trucks to come to their community in honor of Kevin.
Katie detailed that her family would even receive cards in the mail from people saying they donated blood in honor of her family.
“I knew they had to be doing it in relation to Kevin, and they understood how important it was,” she said. “I remember there was a woman who was the grandmother of one of Kevin’s best friends who donated for a long time. It became a very regular part of her life. My dad was able to convey that people did really take it to heart.”
Up to this day, her mother has kept all of the cards.
Katie with her husband and three children: L to R is Annie (2), Corey, Sam (5), Katie, Max (7)
Based in Danville, California, Katie continues her advocacy to donate blood today and shares it with her three children.“They are young, but they know when I’m going to donate blood because I’ll have to miss some time,” she said. “They often like to look at my arm and ask, ‘Did it hurt?”
Emphasizing the importance of donating blood to her children is one of the many ways that Katie lives out her mission as an American Red Cross volunteer!
She has donated countless hours of her time and effort to provide for others in need.
She recognizes that there are some misconceptions and barriers that others weigh before deciding to donate blood. However, to her, the decision always came easily.
“To me, donating is a no brainer. It’s just maybe 45 minutes out of your every two months,” she said. “My husband is terrified of needles but for someone like me who is not bothered at all, it seems like a pretty easy way to save someone’s life. It’s worth it.”
She also called out the fact that she still donates blood regularly despite having tattoos, which is something that others inaccurately believe precludes them from donating.
One of the ways that Katie recommends for new blood donors to get comfortable with the process of donating is to turn it into an activity with friends.
“My friends and I will donate together so that instead of going to get a glass of wine, we’ll just go and sit next to each other and talk. You could spend $15 on a glass of wine or do this,” she said. “One of my girlfriends, Sarah, did not like needles, but I would always talk about donating blood. We both work for a nonprofit that works with kids with cancer, so she eventually realized the reward outweighs the pain.”
She noted that there are various options for donating blood, with some less frequently than others. One of which is the Power Red Donation, where you donate two units of blood up to 3 times a year. Comparatively, Whole Blood donation can be done up to 6 times a year.
Katie is a dedicated blood donor today.
Now, more than ever, it’s even easier to make an appointment using the American Red Cross’ Blood Donor app, which is something that Katie particularly highlighted.
“Everything is just getting easier and easier about donation,” she said. “I love how you can track blood donations in the new app.”
Through her actions, Katie exemplifies the heart of an American Red Cross volunteer, constantly striving to raise awareness of the importance and impact of donating blood.
“It’s fortunately something that people don’t have to think about very often unless they’ve been confronted with needing blood or know someone that needs blood,” she said. “Talking about donating blood and sharing it on social media and bragging about yourself may feel funny, but it’s worth it to remind people.”
Every time Katie donates blood, she continues to honor her brother, Kevin, and shares some of his light in everyone’s life she touches through her story and advocacy.
You, too, can continue to honor Kevin and countless other lives by visiting redcrossblood.org to make a donation appoint to make a lasting impact!
In 2022, Jesse Kilgore was serving in the U.S. Army in Germany when he got an unexpected call. Thanks to the smart thinking of his sister – who is also a veteran – and the American Red Cross’ emergency communication service, Jesse learned that his father was dying. He needed to get to Los Angeles right away so he could say goodbye.
But Jesse didn’t have the money to fly halfway across the world. So once again the American Red Cross came through. Jesse was gifted with the cost to fly to LA just before his father passed away.
That experience inspired Jesse to pay back the Red Cross “not with money, but with my own labor,” Jesse said. He signed up to help the Red Cross with disaster services. Communities and families depend on the Red Cross and its volunteers to provide comfort and support following a disaster such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes by opening shelters, providing warm meals, offering critical financial help and supporting them through the recovery phase among other services.
One August morning in 2023, Katie “Sully” Sullivan awoke to the first news segments about the Maui wildfires. An experienced American Red Cross Disaster Program Manager for Alameda County, she soon realized things were going to get bad. Later, the phone rang. It was American Red Cross national headquarters asking her to deploy. “Over the six years I’ve been with the Red Cross, I’ve seen the aftermath of large-scale disasters, from hurricanes to tornadoes to floods. Each brought unique challenges,” she recently said when remembering the disaster nearly a year later. But for Sully, this one stood out.
Hurricane Dora crashing into Maui’s tinder-dry foliage on August 8, 2023, meant there was little warning for what would become the worst natural disaster in the archipelago’s recorded history. The result: the historic district of Lahaina was virtually vaporized—as were sections of Palehu and the smaller Upcountry community of Kula—causing approximately 100 fatalities. A year later, the effort to heal and rebuild is still underway.
In the floods of 1981-82, the residents of the San Francisco Bay Area were surrounded by 25-inch rainfalls that hit the mountains ruthlessly, causing 33 deaths and damaging over 7,800 homes and businesses. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the heavy rains triggered mudslides that blocked road access to the upper regions, burying buildings and trapping people.
Jill Hofmann, a licensed marriage, family and child therapist, was one of the residents of Santa Cruz County who was recruited to be part of the County Mental Health Team in 1981, quickly arose to support impacted residents, providing grief counseling and helping them cope.
However, the physical and mental efforts she remembered enduring, such as visiting community shelters or climbing over tree trunks to deliver packaged food, were just the beginning of her story as a Red Crosser. In fact, during the floods, Jill truly saw the lasting kindness and compassion of her fellow volunteers, after which she began her own journey of 43 years as a Red Cross volunteer.
Rishi Leung and his family Photo courtesy of Rishi Leung
In December 2023, Rishi Leung, a 16-year-old in his home in San Francisco, was heading to the kitchen to get a drink when he noticed his grandma walking to the sink and losing her balance. She had just been eating a meal and seeing her disoriented was unusual. He said, “She spun and fell over and that was the moment I realized that something wasn’t right.”
He ran over to assess the situation and help her. His grandma was visibly struggling to speak and thanks to Rishi’s encounter with American Red Cross posters around his school and videos online, he realized his grandma might be choking. In that moment, Rishi remained composed despite the adrenaline coursing through his body and took the initiative to perform abdominal thrusts on his grandma. “I remembered seeing this in the videos. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had to try to help her,” Rishi explained.
Photo courtesy of Rishi Leung
Rishi’s efforts were successful. Anita, Rishi’s mother, observed from a distance while battling COVID-19 at the time. “I watched Rishi help his grandma and call 911. I was very grateful that he acted, and I remember four EMTs [emergency medical technicians] entering our house with their equipment,” she recalled. “It was a very scary experience, especially since Rishi’s grandma couldn’t speak English. But knowing Rishi was in the ambulance with her brought reassurance.”
During the ambulance ride, Rishi comforted his grandma, translating for her and holding her hand. At the hospital, Rishi watched as medical professionals attended to his grandma, feeling a wave of relief knowing she was going to recover. “I’m very grateful that I was able to help her, and from this experience, I’ve learned how important it is to spend time with family,” Rishi exclaimed.
His family members and relatives were also grateful for Rishi for taking the lead. “He showed up in an emergency in a way that left us all in awe. We were all grateful that he was there and that he was inclined to help people and solve problems,” Anita said. Rishi and his family were glad that they had more time with his grandma.
Rishi Leung with his Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action Photo: American Red Cross
Reflecting on this experience, Rishi believes this was a transformative experience that reshaped his perspective and taught him important lessons. He values every moment spent with his ‘Nanni’ (grandmother in Hindi) and has gained a newfound appreciation for emergency responders. “I’ve learned that being prepared and living in the moment are crucial,” Rishi emphasized. “It means a lot to me that my efforts were recognized, and I plan to become CPR-certified through the Red Cross.”
In recognition of his bravery, Rishi was awarded the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action at the Presidio Golf Club on June 26, 2024. He has also initiated a machine learning project to monitor his grandma during meals, aiming to increase safety and bring awareness to eating habits. Lastly, Rishi encourages everyone to complete CPR training because “it can save a life, literally.”
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