On the Frontlines of Relief: A Volunteer’s Perspective from the Southern California Wildfires
Kaia Newsam was out the door, ready to head to Los Angeles as soon as she got the call from the American Red Cross to respond to the Southern California wildfires. Even if this was her first volunteer mission with the Red Cross, Kaia was equipped to volunteer, having already completed the necessary training.
A recent graduate from U.C. Berkeley and now based in Merced, Kaia has been studying for the MCAT in preparation for medical school applications, which left her with free time to answer the call for volunteers.
“I was a brand new volunteer still going through my training and I just happened to be able to do all of the sheltering training in one day,” she said. “Deploying to the L.A. fires was my first experience volunteering at the Red Cross, which is a crazy thing to leave for two weeks to do.”
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