Volunteering (Page 4)

The contributions of Canadian Red Cross personnel who have volunteered locally and around the world to natural disasters or health emergencies including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic were highlighted recently in a ceremony at the Nova Scotia legislature in Halifax to mark International Volunteer Day 2021.

With 16 years under her belt in the Canadian Red Cross, Ottawa volunteer Debbie James is accustomed to focusing on others. Debbie’s can-do attitude has led her through more than 100 responses across the country and an array of roles supporting others.
“If I have the bandwidth and my help is needed, I’ll try to do it,” she says.

“Right away people are telling you, ‘I'm so thankful that you called. I was not expecting any other calls this week.’ They are happy to hear from us.”
That is the way Luisa Castro, the provincial coordinator of the Virtual Support Team describes the reaction of participants in the Friendly Calls program.

For over three years, Cheryl Horgan has been volunteering as an emergency management responder with the Canadian Red Cross in New Brunswick. She spent some her time volunteering with our Friendly Calls program in Atlantic Canada.

In 2018, Faith Okolie and her family arrived in Montreal as refugees from Nigeria. They were in danger and sought safe haven in Canada. They found it, and now Faith teaches newcomers in Winnipeg how they can stay safe in their new homes.

When Dave Schiller decided it was time to retire after 30 years as a school counsellor in London, Ontario, he was looking for his next venture. He found it with the Canadian Red Cross.
“I wanted to retire to something and not just from something,” Dave explains.

As volunteers, we all give what we can when we can. The Canadian Red Cross could not help those in need without this support and volunteer Rudy Ambtman from Manitoba has a lot to give.

Despite it all, this year brought about inspiring and touching stories that resonated with our readers. We looked at the most popular stories from 2021 and brought them together for us to enjoy again as we end 2021.