Recently I was shopping with a friend, and we wandered into a shop on the Loop that sold cute little pins with funny sayings on them. My friend bought me one that she thought applied to me – it said “chatter” and had a picture of a box = chatterbox. This made me laugh as it is soooo true. 

 

One of my favorite subjects of late has been the Red Cross. With the flood – forgive the pun – of disasters we have had lately, several people at my office have asked me about what I do for the Red Cross as a volunteer. I proudly tell them about riding DAT (the Disaster Action Team) – where we respond to an average of 3 fires a day – and about mobilizing for major disasters like tornadoes and floods. 

 

I was having just such a conversation today when my co-worker mentioned that her best friend had been helped by the Red Cross almost exactly a year ago. Her house had been struck by lightning and caught fire during the Des Peres tornado in April 2010. I said, “I was there!” I had been riding a DAT shift when the storm hit, and we responded to the house fire. I remember it clearly, because when we arrived there were large flames still shooting out of the roof, and the ladder truck was literally in a tree shooting water down on the home. We contacted the Fire Chief, and he directed us to the homeowners. We were able to get them some warm blankets, a hot drink, a place to stay for the night and some emergency money for clothes to wear. My co-worker commented that her friends only had wonderful things to say about the Red Cross. It was nice to hear! The best news however is that they were able to rebuild their home and are now back living at the same address they have shared their entire married life. 

 

As DAT members we rarely find out what happens to clients when we leave the scene. This was a wonderful reminder that the people we help are our neighbors and friends – that the sometimes long hours are more than worth it.  It also proves that no matter how large the city or how many are affected by a disaster – in the end it is still, more often than not, a small group of Red Cross volunteers talking one on one with clients making sure we fulfill our mission and help in any way we can.

 

 

Lori