Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that it’s already 2016. Many of us are starting off the year by making some resolutions to make 2016 great. Looking for ideas? 

For the past 26 years, Phyllis Wiscombe of Arnes, Manitoba, has given her time to help people affected by disasters, train future disaster responders and improve the Red Cross’s capacity to help people in need. For her outstanding contributions to the movement, Wiscombe recently received the Order of the Red Cross, the highest honour the Canadian Red Cross can give a volunteer.

Catherine Mitchell calls herself the bionic woman. She jokes, but it’s partly true...she does have a bionic leg at least. A bad fall left Catherine with a shattered femur that required two months in hospital and three months at a nursing home before being able to return home. Once she did, she realized she needed additional support in place to live independently.

Released today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), this year’s World Disasters Report takes a look at the importance of local actors, individuals and local groups such as National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, taking action as first responders at the scene of a crisis.

With 20 other highly-trained Red Cross delegates, plus a mobile field hospital and operating theatre, Lynn flew into Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu shortly after the first earthquake.

Within a few days, an entire Basic Health Care facility had taken shape near the remote village of Khokundole. The night they finished, Lynn pulled on her toque and climbed into a sleeping bag, knowing her real work would start the next day.

According to Kassahun Shambo, an emigrant from Ethiopia, being a newcomer to Manitoba can be a frustrating experience. Shambo remembers walking with a friend, another newcomer to Canada, who slipped and injured himself on a patch of ice. The men didn’t know what to do, so they went to a local shopping mall and asked people where they could get medical help.

Dash Bare Sagar arrived in a Dadaab refugee camp in 2011 following continued clashes in his home area of Jilib, Somalia, which left his uncle dead. He managed to escape with his mother, wife, as well as five children (two from his deceased uncle) and travelled to Kenya where he became a community leader in his camp and a Kenya Red Cross volunteer.

Did you know that over 20,000 Canadians dedicate their time to helping others as Red Cross volunteers? As we mark National Volunteer Week, it’s time to say thank you to these everyday heroes!