Tag Archives: Volunteers

9/11 Anniversary: After Decades of Deployments, One Experience Shaped Them All

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By: Jill Feldon, American Red Cross volunteer

Diane St. Denis has deployed more than 30 times over 31 years with the American Red Cross, helping people in the aftermath of terrible floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires across the country. But nothing affected her more than her volunteer experience at the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

“It was really the first time I truly understood that what we do makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Diane.

Diane St. Denis has worked as a nurse and volunteered with the American Red Cross for more than 30 years, helping people following disasters of all kinds. But she said she never understood the difference she makes with the Red Cross until her experience after 9/11.
Diane St. Denis has worked as a nurse and volunteered with the American Red Cross for more than 30 years, helping people following disasters of all kinds. But she said she never understood the difference she makes until her Red Cross experience after 9/11.

Twenty-five years ago today, the American Red Cross responded to the tragedy by helping people around the country and the world. More than $1.1 billion in generous donations were used to fund massive relief and recovery efforts and help more than 59,000 families affected by the terrorist attacks. The Red Cross held blood donation drives, served millions of meals and snacks, opened dozens of shelters for people who were left stranded and connected countless people to emotional support and health services. It was one of the largest disaster responses in history – made possible thanks to volunteers like Diane.

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Red Cross Volunteers Distribute Emergency Supplies Along the Road to Recovery 

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Red Cross volunteer Marcel on holiday

By Alex Keilty, American Red Cross Volunteer

“A little bit of physical work and a lot of satisfaction,” is how one American Red Cross volunteer describes his experience distributing emergency supplies after a disaster. It’s a simple description from Marcel Pajuelo-Schwartz, but it captures the heart of the distribution of emergency supplies volunteer role perfectly. The physical work comes from lifting and carrying buckets of essential items, while the satisfaction comes from knowing you have helped people in a real, hands-on way when they need it most. 

Marcel, who lives in Daly City, Calif., has been a Red Cross volunteer since 1967. He has tried many volunteer roles over the years but he especially enjoys this one. His efforts to distribute emergency supplies play a critical role in helping individuals and families recover in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. His role is to provide items essential to basic survival, health and sanitation as quickly and equitably as possible to people whose homes and neighborhoods have been affected. These essential supplies may include flashlights, food coolers, buckets, shovels, masks, gloves, cleaning products and garbage bags — everything people need to begin cleaning up their yards and their homes after a disaster turns life upside down. 

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You Don’t Have to Be a Chef to Feed a Community in Crisis 

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A wildfire near Santa Rosa, Calif. had forced more than 180,000 people to evacuate from their homes, and many would be looking for a place to stay. American Red Cross volunteers rushed to the Civic Center in San Rafael to open a shelter.    

Red Cross volunteer Anna Lane at the North Coast Emergency Food System Partnership meeting in Hopland, Calif.

Volunteer Anna Lane arrived to see that electricity had been cut for the entire county, although there were generators to provide power on site. She recalls, “The shelter manager said to me, ‘Anna, we need breakfast things, coffee and food, something.’ So I go to the grocery store, but the grocery stores are locked down because they have no power. They can’t open the doors.   

“I thought, ‘Where am I going to get stuff?’”  

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“Like Christmas” Every Day: Delivering Hope as a Red Cross Fulfillment Service Associate 

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According to Curt Leo, when you volunteer to be a Fulfillment Service Associate at the American Red Cross, everyone is happy to see you, everyday. 

Red Cross volunteer Curt Leo

“When you get to the shelter, it’s like Christmas for them. They love to see you!” says Curt, who volunteered for the fulfillment service associate role for the first time earlier this year, distributing essential items to shelters. 

And it’s no wonder they were happy to see Curt, because he arrived at the disaster shelters with an SUV packed full of supplies, including baby diapers, 20 lbs. of bananas, healthy snacks, breakfast foods, coffee and paper goods.   

Curt, who spends half the year in Sonoma County, Calif., and half the year in Sammamish, WA (a suburb of Seattle) has been a Red Cross volunteer for three-and-a-half years in various roles.  

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From Delegate to Staffer: In the Middle of Nowhere Surrounded by People I Didn’t Know

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When I first attended the American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region’s Leadership Development Center (LDC) as a delegate during the summer of 2025, I thought it would simply be a one-time, four-day camp experience in the middle of nowhere surrounded by people I didn’t know. I never imagined I would come back to Redwood Glen Camp the following summer to help plan, coordinate and document as a staff member. When I applied, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. I was just excited for the opportunity to meet new people and try something new. Looking back now, I’m grateful that LDC became so much more than a single camp experience and that each summer, I leave with much more than I could expect.

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Gale Carli’s Journey to Saipan Revealed the Best of Humanity After Disaster

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When retired nurse Gale Carli from San Mateo County arrived in Saipan seven days after Super Typhoon Sinlaku devastated the U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean, the signs of destruction were impossible to miss. 

Red Cross volunteer Gale Carli in Saipan.

“The electricity was off, so driving was treacherous,” Carli recalled. “There were trees down, power poles down, lights down, and you could tell that something disastrous had happened.” 

Sinlaku, an exceptionally powerful Category 5-equivalent storm, blew through the Northern Mariana Islands in mid-April, unleashing catastrophic flooding and sustained winds approaching 180 miles per hour. The storm left the tourism-dependent island struggling to recover. Trees were stripped bare, roads were littered with debris, and much of the lush tropical landscape had turned brown after exposure to salt water. 

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