Volunteers

For long-time Fort McMurray resident Jessica Weber, it was a surreal experience returning to the home where she had grown up after last May’s devastating fire. Fire crews weren’t able to reach the house, which was on an acreage that had been in her family for three generations. 

We’re very excited to share that Red Cross volunteer, donor and partner Murad Al-Katib won the Oslo Business for Peace Award for his contributions to feeding refugee families. This honour comes as no surprise to us, as Murad is known for his dedication and care both at home and around the world.  

"I don't ‎need that much. Please keep it for people who need it more."
"I lost all the baby pictures of my four boys."
"Thanks for everything you are doing for us".

Volunteer Guy Lepage shares some of the conversations he's had while on the ground, responding to the flooding in Quebec. 
 

In what proved to be a well-timed coincidence, Red Cross volunteer Cheryl Beckett was part of a training exercise last Thursday with the City of Ottawa. Her role was to help set up a mock reception centre. The very next day she would do the same thing but not as part of an exercise this time, as flood waters in Ottawa began to seep into residential areas and many families became unsafe. 

In honour of National Volunteer week, we’re taking a closer look at the fundamental principle of voluntary service. This principle is very basic, but it has a huge impact on the Red Cross and Red Crescent, because there is no way we could do the work that we do without our volunteers. 

Sometimes first aid means checking an unresponsive patient’s airway, breathing and circulation. Sometimes it means recognizing the symptoms that could lead to self harm, or supporting someone through a panic attack.
“We always say if someone is hurt, we can help them,” says Diane Story, who has been a first aid educator at the Red Cross for almost 40 years, adding that this doesn’t always mean physically. “Sometimes they are hurt in a different way.”

The two interlacing hearts etched onto a medal awarded to four Canadian Red Cross volunteers are meant to evoke caring and generosity. And they are qualities that volunteers Robert Chochinov, Dixie Lea Fenwick, Paula Green and Robert Thomas Hamson have demonstrated time and again throughout their careers with the organization.

Doris and her husband live in Pokemouche, New Brunswick. They were without power for 12 days before coming to the Red Cross warming centre in Tracadie-Sheila to find out what could be done. 

When they arrived, Doris and her husband met Red Cross volunteer Michelle Gauthier, who gave them a friendly and comforting welcome.