Volunteers 12

It’s 3 a.m. and Parnian Hosseini’s phone is ringing insistently. ‘Red Cross, Parnian speaking. How can I help you?’. Parnian is a highly-trained volunteer who helps answer the 24/7 emergency assistance line, read about how she is using her skills to make a difference in the lives of those who are living through an emergency or disaster. 

Brandy Cherarmie lived through Hurricane Katrina, where she saw firsthand the help that the Red Cross provides. Since then, she has joined as a volunteer and and has travelled around Canada helping people impacted by emergencies and disasters. 

Suha immigrated to Canada and wanted to give back to her community so she volunteers with the Canadian Red Cross in the HELP program and has assisted in public education through emergency preparedness presentations. This is why she gives back in her own words:

Have time on your hands this summer? Summertime is a great time for many, especially students who may have a few months of free time, to volunteer and reap its rewards. If you’re one of the lucky ones with more time on their hands in the summer, consider keeping your skills (whether life skills or more academically driven) sharp, or gain new ones, meet new people and have new experiences.

Meet Jason, a Canadian Red Cross volunteer who uses his technical skills to focus on logistics. Volunteers like Jason play a critical role in making sure responses to disasters run smoothly, and the supplies that are needed get where they need to go. 

Cor Zandbergen has been helping people his entire life. In 1971, as an 18 year old, he joined the Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service in the town of Mackenzie, B.C. Since then, he’s been an active volunteer with the Vancouver Police Department, Vernon Search and Rescue, and of course the Red Cross. In fact, you would have to try pretty hard to find a time when he wasn’t volunteering to better his community.

Volunteer Tammy Saunders joined the Canadian Red Cross in the spring of 2012. A self-employed commercial fisher, Tammy says the seasonal nature of her work gives her portions of the year that she likes to fill with volunteering.
 

Many Canadians don't know the risks in their community, so recently Canadian Red Cross volunteers went door-to-door in communities to share information to spread awareness about risks like fires and floods, and the actions residents can take to prepare for potential disasters and emergencies.