Marta Oppenheimer with the American Red Cross of Miami, as well as South Florida and the Florida Keys, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the organization.
The Red Cross is always in need of volunteers – especially for shelters.
Oppenheimer said, “The need for shelter volunteers at the Red Cross is always great when the area, a community has been affected by a large disaster, like a hurricane or a couple of years ago, there was the building collapse. All the people that are affected have to be relocated from their homes, and that is when a Red Cross opens a shelter. Actually, 90% of the American Red Cross is staffed by volunteers. Our work is only possible because of the generosity of people that volunteer for the American Red Cross. When we open a shelter, it could be anywhere in South Florida. We need people when we open a shelter to help providing food, helping in the community, they could be working in reception, registration, helping with feeding in the dormitory, providing information, or sometimes a volunteer just sits and talks to people that are sitting there affected by disaster, listening, showing care, providing support.”
There is some training involved.
Oppenheimer said, “There is training for every position at the Red Cross, our training is free. We have in person and online training opportunities. Sometimes the position requires both. So with just a few hours of training, somebody can be a crucial lifeline for somebody in need. The moment we open a shelter, that’s when we mobilize our existing shelter volunteers.”
What is expected of a volunteer?
Oppenheimer said, “Every volunteer volunteers the amount of time that they are available to share. Once a volunteer creates a profile in our volunteer connection, they’re able to go into our calendar and see the available shifts that we have. A shift may be four hours, eight hours, 12 hours long, usually requires three consecutive days of volunteering, but the volunteer selects the days and the hours that is convenient for them, how much they can.”
The experience really can be life changing for the volunteer.
Oppenheimer confirmed, “Absolutely. Just being part of the Red Cross and being able to help because we have so many different ways to help. As a shelter volunteer, you can hold multiple volunteer positions too, because while we’re waiting for a shelter to open, that volunteer can be active in any line of service, any other position, at the Red Cross. Every Thursday, at 4pm our Disaster Cycle Services has a virtual presentation where people can hear about positions and answer questions. So while you’re being a shelter volunteer, you can also be helping during our home fire campaign, helping install fire alarms in homes. You can helping military families in our services to the armed forces. You can be helping our communications team, the fundraising team, the volunteers team, so you can have multiple positions at the Red Cross, so everybody could have the shelter volunteer position and another position. It’s up to the volunteer how little or how much time they want to volunteer. We do have youth and young adults. The positions for youth are different, because there are certain things that a youth cannot do.”
How did Oppenheimer get involved with the Red Cross?
She said, “Actually, around five years ago, I was looking to a place to belong. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and during Maria, it was a devastating hurricane in my island, and all I heard was how the Red Cross was present every day, all of the way for my people on my island. So I wanted to be part of the Red Cross just to give back what they gave to my people.”
For more information, click here: https://www.redcross.org/local/florida/south-florida.html