March Is Red Cross Month, so we’re showcasing five of our many amazing volunteers who go above and beyond to help others. Volunteers are the heart of the Canadian Red Cross. More than 20,000 Red Cross volunteers share their time and skills to help others every day. Read about three other volunteers in our first post:
Get to Know 5 Red Cross Volunteers for Red Cross Month.
For
Chiran Livera, Manager of Emergency Operations in Africa, working with the Red Cross intrigued him from a young age. After having the opportunity to learn about the
Red Cross and humanitarian law when completing high school, Chiran decided to join the Red Cross as a youth volunteer with his local branch office in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“Becoming a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross gave me the opportunity to learn about all the other work that the Red Cross does in Canada and internationally,” said Chiran.
After learning about the many emergencies that the Red Cross responds to globally, Chiran decided to pursue International Political Science as his studies to learn more about the contexts.
“I knew that I wanted to provide assistance to people affected by disaster,” he said. Chiran then joined the
Disaster Management program, volunteering to help families and vulnerable communities in Canada affected by emergencies.
After volunteering with the Red Cross in Canada, he went on to continue the disaster management work worldwide. From conflict zones to communities affected by devastating disasters or health emergencies, Chiran now works with the Canadian Red Cross to respond to the needs of vulnerable communities around the world.
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. 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.”
When the local pool opened in the early 1960s, Florence took the first Red Cross
water safety program there. 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.
If you are looking for opportunities to give back to your community, meet new people, have new experiences, volunteering with the Red Cross could be the right place for you. Find out more at redcross.ca/volunteer.