This week, we are not featuring one volunteer but two – a married couple from Anola, Man., who have been Red Cross volunteers for several decades.
Bob and Shelley Chochinov each have a number of different volunteer roles with the Canadian Red Cross.
Shelley, who started as a Red Cross volunteer 31 years ago, currently works with our Emergency Response Team and as a supervisor with the Beausejour area Personal Disaster Assistance team, which helps people dealing with small-scale disasters, such as house fires.
Bob has been volunteering with the Red Cross for about 40 years. Currently he works in three different roles with the Red Cross: as an Emergency Response Team site manager, as a Personal Disaster Assistance responder, and as a member of our team that goes into communities to support evacuations and the return to the community.
Besides volunteering extensively with the Red Cross, the duo also volunteers with other organizations in Manitoba.
Shelley said the experiences that have stuck out most for her are the times she has directly helped people who have been displaced from their homes by house fires or major disasters. Bob, who has been deployed outside of Manitoba to different disasters, has taken satisfaction from helping people impacted by disasters both in Manitoba and in other parts of Canada.
The Canadian Red Cross is looking for more local heroes like Bob and Shelley to join our team of volunteers.
Shelley said for her, it is rewarding to help others as a volunteer. “There are people in need who could use your help,” she said.
Bob also noted that volunteering is rewarding, adding that anyone can make it work in to their schedule and that the free Red Cross training provided to volunteers can be transferred to different careers.
If you are interested in helping by joining our team of local heroes, including Bob and Shelley, go to
www.redcross.ca/HeroesWantedMB, email
vrs@redcross.ca or call 204-982-7330 for more details.