Valentine's Day is just a few days away. But while you are rushing around trying to find the perfect token of affection for those you love, why not consider giving yourself a gift as well. A gift for which you will thank yourself for the rest of your life.
Whenever we see the results and aftermath of disasters both in America and abroad, there are always dozens, if not hundreds, of nameless volunteers working to give aid and comfort to the victims. We admire these folks greatly, and many of us probably wish we could do something like that, right?
Well, you can. And you don't even have to travel to a foreign land or an exotic clime. You don't have to leave Blytheville, or in many cases not even the comfort of your own home, to make a huge difference in the lives of the people in this area who need assistance in so many different ways.
Whenever a tornado or ice storm strikes Mississippi County or the surrounding area, volunteers flood local emergency response offices wanting to do something to help. The tragedy is, they can't help because they did not take the time before tragedy stuck to get the training they needed to do so.
Pam Knapp-Carver, executive director of the Northeast Arkansas American Red Cross, said with March is Red Cross Month activities in the planning stages, now is the perfect time for anyone to become a Red Cross volunteer. She said volunteers are desperately needed in so many areas; there is literally a job for anyone of almost any age and ability.
If you don't feel you want or are able to be out in the field helping out in a disaster, there are jobs in the chapter office begging for volunteers to do them. These jobs run from sitting at a desk greeting visitors to the office for an hour a week, to spending several hours a week filing and assisting in putting together comfort kits or other simple sorting activities, to working a few hours each day, helping to process requests for assistance from families of active duty military personnel.
If you want an office-type job, but feel you might like to do a little more, volunteers are needed to take charge in numerous areas such as keeping track of the type of training and number of volunteer hours chapter volunteers are logging, and calling down volunteer lists when assistance is needed.
Instructors are also needed. For those of you bemoaning the fact that you can't find anything athletic to do with your time during the winter, how about becoming a volunteer Red Cross CPR and First Aid Instructor? Or better yet, volunteering to teach area children to swim this summer during the Learn to Swim program? There is some training involved to become instructors in these areas that must be done before you can start teaching those classes, and the winter months, when there is not much else to do, are the perfect time to take that training.
And of course, for those of you who really want to get out there in the trenches, disaster volunteers are always needed. Classes are ongoing, and not only are volunteers needed in all areas of disaster response and assistance, supervisors are needed to set up and be in charge of shelters in the event one or more need to be opened. If an ice storm strikes the entire county, as one did several years ago, as many as 15 or 20 shelters may need to be opened just in this county, which means that many TRAINED supervisors must be available, and the staff to man those shelters must also be trained and available. Staffers would include cooks, people to check in shelter residents, to take information from those needing other sorts of aid, caring for children staying in the shelter, assisting with security issues, and with logistical issues like power, plumbing and communications.
And, of course, there are the DAT teams, or Disaster Action Teams. These are the real unsung heroes of the Red Cross, the folks who get up in the middle of the night, in the worst weather, and travel sometimes two or three counties over into the 13 county chapter area to provide immediate aid to the victims of single family fires, finding them shelter, food, clothing and medication if needed.
As a 16-year Red Cross volunteer, I can tell you from personal experience you will never regret the decision to call or drop by the chapter office here in Blytheville and begin the process of training to do this work within your community. The number is 870-763-4481, and Pam or Dottie would love to speak with you today. It is the perfect gift of love from you to your community, and it will bring you more joy than you can imagine.
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