Tag Archives: Kern Chapter

Bringing Comfort and Hope Through Spiritual Care from the American Red Cross 

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Reflections by Cindy Huge, American Red Cross Volunteer

I frequently think of you, Isaiah*, and feel grateful that our paths crossed.

On the evening of October 9, 2024, you were sitting alone on a cot in a hallway, with just one small bag holding the few belongings you had left. The shelter, filled with nearly 500 people displaced by Hurricane Milton, was too noisy for you to sleep. The Category 3 hurricane had just made landfall on Siesta Key, Florida.

I approached you, introduced myself, and invited you to have lunch with me. That simple invitation became the beginning of a meaningful connection.

American Red Cross volunteer Cindy Huge. Photo courtesy of Cindy Huge.
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Something Bigger Than Yourself: 13 Years of Service Through the Eyes of Leanna Carskaddon

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By Alison Votaw, American Red Cross Volunteer

When Leanna Carskaddon, Senior Volunteer Recruitment Specialist at the American Red Cross, looks around a room full of Red Cross volunteers, she can barely get through a speech without getting emotional. Leanna is constantly amazed by the local volunteers who constantly show up for their community every day. From her aunt’s phone call in 2012 to her current role supporting youth clubs across the region, Leanna’s story is a masterclass in what it means to lead by example.

Leanna didn’t find the Red Cross by accident. Like many, she witnessed the Red Cross helping during national disasters.

“When my kids got older and didn’t need me as much, I’m gonna go do that,” she told herself. She just didn’t know a local chapter existed until her aunt, volunteering at the front desk one summer, called her up and said, “You have to come down here. You’re gonna love this.” That one phone call launched an 11-year volunteer career before Leanna transitioned to paid staff, a decision she describes as feeling simply right when the time came.

“She was just leading by example. She didn’t have to go find a way to volunteer. She was doing it by being her.”

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Answering the Call: What It Means to Serve on the Disaster Action Team

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“For me, responding to home fires alongside fellow volunteers is not just a responsibility. It’s an honor.”

Javier Gonzalez

By Javier Gonzalez, American Red Cross Volunteer and Board Member

As a board member of the American Red Cross Kern County and Eastern Sierra Chapter, I have the privilege of seeing our mission from a strategic vantage point — strengthening programs, supporting volunteers and helping guide the direction of an organization that serves nearly a million people across Kern, Inyo and Mono Counties.

But being part of the Disaster Action Team (DAT) brings that mission into sharp, human focus. It’s where strategy meets reality, where compassion becomes action and where the Red Cross promise is delivered to one family at a time.

For me, responding to home fires alongside fellow volunteers is not just a responsibility. It’s an honor.

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