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 The St. Louis Area Chapter of the American Red Cross honored its most valuable asset in St. Charles County on Friday – its volunteers.
Hundreds gathered at the Stegton Banquet and Conference Center in St. Charles for the organization’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. The crowd consisted of elected officials, emergency responders, Red Cross representatives and others from throughout the area, who came to honor the county’s legion of Red Cross volunteers.
Brad Farber, supervisor of the Red Cross’ St. Charles County Service Center at 516 S. Fifth St. in St. Charles, said the organization’s volunteers are a unique breed because they’re dedicated to their work despite sometimes going unnoticed in the community.
“The Red Cross is an organization of volunteers. They’re usually quiet and not looking to attract attention for their work in the community,” Farber said. “This is a special event because it allows us to show our volunteers how much they are appreciated.”
Last year, the Red Cross assisted 64 families with various disaster responses by providing individuals with emergency food, clothing, shelter and financial assistance. The organization also provided community disaster education courses to 10,697 school children, trained 1,058 individuals in CPR and first aid and staffed 544 blood drives.
During Friday’s luncheon, Bob Peters, Chair of Volunteers for the St. Louis Area Chapter’s Board of Directors, handed out a variety of awards to honor the special efforts of several volunteers.
Alysia Craig, a volunteer since October, won the New Outstanding Volunteer Award, which is presented each year to an individual who has been with the organization for less than one year, but has made outstanding contributions to the organization, Peters said.
Craig, a junior accounting student at Lindenwood University, said she volunteers for 25 hours each week as a health and safety presenter to children in the county.
She said teaching safety courses to children “is more important these days” because more children are spending time alone at home.
“I show the kids how to prevent serious injury and to be safe when they’re on their own,” she said. “It’s so important because so many parents both work now and the kids are sometimes left home alone.”
The Meritorious Service Award, the most coveted award of all, was given to Merle Blundon, a 2-year volunteer who has had the “single most profound impact on the St. Charles County Service Center,” Peters said.
“The recipient of this award exemplifies the American Red Cross’ values of dignity, respect, compassion and assistance,” he said.
Blundon, of St. Peters, serves as a Disaster Action Team member and has responded to several disasters in St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties. She also assists with daily duties at the service center and is working with other volunteers to secure disaster shelter sites in St. Charles County.
Blundon said meeting new friends while “helping the fine people of the community” makes being a Red Cross volunteer “very rewarding.”
Her most cherished experience has been helping families whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by fire. Seeing the gratitude on the faces of those in need makes all of the work worthwhile, she said.
“It really means a lot to them,” she said. “We get a lot of call backs from families thanking us for our help.”
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