By Fernanda Fraga, Canadian Red Cross communications volunteer
How long can a tiny Easter chocolate last? For Canadian Red Cross volunteer Tim Rudow, it can and will last forever. Every year at this time, Tim can’t help but think back to this highlight of his volunteer service with the Red Cross, six years ago.
It was a Sunday in March 2014 when a Red Cross volunteer team, including Tim, was called out to support a family left homeless after a house fire in Woodstock, Ontario. A young family with two small children had been left with almost nothing. Firefighters were only able to save a few pieces of furniture and toys.
Tim and the other Red Cross volunteers helped the family, providing them with food, clothing, and accommodation. For emotional comfort, the kids were given Red Cross teddy bears to hug and to hold.
What happened next was a big surprise. “When clearing the scene, a small child grabbed my finger and told me that she wanted me to have this chocolate because I was hungry. She wanted to do something for me because I had given her a stuffed animal,” says Tim. “This child had just lost everything she had, and she had the heart to be worried about someone else.”
It was a valuable lesson the 29-year-old won’t soon forget. “You'll have 86,400 seconds today. Use one of them to be thankful for everything and everyone you have. Just use one second to think of how lucky you are, and how much you have in your life.”
Tim has been part of the Red Cross Emergency Management Team in Woodstock for the last eight years. He reconciles his volunteer services with a career in corporate security and protective services. “It’s humbling to be part of something so much bigger, that does so much good in the world,” says Tim.
As for that Sunday night six years ago and the tiny Easter chocolate, “I will keep it for the rest of my life to always remind me of what that small child taught me that night.”
For more information on how to volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross, visit www.redcross.ca/volunteer.