Red Cross Depends on Volunteers to Provide Disaster Relief
- coutermarshlucia8
- Apr 14, 2023
- 2 min read
Every eight minutes, the American Red Cross responds to an emergency.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has become the world's largest and most well-known humanitarian network, with its support reaching over 192 countries. Although it is one of the biggest non-profits in the world, the organization depends on volunteers to provide the different services the Red Cross offers. The need for volunteers to help assist in a multitude of relief efforts remains urgent.
The Red Cross is continuously working to address a wide variety of global issues, including disasters related to climate change.
Michael Tedesco, the regional communications director of American Red Cross of Western New York, explained what the organization is witnessing with climate change disasters.
“We're seeing disasters that we respond to more frequently, longer lasting, more powerful and in need of more volunteers so that you may see glimpses of us on news coverage whenever there's a major disaster,” Tedesco said.
Out of the 881 disaster calls that the Western New York Region of the Red Cross responded to in the past year, these disasters included fires, snowstorms, floods and more.
There are fewer than forty paid staff members working for this chapter of the Red Cross. The rest of the staff make up the approximately 1,800 volunteers who respond to disaster calls.
“Without volunteers, we couldn't do our work,” Tedesco said. “Our volunteers are what enable us to be there in each one of those 881 cases because our paid staff simply couldn't do it. I would say they are the lifeblood of our organization.”
Tedesco highlighted just how dedicated the Red Cross volunteers are to those in need.
“We have people who leave their homes in the middle of the night to respond to a home fire. We have people who leave their families for possibly weeks at a time to go to places like Mississippi or California,” Tedesco said.
While the Red Cross depends on volunteers, the organization recognizes that maintaining their volunteer workforce has been an obstacle they have had to constantly work towards.
“I think that's a challenge we continue to face because volunteering isn't always at the top of somebody's list of things to do. It's become a much busier world,” Tedesco said. “We do a good job of recognizing our volunteers because retention goes a long way towards solving your volunteer needs, rather than recruiting but we still actively recruit continuously based on what positions we need to fill.”
One way that the Red Cross is maintaining volunteer retention is through recognition events, including National Volunteer Week, which is held the third week of April. These events allow for volunteers to interact with staff members at different offices around the region and are mainly meant to establish a relationship with volunteers.
“I can't stress enough the importance of volunteers to what we do. We couldn't assist those people without the help of volunteers, and we sincerely appreciate those that do volunteer and we always welcome people who are interested in giving back to their community,” Tedesco said.
To get involved with the Red Cross, visit the national Red Cross website or learn more about volunteering for the Western New York Region.
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