Guest Post by Kathryn Dunmore, Red Cross Blogger
For Canadian Red Cross volunteer Florence Barron, 76, running and swimming keep her physically healthy while giving her free time to volunteering keeps her mentally healthy.
“I still swim a couple times a week, I can’t miss it,” she said. “I still run as well but at my age you don’t want to push the body too much so a half marathon is okay. Running and swimming make me feel good, like volunteering which is a great way to keep healthy mentally.”
Florence has been volunteering for the Canadian Red Cross for 50 years and recently received the Order of the Red Cross for her work in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“It was a big surprise,” said Florence. “I was overwhelmed. My daughter came with me to the banquet which was so nice; I’m so glad she did. Red Cross has never failed to recognize me over all the years.”
Florence’s daughter, Lynn Porter, remembers growing up surrounded by her mother’s volunteerism.
“There was a time our house held the equipment from the loan supply program and we found it very exciting,” recalled Lynn. “Even helping mom with canvassing by tearing receipts was exciting for us. We knew it was for Red Cross, we didn’t realize what that meant but it was an opportunity to do grown-up things. Volunteering was a normal part of life. I’ve been a volunteer all my life because of mom’s lead on it. I’m very proud of my mom and her half a century dedication to Red Cross.”
Florence’s time with the Canadian Red Cross started in 1966 when she and her young family lived in a small mining town in Labrador.
“A Red Cross branch had just opened there and offered a home nursing program,” she recalled. “My trade was nursing assistant so we signed up and took the first course offered to people in Labrador West. After the course, we would help people in the neighbourhood; we’d look after their children even though we had babies ourselves, whatever needed to be done.”
Florence helped in the Well Baby Clinic before Public Health took it over; she remembers giving babies inoculations against diseases such as measles and mumps.
When the local pool opened in the early 1960s, Florence took the first Red Cross
water safety program there.
“I then went on to do life-guarding and when I came to St. John's, I was teaching swimming lessons.”
After moving to St. John’s, Newfoundland, in the early 1990s, Florence got involved in the
First Aid programs, took an instructor course and began teaching first aid. She also joined the disaster management team and was sent to Louisiana in 1995.
“I spent a month with the American Red Cross and received lots of training there too,” she said. “They had a lot of disasters.”
She still continues with the
Health Equipment Loan Program (HELP) and offering her assistance whenever needed.
“I’m always willing to help; if someone needs something, I like to find a way to support them,” said Florence. “I like working with people and knowing how people appreciate it, it’s always very rewarding.”