National Volunteer Week is April 19 – 25, and the American Red Cross of Alaska is honoring its volunteers who are helping people in need, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the beginning of March, the Red Cross of Alaska has responded to 50 disasters in 11 Alaskan communities, providing assistance to 127 affected residents.
Due to the pandemic, volunteers are providing relief services after home fires virtually, in coordination with local fire departments. Connecting with families by phone or video calls, they provide support like lodging, health, and mental health services, emergency financial assistance, as well as linking people to available recovery resources.
In Alaska, more than 700 people volunteer with the Red Cross by providing emergency assistance to military families, responding to home fires in the middle of the night, providing preparedness information to communities, and more. These individuals are also among the more than 300,000 volunteers who comprise more than 90 percent of the national Red Cross workforce.
Paton Stott, Regional Volunteer Services Officer for the Red Cross of Alaska: “Red Cross volunteers freely give their time, energy, creativity, and passion to our mission and keep our communities strong. We honor these true heroes who give their time to help people in-need.”
Last year, Red Cross of Alaska volunteers provided food, shelter, comfort, and hope to 1,096 people affected by home fires and other disasters across the state. They also helped train 19,665 Alaskans in lifesaving skills and exchanged 1,299 emergency messages between military members and their families.
The Red Cross is actively seeking volunteers. They are now offering a wide variety of volunteer-from-home opportunities. Interested parties can learn more about serving here.