“I will get things done for America.”

Many of you have been following the blogs of Danae’ Dimmick and Angela Hakim, American Red Cross NPRC AmeriCorps members. Danae’ and Angela complete their 10 month terms of service this month and we wanted to take a moment and recognize them for their service and achievements. Here’s an overview of their accomplishments:        

● Responded to 5 National Disasters, providing service to more than 80,000 people (including Angela’s deployment to Louisiana for Hurricane Gustav)  

● Provided disaster preparedness training to over 7,000 people

● Completed 33 training courses

● Established the DAT Mentoring program and provided leadership on the Fire Department Liaison visits.

● Completed 12 service/special projects

● Supported multiple outreach events at both Jefferson Barracks and John Cochran Veteran’s Hospitals

● Responded to 28 incidents while serving on the Disaster Action Team and assisted over 500 people.

Danae’ and Angela jointly completed over 3,400 hours of service.

Upon completion of her AmeriCorps term, Danae will work as a personal trainer at Fitness Together in the St. Louis Area. She will continue to work toward her Master’s Degree in Sports Management at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.

Danae’ shares, “Going to Jefferson Barracks hospital and playing bingo with the veterans and giving away canteen books was awesome. Bringing joy to the veterans, who have worked so hard for our country and have paid the price, was such a rewarding experience! Who knew I would become such a good bingo announcer also! Other great experiences that stick out in my mind are walking door to door on Martin Luther King day to hand out fire and safety information, going to peoples homes that have been demolished by fire and being able to provide help to them for their immediate needs, and all of the various places I have gotten to present general disaster preparedness information. All of the duties of being an AmeriCorps definitely help to prepare you for your future endeavors. It has been my pleasure to work as an AmeriCorps member at the American Red Cross and I hope that the next AmeriCorps member is as fortunate as I was to work with such wonderful people and have such great experiences!”

Angela will continue her Red Cross career by joining the staff of the St. Louis Area Chapter on Monday, June 29^th as the Youth Services Specialist. Her most memorable experience as an AmeriCorps member was working in Henry's Kitchen.

She shares, “I have wanted to work in humanitarian relief since high school, but never imagined I would have an opportunity like we had at Henry's so soon. I thought it would take me years working with or volunteering with an organization to have the opportunity to work directly in disaster relief the way I was able to after Hurricane Gustav. I can still picture the parking lot with reefer trucks, kitchens, prep stations, fork lifts, ERVs lined up, and many Red Cross volunteers working their hearts out to send out thousands of meals a day”.

“I will get things done for America” is the first line in The AmeriCorps Pledge – a promise to serve made by each AmeriCorps member.  Angela and Danae have more than fulfilled their pledge and we thank them for their dedicated service.

For more information about the NPRC AmeriCorps program or to apply to be an AmeriCorps member, click the li to work in Disaster Response or to work in Disaster Preparedness.

 Nicole Holtgrefe is the director of preparedness and client services for the St. Louis Area Chapter.