Guillermina and Rita are mother and daughter. They decided to give back to the community that welcomed them a year ago. Guillermina, a nurse with 25 years of experience, tells us that in her country, Mexico, she volunteered with a local organization that helped people impacted by disasters. Therefore, volunteering with the American Red Cross in the Indiana Region came naturally.
Both Guillermina and Rita say their work with the organization is giving them the opportunity to share with the Hispanic community the various services the Red Cross offers, such as training in lifesaving skills, emergency preparedness for children and adults, among others. Since joining the humanitarian organization five months ago, they have participated in presentations in Spanish about CPR and home fire safety at the Mexican Consulate in Indianapolis.
Most recently, the mother-daughter duo supported the disaster relief operation after tornadoes hit our region last month. Rita, served as a Spanish translator for impacted residents who needed to know what services were available to them as they began their road to recovery. They also helped with Spanish translation for residents after a multi-family apartment fire in Avon.
“Seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they realized that there was assistance available to them, made me happy,” says Rita.
Guillermina says that volunteering with her daughter is something that she cherishes and hopes that through this experience Rita continues to be empathetic towards those who are experiencing a difficult time in their lives. Mother and daughter want to continue supporting their community and bringing hope to those in need through their volunteer work with Red Cross.
Gigi and Melany are also mother and daughter who decided to volunteer with the Red Cross nearly six months ago. For them serving the community is especially important.
Gigi, who is from Colombia, made Indianapolis her home 19 years ago and says that it has been a great experience to be part of the Red Cross. Gigi and Melany tell us that before joining the organization, they didn’t know much about the many services the Red Cross provides to the community.
“It’s very rewarding to help people in their most vulnerable moments and provide information to our community on emergency preparedness, home fire safety. Services that before volunteering for the organization, we didn’t know the Red Cross provided,” says Gigi.
Melany says that she feels welcome and enjoys working as part of the Red Cross team. Meanwhile, Gigi tells us that it’s vital that everyone in the community knows about the Red Cross, and she’s making this her mission. For her it’s a matter of building resiliency and for people in the community to know that there is help available when they need it.
If you’d like to become a Red Cross volunteer like Georgina, Rita, Gigi and Melany, please click here.
Written by Regional Communications Director, Isis Chaverri.