Tag Archives: People we serve

Goodies, Good Company and Guidance: Red Cross Supports Veterans at Stand Down Event

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By Alex Keilty

From left – Red Crossers Colin Clover, Ziya Dikhan, Mary Lee and Penny Mount greeted veterans at the Santa Clara County Stand Down. Photo: Alex Keilty – American Red Cross

Colin Clover comes from a military family. When asked how many of his family members are in the Armed Forces he said, “Too many to mention!” Although he didn’t go into the service himself, he wondered how to support people like his grandfather, cousins, aunts and uncles who had served in the Armed Forces.

Then he found out about the Service to the Armed Forces work of American Red Cross and he had found a way to help. First, he was a volunteer and now he is an employee working as a program specialist for Service to the Armed Forces and International Services.

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Bill Sinn Knows Blood

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Photo courtesy of Bill Sinn

Bill Sinn spent 35 years working for Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 20 of which as the hospital’s blood bank manager or, officially, the blood bank’s lead technologist. Highly respected for his expertise in testing, matching, and preparing blood for transfusion to meet a variety of the hospital’s patients’ needs, Sinn is now a quiet, humble, and extremely skilled volunteer serving with the American Red Cross Biomedical Services department as a Transportation Specialist.

“He’s the blood bankers’ blood banker,” said Michael Gregory, a Red Cross board member and former staff member. “If I were having surgery, I would want the best person in charge of identifying the right match for my blood transfusion. That would have been Bill Sinn.”

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Mother/daughter duo is Red Cross ready for any disaster: Volunteers team up for Fleet Week

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Red Crossers Sophie Rebecca (left) and Eleanor Najjar greet Fleet Week visitors. Photo by Alex Keilty – American Red Cross

By Alex Keilty

She was sprawled on the ground with her arms and face covered in bruises. “I remember the firefighter scooping me up,” says Sophie Rebecca Najjar. She was just 6 years old and it was her introduction to the American Red Cross. Lucky for Sophie, the firefighter was real, but the bruises were not. She had been painted with makeup to look like a victim for a disaster practice exercise she attended with her mom. She had a great time that day!

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The Powerful Impact of Disaster Preparedness in Local Communities

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by Selena Nisha

Photo courtesy of John Earthy
American Red Cross

Prior to becoming a longtime community preparedness volunteer with the American Red Cross, John Earthy reminisces about his time traveling across Southeast Asia stating, “It was my passion helping individuals, teams and organizations achieve their aspirations and missions. I took myself trekking alone for several years across Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, mostly out in remote villages. In time I found myself absorbed in the day to day lives of villagers, survival and the simpler things in life that brought safety, comfort and happiness.”

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Red Cross Memories of the Maui Wildfires: Finding Meaning and Solutions after a Disaster 

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Reflections, One Year Later 

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.  

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