How do I become a Red Cross Volunteer? 

Have you ever thought about how to become a Red Cross volunteer? Do you wonder where you start? Well consider yourself in luck, because I get to talk about it here this morning! I’ve been thinking about doing this series on all of the areas that I volunteer in, and Red Cross is up first.

I’m a volunteer with the Red Cross. I teach First Aid, CPR, and AED courses throughout the year. I’m also a part of their Disaster Action Team, and I’m one of those people that you may see in a Red Cross vest when a fire, or huge flooding or some other disaster strikes. I promise, I’m friendly. My face may be stoic with yours, but I’m here to help you through things as small as learning the proper beats per minute to do chest compressions (tip: Sing Staying Alive in your head) and as large as losing your home to a fire, or flooding. As proven by the photo below, I take my job of saving these manikins pretty seriously. And yes, that’s how we spell manikin in the world of red. 

Steps to becoming a Red Cross Volunteer 

There are some steps to become a Red Cross Volunteer, but they aren’t difficult. The first step is to go to the Red Cross site and apply there. It’s just that simple. Well, the first step anyway. You can then figure out which area you will be most helpful.  You will have to submit a background check, and a watch a training video in order to move on, but it’s worth it.

As stated above, I’m working in two areas. Health and Safety, and the Disaster Action Team. Both keep me fully active each month. I teach at least once per month, and I am on call for fires throughout my area of the city twice a week for a 4 hour block. It doesn’t take much, and honestly, I don’t get called for a fire every single time I’m on call. I’ve also done neighborhood smoke detector installations too! Later this month or next, I’ll begin training on driving the official DAT vehicles! So get ready! Being active for me is much easier than donating money. My time is well spent, and I get to see the difference I’m making up front and personally. You can’t imagine how many people are surprised that I’m “just” a volunteer. Then they thank me over and over. It’s pretty awesome. 

These two areas aren’t the only spaces you can volunteer in. You can man phones, you can file paperwork, you can do PR. Just DO something. You can also team up with your DAT (Disaster Activity Team) and install smoke detectors in your city’s neighborhoods. Speaking of which, do you have an escape plan if your home were to catch on fire? Is it under 2 Minutes?  Start practicing now, and you should be able to get there! 

Later this month, I’ll share more about health and safety initiatives, such as Fire Preparedness, and Disaster Preparedness for families. Make sure to tune in even if you don’t choose to become a Red Cross volunteer, so you’ll know what steps to take in case you have need to.