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Pay It Forward

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“I truly feel honored to share my story to maybe help just one person!”

Kathie Reinholds of Brentwood is a big believer in “paying it forward.” More than 50 years ago, as a teenager in Hayward, she won an award for her volunteer work with the American Red Cross. Decades later, the Red Cross was able to pay Kathie back for her selfless work – not once, but twice!

Kathie’s home in Paradise, Calif., before it was destroyed by the Camp Fire in 2018.

On November 8, 2018, Kathie was sound asleep in her home in Paradise, California. She lived alone, having lost her husband Gary four years earlier. What happened to her that morning is what she calls “a story and a half.”

“Something woke me up and I thought it was the middle of the night,” says Kathie.  “I looked at my phone and it was 8 a.m. Normally I would roll over, but something pushed me up. I like to think it was my husband, my guardian angel.”

Kathie ran outside and found a strange scene.

The eerie glow from the Camp Fire on the morning of November 8, 2018.

“I was up on a hill and overlooked everything.  It was the weirdest red sky.  I thought it was a cool sunrise.”

What she saw was the smoke and flames from the Camp Fire, which raced through Paradise that morning, killing 85 people and destroying much of the town.

“We had no system in place to learn that there was a fire. All the emergency towers burned down; it just spread so fast.”

Kathie credits a neighbor for saving her life.

“She called me and said, ‘Get out now, kiddo!’”

Kathie managed to throw a few things into her car but could not find her cat and had to leave her behind. She drove through the burning town, sitting in gridlock, then on to Chico, Sacramento, and finally Lodi, where she met up with her grown children.

The burnt remains of Kathie’s Paradise home.

Kathie was able to return to Paradise the following month but found her home had burned to the ground and her cat had disappeared. 

“It was horrible,” she says, choking up. “That same month I almost died. I had a heart attack. I think I’m on maybe my fourth life,” Kathie says, laughing through her tears.   “I don’t know how many ‘Get Out of Jail’ cards I get but I’ve used quite a few!”

Kathie says she received financial help from FEMA and from the Red Cross. “They also had a table for travel-sized personal needs that became a staple in part of my many trips to Paradise and recreating my life.”

Kathie finally was able to create that new life for herself at a mobile home park in Brentwood in Contra Costa County. “I couch surfed for several months and moved five times before I landed the house in Brentwood. This experience either makes you humble and grateful or angry. I choose humble!”

Red Cross volunteers installing free smoke alarms in Kathie’s Brentwood community.

Five years after that devastating wildfire, Kathie once again connected with the American Red Cross.  Volunteers with the Red Cross Sound the Alarm program came to her mobile home park this April to install free smoke alarms for residents.

Kathie says, “I was so thrilled.  My ceilings are really high.  I’m thinking, ‘how I am I going to do this?’”

The volunteer crews put in several new smoke alarms in her home.  When they learned she was hard of hearing, they arranged for another crew to return and install a “bed shaker” alarm.  This specialized device includes a vibrating pad that can be placed under a pillow or mattress.  The bed shaker connects to other alarms in a home and features a strobe light that can rouse people who are deaf or hard of hearing.   

Now, Kathie tells us she feels much safer in her new home.  “Oh yes, absolutely!  I know at any time, anything can happen, when you least expect it, I know it.  I will be forever grateful to the Red Cross.”

Kathie still believes in the Red Cross values she learned in high school and the lessons from the Camp Fire.  “I have a ‘pay it forward closet.’  That closet contains a rotating supply of pots, pans, linens and other items for people in need.  “Everyone should have one!”

To learn more about preparing for a home or wildfire, visit redcross.org/prepare.

Getting Blood to Babies in Need

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By Alex Keilty, American Red Cross volunteer

Across the top of the box is a typed address label for a local hospital and a simple handwritten note: “Pediatric Order.” Down the side is the American Red Cross logo and the words “Human Blood.”

Volunteer Claudia Langley loads the white box into the trunk of a Red Cross van, along with the rest of the boxes packed with blood products she is delivering to four hospitals today.

As she starts the engine and types the address of the hospital into the GPS on her cell phone she says, “The sad part is there are not enough donations.”

It’s true, she’s right. Certain kinds of blood are rarer than others. For example, this pediatric order she is carrying today – blood destined for babies – must be screened for a flu-like virus called CMV that is very common and mild in adults but can be fatal to infants. Only about 15 percent of American adults have not been exposed to CMV and therefore are able to donate to newborns. Plus, blood products have a limited shelf life so there is always a need for more donations to replenish the supply.

But today, there is blood available for a tiny patient in MarinHealth Medical Center, thanks to blood donors and volunteers like Claudia, a blood transportation specialist.

Retired from a career in art direction and graphic design, Claudia has been doing this role for the Red Cross for 2.5 years. To get trained, she completed a course online and then shadowed a fellow volunteer until she felt comfortable going alone. Now she does a four-hour shift once a week by herself.

As she drives across the Richmond Bridge over San Francisco Bay she plays music on the radio – “anything but country” – and explains how her volunteer role gives her faith in the good in others.

“It makes me feel better about people in general. You run across people who are trying to help,” she says.

Half an hour after setting off from the Red Cross Oakland Blood Center, she pulls up to the front of the hospital, stacks some of the Red Cross boxes on a cart and rolls them to the lab. Clinical laboratory scientists will match the blood types of the donated blood to patients’ blood types and then give it to the doctors and nurses who are treating the babies and other patients awaiting these blood products.

Everyone she interacts with mentions how grateful they are for her efforts, including Red Cross staff, laboratory staff and even strangers in the hospital.

“Sometimes random people walk by and say thank you for doing this,” she says.

Claudia has encouraged friends and acquaintances to begin volunteering as Red Cross blood transportation specialists because of how positive her experience has been.

“It’s not strenuous or super challenging, but it’s something you can do that’s helpful,” she says. “I am thrilled with the way they treat me and the way they are organized for the drivers and deliveries.”

From Marin she will do deliveries to hospitals in Richmond, Alameda and then back to Oakland where she will hand in the keys to the van and head home before traffic gets busy.

She describes her role as “getting the blood to where it needs to be” and today she definitely delivered blood to where it needed to be: to a tiny patient waiting in hospital for life-saving treatment.

The Red Cross relies on volunteers like Claudia to ensure patients have lifesaving blood products when they need them – and more volunteers are needed. Learn more and submit a volunteer application at redcross.org/volunteertoday.

“Compassion is a thing of the heart” – Meet Helen Miller, a Red Cross volunteer with over 100 disaster deployments

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Photo courtesy of Helen Miller

The American Red Cross mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. When we say “the power of volunteers,” we talk about amazing people like Helen Miller from Eastern North Carolina. She started volunteering with the Red Cross in 1991 and currently has more than 125 deployments as a disaster volunteer. She’s even served more than once during the same disaster response in different roles.

“Compassion is a thing of the heart,” she says. Helen joined the Red Cross when her husband – a Marine on active duty – was deployed to Kuwait. “I had extra time; my employer was cutting my work hours by 10. I decided to reach the Red Cross office and volunteer. I started answering the phones. I felt the need to help others,” she explained.

In January 2023, Helen was one of many volunteers from all over the coutnry who touched down in California and helped both people and communities affected by the atmospheric river storm systems and subsequent floods. She was part of the feeding team, working hard to make sure that everyone – from the shelter residents to other volunteers and staff members – had hot meals every day. She stayed two weeks on this deployment before returning home.

“I have deployed in all the roles of Mass Care: I have operated several kitchens serving over 4,000 meals daily. I have also deployed as a caseworker and even as an Emergency Response Vehicle driver,” she says. When Helen is not deployed, she serves as Mass Care Lead for the Easter North Carolina Region.

After so many deployments, Helen has all kinds of memories. Some of them happy while others left her with a bittersweet sensation: “In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our team was delivering meals to affected people. One of the neighbors said ‘be sure to stop at the first house’ so we did. I saw there was a ramp at the entrance. I knew the owner was in a wheelchair. I went up to the door and knocked. I said, ‘This is the Red Cross, we have food’. A woman was living there. She said that her son – who was living in New Orleans – was the one getting her groceries, but she hadn’t heard from him for over a week. We were close to the end of our route, another tornado was coming and our kitchen was closing down until it passed. I asked the lady where her pans were. I went back to the vehicle and filled up the pan with the rest of the food we had and gave her lots of snacks and a case of Ensure. I told her we weren’t going to be available for a few days and this would help her out. She had me lean down to her face to face and put her hand on my forehead and said: “bless this angel that has come to feed me”.

In the Northern California Coastal Region, over 7,000 dedicated and committed volunteers turn their compassion into action, donating their time and energy to serve their communities. Red Cross “everyday heroes” come from all walks of life. Young, experienced, and everything in between: everyone has something special to offer.

“I plan to keep going as long as I am able. I am 76 years of age and very spunky,” Helen says. “My husband served 20 years in the military and now I’m doing my part. He understands and when he hears about a disaster, he knows I will be leaving town soon.”

Sound the Alarm: Red Cross volunteers and partners installed more than one thousand free smoke alarms and made 462 homes safer in April

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Red Cross volunteer John Gee has installed more than 2,000 free smoke alarms in homes across the region since the launch of the Sound the Alarm campaign in 2014.
Photo by Ashish “Ash” Mantri/American Red Cross

Home fires claim seven lives every day in the U.S. and remain one of the most frequent disasters across the region — but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half. That’s why, over five weekends in April, volunteers with the American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region, along with local fire departments and community partners, installed 1,294 free smoke alarms and made 462 homes safer as part of the annual Sound the Alarm campaign.

“A working smoke alarm can be the difference between survival and tragedy when a home fire strikes,” said Ana Romero, Red Cross Regional Preparedness Manager. “That’s why the Red Cross is teaming up with community partners to help ensure local residents, especially those most vulnerable, have these lifesaving devices.”
Sound the Alarm events are part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign which has helped save at least 1,664 lives nationwide since launching in October 2014. Working with local fire departments and community partners, Red Cross volunteers visit high-risk neighborhoods, install free smoke alarms and provide residents with information on common causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan.

This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from our regional Sound the Alarm campaign partners: Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Arista Networks; CSAA Insurance Group, State Farm; and Gloria and Mike Ipson.

For a full suite of photos from the month’s events, visit the regional Sound the Alarm Flickr album.

Bay Area Chapter

Photo by Martin Gagliano
American Red Cross

Red Cross volunteers and partners installed 396 free smoke alarms and made 190 homes safer in April across the Bay Area Chapter. More than 500 residents of San Francisco, San Bruno, Brentwood and Hayward are now better prepared to face emergencies after receiving education about home fire prevention.

“Every day, our department sees first-hand the damage and destruction that home fires can have on a community,” said Willie McDonald, Fire Chief for the Alameda County Fire Department. “This is why campaigns, like Sound the Alarm, are so important. A little home fire prevention can go a long way toward keeping families and the community safe, and a smoke alarm is one of the most effective tools we have to do that. We are proud to partner with the Red Cross for this very important event.”

Photo by Nanette Shamieh
American Red Cross

Heart of the Valley Chapter

71 homes were made safer in the Heart of the Valley Chapter after two Sound the Alarm events in Stockton and Los Banos.

Red Cross volunteers and community partners installed 169 free smoke alarms and helped 210 residents to create an escape plan and be better prepared in case of a home fire

North Bay Chapter

Photo by Nanette Shamieh
American Red Cross

Community partners and Red Crossers installed 354 free smoke alarms and made 116 homes safer in the North Bay Chapter. Over the three events in Sonoma, San Rafael and Vacaville, the teams shared home fire prevention educational information with more than 230 residents to make the community safer.

Captain Drew Kostal and his K-9 “Kepi” from the Vacaville Fire Department attended the installation event on Saturday, April 29. He spoke with the team about the importance of working smoke alarms.

Silicon Valley Chapter

Photo by Atul Trviedi
American Red Cross

Red Crossers and community partners gathered at Millpond Mobile Home Park on Saturday, April 29 to install 205 free smoke alarms in 85 homes to make more than 140 residents safer.

Red Cross Board and Tiffany Circle Members participated in Sound the Alarm events across the region to help make their community safer.

Sound the Alarm – Signature Event in Hayward (CA) – April 29, 2023
Photo by Martin Gagliano – American Red Cross

A very rewarding experience

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Photo by Martin Gagliano / American Red Cross

Rohinton Palkhivala – or Ron as he likes to be called – started donating blood in the late 90s with the Canadian Red Cross. He was looking for opportunities to volunteer and help people affected by the Gulf war. Upon learning how blood donations could potentially save lives, he put aside his fear of needles and became a regular donor.

Many years later, here in the Northern California Coastal Region of the American Red Cross, he has continued with his commitment to helping others, but this time “wearing more than one hat”. Ron is not only a regular platelet donor, but he also volunteers as a Red Cross Blood Donor Ambassador in the new Oakland Blood Donation Center on College Avenue.

The need for blood is constant. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood and the Red Cross provides about 40% of the nation’s blood supply. Regular donors like Ron are needed every day to help ensure new moms, premature babies, cancer patients and accident victims have access to safe, lifesaving blood products.

Photo courtesy of Ron Palkhivala

 “It is indeed a very rewarding experience,” he says about his role as a platelet donor. “One leaves the donation center feeling great about having done something to help others. You walk away knowing you have just potentially saved someone’s life and given them a second chance. This is just incredible and very motivating as well.”

After retiring a year ago from his specialty food business, Ron feels that “life has definitely become more relaxing” for him and he is determined to “do something significantly more valuable” with his time, whereupon he decided to take volunteer shifts at the front desk of the Oakland Blood Donation Center once every couple of weeks. He is the friendly face who helps donors with the check-in process and ensures that they have a pleasant experience from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

Ron is committed to making all donors feel welcome and appreciated. “You must make them feel special because they are doing something special. They are not only giving their blood, or plasma, or platelets, but also their time. While you are at the front desk or working at the refreshment tables, you meet people with the same mindset as yours, strike up a conversation and make friendships.  It is a very rewarding experience,” he says.

More than 25,000 volunteers support Red Cross Blood Services. Besides being a Blood Donor Ambassador, volunteers can also serve as transportation specialists, playing a vital role in delivering lifesaving blood products to nearby hospitals. If you’d like more information about volunteering opportunities near you, visit redcross.org/volunteertoday.

When Ron is asked about his overall experience as a volunteer he proudly says: “It is always a privilege to be a Red Cross volunteer, particularly because it’s a non-political organization. It is there to serve all humanity. I like the idea to serve anybody and everybody.”

The Difference Between Life and Death. San Francisco Office Workers Learn Lifesaving Red Cross Skills 

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Jen Bottalico, Manager at Alex. Brown San Francisco, practices chest compressions.
Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross

One recent afternoon high up inside a San Francisco skyscraper, the sounds of “Are you alright?” and “Clear!” rang out.  Red Cross CPR manikins lay between the office desks, with a dozen office workers kneeling beside them practicing chest compressions. These employees of Alex.Brown, a division of Raymond James*, were learning the basics of lifesaving first aid measures. 

Officer Manager Jennifer Bottalico and Branch Administrative Manager Cheryl Fox arranged the training through the local Red Cross office. “We decided we wanted to try to do everything we could to kind of protect our employees because we view them as family.  So, for us, it’s just that we wanted to be able to go back to them and say if we ever had an incident that we did everything that we absolutely could,” they said. 

Cheryl Fox said she and Bottalico were inspired to take steps after a colleague in another office suffered a medical emergency.  The frightening on-field cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin also drove home the need to be prepared. 

“It was scary, because I don’t think you ever think somebody of his age, that that’s going to happen to somebody that’s 20-something years old. Very scary,” she said.  

Instructor Thom Volz of VCT services, a strategic partner with the Red Cross, started the class with a pep talk.  

“Know where the first aid kits are in the places we travel to regularly, so we can get this response going, know where the AED kits are,” he said. Volz also told the class it can typically take ten minutes for first responders to arrive, so it’s important to be prepared with the equipment and skills needed to save a life. 

Volz divided the class into teams of three people, who practiced CPR on the manikins. 
“We’re trying to build habits right now,” Volz told the class, “So arms locked out, lean over the person to give compressions; one cycle of CPR for adults.” 

The team of Alex.Brown in San Francisco practicing CPR and AED use. Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross

Then the teams learned to use an AED, or automated external defibrillator, a device that analyzes the victim’s heart rhythm, and, if needed, delivers a shock to restore the normal heartbeat. 

Office Manager Bottalico says after she took a Red Cross training class, she received approval from their head office to buy an AED for the San Francisco branch. 

“If somebody’s not breathing it’s a matter of seconds, so I think the investment into an AED for the office – hopefully we never have to use it – the investment is worth it. We worked with our counterparts at Raymond James …and they didn’t hesitate.” 

The teams also learned how to save the life of a person who is choking.  Office members Renee Sessa and Samantha Hsu teamed up to practice chest thrusts. For Sessa, a frightening incident that almost took a friend’s life convinced her to take this class. 

“He was 60 and he went into cardiac arrest and luckily there was somebody that was trained and was able to immediately administer CPR to him and saved his life.” 

Renee says she wants to be able to do the same for a family member or co-worker. “I hope to be able to…save someone’s life or help save someone’s life in the event of an emergency.” 

Office Manager Bottalico says the class was a success. “We can always tell by the level of questions that are asked by the team how much they are paying attention,” she says, laughing. “They all were engaged today so I think everyone realizes the value of it. People realize that sometimes it’s going to be up to them.” 

If you would like to learn lifesaving skills, or to arrange a class for your office or organization, visit https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class   

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*Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC 
*Raymond James & Associates, Inc., is not affiliated with any of the above outside organizations. 

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