When Stephen Palmer retired in 2012, he could no longer resist his wife’s pleas for him to join her in volunteering for the American Red Cross.
“My wife began volunteering in 2005 when Katrina came onshore and devastated southern Louisiana and Mississippi,” said Palmer, whose wife, Betty, was a registered nurse.
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Volunteers such as the Palmers are the lifeblood of the organization that helps people affected by disasters from house fires to hurricanes.
The couple had just moved back to Thomson from Franklin, Tenn., and she wasn’t working yet. Seeing the devastation, she knew she had to do something. Betty Palmer called a couple of organizations, including the Red Cross, found out what training she needed and spent 15 days helping in the relief efforts.
Since then, she’s traveled to numerous disaster sites.
“In 2012, I mostly retired as an IT professional, and my wife asked if I would volunteer with the Red Cross,” Stephen Palmer said. “I couldn’t say no this time. So, I volunteered and took training necessary to function on the disaster action team (DAT for short). I continue to serve and have taken on other roles along the way.”
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Not all Red Cross volunteer opportunities require two weeks on the ground in the middle of a hurricane, he said. Lots of work can be done closer to home.
“Our Red Cross volunteers carry out 90% of the humanitarian work of the Red Cross,” according to Susan Landreth-Everitt, executive director of American Red Cross of East Central Georgia. “They help victims of disaster, provide care and comfort to ill and injured service members and veterans, teach others lifesaving skills such as first aid and CPR, help staff blood drives and much more.”
Locally, the disaster action team helps a lot with victims of house fires.
Palmer said the call for help during a fire might come in the middle of the night, and those displaced by a fire have immediate needs once they are safely out of the fire. They need temporary shelter, and they probably have only the clothes on their backs. The Red Cross provides emergency assistance to help them get into a hotel for a couple of days and buy some necessities to get by.
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Volunteers also often bring blankets and water with them to the site.
“We give them their first respite,” he said.
When people evacuate because of a hurricane, Augusta is an evacuation center. Volunteers are needed to staff the site, help set it up and feed evacuees, he said.
Not every volunteer wants to work one-on-one with people in crisis, and opportunities for behind-the-scenes work are also available.
The website has a list of opportunities available, and training can also be found online. At redcross.org. For people who want to volunteer but don’t know exactly what they want to help with, there’s a quiz to match them to a specific job. Volunteer positions offer flexible hours.
Palmer said he’s glad he stopped coming up with reasons not to volunteer.
“There’s the satisfaction of helping people,” he said.
Landreth-Everitt said she’s grateful to have volunteers like the Palmers.
‘”Our Red Cross volunteers are the heartbeat of our mission, and we are so grateful for the support they give to alleviate human suffering in our community every single day,” she said.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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