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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — From providing life-saving training and disaster relief, to supporting America’s military and veteran families, the American Red Cross has been a beacon for those in crisis for more than 140 years.
The crew of Fort Cavazos’ Great Big Podcast sat down with Jennifer Young, executive director, American Red Cross, Heart of Texas Chapter, and Sgt. Daniel G. Guidice, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, a military medic and long-time Red Cross volunteer, Jan. 3, 2024, to discuss what the organization does, how it supports military personnel and their families as well as the importance of volunteers to its mission.
Young explained that the ARC provides services to the armed forces, military families and veterans, responds to emergencies and disasters across the country 365 days a year, provides life-saving training such as CPR, first-aid and lifeguarding and collects blood to provide life-saving blood products throughout the country.
The organization’s Hero Care network provides emergency communications and critical services to military members, veterans and their families all over the world anytime, year around. Young shared that some of the main ways the ARC supports the military go beyond helping military members communicate with their loved ones in times of crisis.
“We also provide a variety of resiliency workshops to military families and military service members. We support caregivers of our nation’s injured military and veterans of all eras, and then we also have our ‘Get to Know Us Before You Need Us’ program so that you can get to know about the Red Cross before you need our services,” she added.
Young explained that the collaboration between the Red Cross and military organizations is vital.
“Having those strong partnerships and being able to support this very special community is at the heart of what we do,” she said. “Being there in their time of need, no matter what it is, whether it is that emergency call that comes through the Hero Care network or whether is it helping a family navigate a deployment kind of reintegrating after their coming back from a deployment. So, I think those are critical things that we do, and we help fill those gaps in the military community,” she continued “I think really taking that human approach and just wrapping our arms around these military service members and their families really shows them that we care and we’re going to be there no matter what it is.”
Young noted the importance of volunteers to the mission and praised their efforts in supporting the organization.
“The incredible thing about our volunteers, they have just such big hearts. They’re so unassuming and they just do it because they love it,” she expressed. “We’ve got amazing volunteers who are humanitarians at heart, and they really care about this community, they’re passionate. You know 90% of our workforce is our volunteers just like Danny and he brings so much to what we do here, especially at Fort Cavazos.”
Guidice agreed and recalled his start with the ARC in the Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, now known as Fort Liberty, North Carolina. He explained how his role as a comfort cart volunteer, providing hygiene and other essentials for patients, inspired him to pursue a career in the medical field.
“The reason why I started doing it is because I sparked a passion for medicine,” he said. “This was long before I became a medic. And that allowed me to be the boots on ground ever since. It allows me to have a boots-to-the-ground impact to the community around me.”
Young recounted one of her most memorable moments providing disaster response when tornadoes touched down in Arkansas last year.
“It was very moving. I had never seen that kind of devastation other than on TV,” she conveyed. “To actually see the people and get to interact with people that have been affected by that and to know that I was there to provide that comfort and get to tell them, ‘It’s going to be ok, we’re going to help walk you through this.’ To be in person and to really see what that looks like in a community is very moving.
“We really are focused on long-term recovery and what does that look like,” Young added, “and we know that when a disaster hits, that it’s going to take some time, people just don’t bounce back within a week or two.”
When asked about the future of the organization and the role of the ARC evolving in support of military personnel and their families, Young was optimistic.
“The future is strong, I would say, the future is bright,” she said. “Our service
to the armed forces is basically how the Red Cross started. Clara Barton was out there on the battlefields of the Civil War and we’re still here today serving our military service members and we’re going to continue to be there for our military community.”
To listen to the interview, go to thegreatbigpodcast.com or wherever you listen to podcasts.
| Date Taken: | 02.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2024 12:17 |
| Story ID: | 463515 |
| Location: | FORT CAVAZOS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 11 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Red Cross is beacon for those in crisis, by Janecze Wright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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