Tag Archives: Central Coast

A Life of Principled Volunteerism

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By John Lindner

Irene Johnson

If Irene Johnson could live her life to perfection, she would be guided by the Seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. “The principles really resonated with me. I really do believe in the Red Cross mission,” she said.

Those principles have served Irene well over her many years as a Red Cross volunteer where she’s participated in 26 disaster response deployments including Hurricane Katrina (2005), the Napa/Sonoma New Year’s flood (2006), Superstorm Sandy (2012), the Alberta wildfires (2016) and Hurricane Irma (2017), to name a few.

Irene’s Red Cross career began in Vietnam during the war. Living in Saigon in 1967, Irene volunteered at an army hospital where she would deliver books to bedridden soldiers. She speaks fondly of that first experience. “The guys that were almost well enough to leave would go to the recreation room and taught me how to play pool.”

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When compassion breeds compassion across a lifetime

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Penny with a K-9 from the Monterey County Sheriff Department.

Penny Mount likes to have her hands full of projects and people for whom she cares. During a recent phone chat to talk about compassion calls she made on behalf of the American Red Cross’ Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) program, she was also looking after her 11-month-old great-granddaughter, Jolene. “She’s headstrong, just like her mother,” Penny says. By the end of that same call, Jolene had “creatively decorated herself” and Penny’s counter with her lunch. “Her mother’s not going to be too happy with me,” Penny chuckled. 

And that’s just how it is with Penny: breezy, light and full of gratitude. 

The compassion calls were part of SAF’s month of service this past February. Volunteers from across the Northern California Coastal Region placed calls to the nearly 3,000 families served by SAF in the last 18 months. They checked on the families’ health and welfare and extended a hand of assistance should any be needed. The purpose was to deliver the Red Cross mission of providing care and comfort to service members, veterans and military families. 

Penny loved it. 

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Full Circle: How the Sound the Alarm Campaign Saved the Lives of a Family in Northern California

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By Marcia Antipa

Next month, Ashley Koenig of Seaside, California is set to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy. Recently, she was stunned to learn that her American Red Cross volunteer work as a teenager helped save the lives of a family of six.

Ashley Koenig

“No, ma’am…I did not at all expect that would be something I’d hear.”

In September of 2016, Ashley was 16 years old and a newly-licensed driver. She laughs as she remembers getting lost in a rural area of the city of Hollister. Ashley and several other teens were on their way to an apartment complex,  as part of a Red Cross team that was installing smoke alarms in homes.

Along with Hollister fire fighters and adult volunteers, the teens installed free alarms and taught families about fire safety and emergency preparedness.

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Celebrating volunteers during Red Cross Month!

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Red Cross volunteers always manage to make the best of difficult situations, and social distancing for our 2019 recognition events was no exception.
Photo: Kathryn Hecht | American Red Cross
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As the pandemic wears on, research shows that more people want to help those in need. This month, we celebrate this humanitarian spirit during Red Cross Month and ask others to join us.

For almost 80 years, the president of the U.S. has proclaimed March as “Red Cross Month” to honor people giving back through our lifesaving mission — which is powered by more than 90% volunteers. The volunteer superstars from our 2019 recognition events are featured below. May their stories inspire countless others to heed the call.

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Central Coast Chapter volunteer is ‘truly our Clara Barton’

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Tiki Dellamora represents everything that is good about the Red Cross

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Tiki Dellamora is a beloved member of the Central Coast Chapter volunteer team.
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Productive, dependable, and tireless are three adjectives regularly used to describe the thousands of volunteers whose work is at the heart of everything the American Red Cross does to support individuals, families, and communities throughout our country.

But take an extra minute to observe these volunteers on the job. If you do, it’s hard to overlook one other characteristic they all seemingly have in common: a sense of optimism that brings a smile not only to the faces of the many people they support and serve, but also to the faces of the Red Cross colleagues working at their side.

“In our Central Coast Chapter, perhaps no one epitomizes that can-do, joyful spirit more than Tiki Dellamora,” says Chapter CEO Michele Averill, who announced recently that Tiki was a recipient of the organization’s prestigious Clara Barton Award. Read more

Supporting residents affected by last week’s storm

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Regional Red Cross teams continue work with counties to help those displaced

This information was last updated on Wednesday,  February 3, at 10 a.m.

be-redcross-readyCurrent situation: In response to the evacuation of some 15,000 people in the Central Coast area due to last week’s dangerously wet and windy storms in Northern California, regional Red Cross teams have mobilized to support to those in need.

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