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An Indescribable Gift of Spirit
Written by
Sara Lewis
, Special to Redcross.org
Friday, September 30, 2005 — While shopping on Saturday, Sept. 3, Vicky Davenport felt moved to buy the local biweekly newspaper, something she didn’t usually do. An article about Katrina relief efforts caught her eye and the next day she was attending a disaster services training session that had been advertised by the Colonial Virginia Chapter of the American Red Cross.
“I was mentally adjusting to retirement and I just felt called,” she said. “I knew I could take off immediately to help.”
On Monday, the day after training, she was asked to deploy to a shelter in Florida. While the western tip of the Florida panhandle received only minor storm damage, it was close enough to welcome evacuees from areas where homes were destroyed and utilities were unavailable.
“I was weary from the travel when I arrived, and things were disorganized, but I kept going because I knew there was a need for medical assistance,” she said.
Davenport, a registered nurse, found her accommodations to be some distance from the shelter, but when she finally got there she knew it was worth the trip.
“I can’t describe to you the overtone of gratefulness that I felt in the shelters. Everyone was so nice,” said Davenport, who mopped floors, rocked babies, played with children and helped clients fill out the forms needed in order to get financial aid.
“I thought I’d be doing medical assessments, but I did everything,” she said. “I got tired, exhausted, frustrated – everything but bored.”
After a few days she was moved from a larger shelter to a medical clinic in a place she described as a tiny, tiny town. There she worked with volunteer doctors. “I offered a lot of first aid and comforting.”
Davenport says she wasn’t prepared for the intangible gifts she received in return.
“The smiles, the thankfulness, the outpouring of human spirit – that connection was quite remarkable. I got more from that indescribable feeling than I gave back.”
Davenport has completed her first assignment as a Red Cross volunteer and returned home. After the required month off between deployments, she plans to go back to provide medical services in one of the remaining shelters, currently numbering in the hundreds right now in hurricane-ravaged areas along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida.
“There is a power in the Red Cross symbol that draws people who are looking for help and comfort. It makes me proud to be wearing the Red Cross vest.”
Sara Lewis, a freelance writer and marketing communications consultant from Williamsburg, Va., is a volunteer with the Colonial Virginia Chapter of the American Red Cross. She is currently working in Disaster Public Affairs office at Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, D.C.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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