Tag Archives: Volunteers

Laura’s Lesson from Alaska: Appreciating the Communities We Serve

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Laura (in purple) with other Red Cross volunteers who deployed to the same shelter in Anchorage. 

Being called to assist those whose lives have been upended by a natural disaster is not only an opportunity to provide aid and service. A deployment is also a unique opportunity for cultural exchange, and Laura Hovden’s deployment to Alaska in the wake of Typhoon Halong in October 2025 was a testament to that.  

Laura first got involved in local disaster management volunteer opportunities with the American Red Cross in 2014. Once her children left home for college, she left her own backyard to deploy to natural disasters across the country. She focused on organizing shelters during her initial deployments, but she soon secured more responsibilities as part of the Mass Care team that manages relief operations for larger natural disasters.

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Making Life on the Water Safer

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Red Cross Volunteers bring home fire safety to the floating homes of Sausalito

Catherine Lee, Ron Lau, Vincent Valenzuela, Lesley Carmichael and Claire Cannariato (L to R) prepare to install smoke alarms in floating homes

“You’re on the water.  You’ve got wildlife out your window.  You’ve got the sun playing off the water.”

That’s how Flo Hoylman describes living aboard a houseboat in Sausalito, Calif., just north of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. But Flo, who serves on the board of the Sausalito Floating Homes Association, knows she and her neighbors on the water are just as susceptible to fires as any other Californians. 

“We still burn. And if there was a fire, like there was in Santa Rosa, the embers would come down on us, too.”

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Together in Service: A Mother and Daughter Making a Lifesaving Difference

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In celebration of Red Cross Month and Women’s History Month, we’re shining a spotlight on the generations of women who strengthen their communities through service. Among them is a mother–daughter duo whose shared commitment to helping others has become a family tradition of giving back.

Christy Parker and her daughter, Riley, first discovered their passion for volunteering together at a Sound the Alarm smoke alarm installation event in Delano in Kern County. At the time, they were participating through another organization, but the experience stayed with them.

“We loved it,” Christy said. “As soon as my daughter was old enough to help out, I started including her in volunteer opportunities as I believe there is no greater gift than time.”

That simple act — showing up to help — became the foundation of years of service they would share side by side.

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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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The Heart of a Shelter: Jodi Wallace’s Strategic Lead in the Alaska Typhoon Recovery 

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Jodi Wallace in Alaska after Typhoon Halong

For American Red Cross volunteer Jodi Wallace, the call to deploy to natural disasters is a lifelong mission. Most recently, she was one of the many volunteers that deployed to Alaska to aid the thousands of survivors affected by the destruction of Typhoon Halong last October.  

Referring to herself as a “Katrina baby,” Jodi has been deploying to natural disasters since Hurricane Katrina. When she first heard the call for Red Cross volunteers on the television and radio, she signed up and began her journey assisting in the shelters.  

“I realized that sheltering was really something near and dear to my heart, so I stayed with it. For at least the first 16 years, I predominantly ran shelters as a shelter manager because that is really what I loved and was passionate about,” she said. “For the last four years, I started doing other things, but my favorite is being Mass Care Chief because it keeps me close to sheltering.” 

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