American Red Cross

Babysitters are neighborhood heroes. Whether it was your summertime gig in high school or a way to get your foot in the door of the child care industry, tell us why you took a babysitting class.

Jackie Walters' devotion to supporting military members and their families is personal. She is a military spouse and the daughter of a Red Crosser — two experiences that inspired her commitment to being a Red Crosser herself for over 60 years. During World War II, Jackie's mother served with the Red Cross Hospital Service. She later worked as a caseworker from home, supporting emergency communication efforts and helping deployed military members connect with their loved ones back home. When Jackie married her husband Christopher, who served in the U.S. Navy for 26 years, she began to understand the challenges military families face. The couple and their son moved a total of eight times — often to places where they didn't speak the language or that were far away from their support system — but the Red Cross made each transition easier. “Everywhere we went, the Red Cross was there," Jackie said. “It was a place to go and start to meet people and do something besides taking care of our home.” Jackie began volunteering with the Red Cross, supporting hospitals and clinics on military bases and eventually leading a volunteer team. She continued to pay it forward when her family moved to D.C., by getting a job as an event and conference planner at our national headquarters. She later trained caseworkers on how to deliver services to military families, and even deployed overseas. During the Afghan refugee crisis in 2021, Jackie deployed to Germany to support Operation Allied Refuge and manage volunteers and disaster accounting. She left within 24 hours of getting the call and stayed for three weeks. "It was such a privilege to be asked to go," Jackie said. "I came home so proud of the work the Red Cross does and the incredible response of the American military and their families who dropped everything to work around the clock helping people who had lost everything.” We're grateful for dedicated volunteers like Jackie who are willing to share their inspiring stories and help us honor service members and their families this Military Appreciation Month and beyond.

Alejandra Schwarz is using her bilingual skills to make lifesaving information more accessible within Spanish-speaking communities. Alejandra joined our Multicultural Communications team in 2024, not long after earning her bachelor's degree. She volunteers to support our Translator Hub, which is responsible for translating and proofreading materials like fliers, press releases, social media posts and more — essential during times of disaster. "The Red Cross is always on the ground anytime there is a disaster, helping communities regardless of who they are," Alejandra said. "While I can’t always be there in person, using my skills to support those selfless people on the ground is an incredible way to contribute.” What Alejandra finds most rewarding about her role is bridging language gaps and providing vital information to those who need it most. "Life can feel isolating, but when we go out of our way to help others, we’re reminded of the kindness, love, and community that surrounds us," Alejandra said. Alejandra was one of the first terminology interns on our Multicultural Communications team. Now, earning her master's degree in translation, Alejandra plans to continue supporting our lifesaving mission as she grows her career. Thanks to passionate and dedicated volunteers like Alejandra, more communities around the country have access to lifesaving information and support. You can help, too, by learning more about our open positions: https://rdcrss.org/4iv4NVh

Aide Hernandez is the kind of leader every community needs. As a rural health and community development organizer with the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance (CVEA), she helps farmworkers and their families build long-term resilience ahead of disasters. For Aide, this work hits close to home. She grew up in Linnell Camp, a farmworker housing community in Tulare County, California, and witnessed the impacts of extreme weather firsthand. In 2023, Aide’s home was impacted by significant flooding, and she turned to CVEA for resources. Now, she’s a community champion, working with CVEA and the American Red Cross Central California Region to distribute fresh food and water to rural communities, organize monthly food and supply drives reaching more than 200 families, and host educational outreach events on disaster preparedness. She also received CPR, first aid, and AED training to support her community during emergencies and distributed curated extreme heat emergency kits to help families overcome the brutal summer heat. Thanks to local champions like Aide and community partners like CVEA, families in high-risk areas are better equipped to respond to and recover from disasters when they strike.

How do you avoid burnout as a remote employee? We asked Misha McAllister from our Talent Acquisition team for her best tips. "I am a huge fanatic about closing the rings on my Apple Watch daily. So, exercising, standing every hour and burning calories are daily goals if I want to close all of my rings," Misha shared. "You can also set an alarm every hour to step away from the screen, stretch and drink water." Discover more tips and tricks for working remotely: https://rdcrss.org/3GyVE0T #RedCrossCareers #RemoteWork #WorkingFromHome

Get inspired by these volunteer stories. 🥹 90% of our workforce is made up of volunteers — people just like you who take time away from work or give up weekends with family to serve others in need. Help us celebrate these everyday heroes who make our mission possible by making a donation in honor of a volunteer today: https://lnkd.in/gntADB7U #NationalVolunteerMonth

This is how you come together as a community! 🥹 Several members of the Red Cross Long-Term Recovery team recently joined Hope Crisis Response Network volunteers to clean Roxy's home. It was damaged by smoke and ash during the Southern California wildfires in January, and again by landslides after heavy rain. Volunteers spent a full day scrubbing and sterilizing her home and cleaning out all the dust and debris caused by the fires and landslide. "I am overwhelmed," Roxy said. "I felt so alone, but I don't feel alone today." For multiple disasters, Hope Crisis Response Network has partnered with the Red Cross to support people affected and help them recover. They’ve also received Red Cross grant funding to purchase tools and build capacity, as they continue to clean smoke and ash from homes across Los Angeles county in the weeks to come. We’re honored to collaborate with partners like Hope Crisis Response Network to help people find a path forward after devastating disasters.

Felista Njenga is a devoted mother determined to keep her son safe from one of the most contagious and severe childhood diseases — measles. That's why she brought him to a local health clinic in Kenya for his first dose of the measles vaccine. “The Red Cross has educated me and my neighbors about the importance of our children receiving vaccinations,” Felista said. “My son was 4 months late receiving one of his measles doses, so I was afraid of taking him to the health center — but the volunteer convinced me to go.” Every day, measles takes the lives of hundreds of children around the world. Even if a child survives, measles can cause permanent disabilities, such as blindness or brain damage. Together with the Kenyan Red Cross Society, we have strengthened community immunization systems in Kenya as part of the Measles & Rubella Partnership. This work has helped vaccinate more than 2 billion children worldwide.

This National Volunteer Week, we're celebrating employees of our generous corporate donors who raised their hands to help during recent disasters, including Hurricane Helene and the California wildfires. ⛑️ Mastercard employees from across the nation deployed to Western North Carolina and Southern California to support both hurricane and wildfire relief efforts, from staffing community care centers and handing out relief supplies to supporting Red Cross shelters. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Charlotte-based Bank of America employees assessed more than 5,000 homes for damage to help us understand the greatest needs of impacted areas, while Truist teammates provided food, water and relief supplies. After the wildfires, Los Angeles-based Fox Corporation employees supported the distribution of relief items and resources, ensuring neighbors were comfortable, had essential supplies, warm meals and more. We're so grateful to these selfless individuals for taking time away from their everyday lives to help those facing adversity. Volunteers power our mission every day, and we're deeply appreciative of their humanitarian spirit. ❤️

¡Atención padres, maestros y cuidadores! Acompañen a Mateo, Owen y Longfellow en una divertida inmersión en seguridad acuática. 🐋 Our Longfellow's WHALE Tales Water Safety for Children program is now en español. Lessons like these are free, fun and easy for little ones to remember. Más vale prevenir que lamentar: el ahogamiento es una de las principales causas de muerte infantil en Estados Unidos. Anyone can teach children to be water smart. Los videos, hojas de actividades y demás contenido didáctico pueden descargarse y utilizarse en cualquier momento y lugar: https://rdcrss.org/3DvJeVW