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Red Cross Volunteer Strives to “Live Up to the Logo”
Anita Foster, Special to RedCross.org
Thursday, January 05, 2006 — WICHITA FALLS, Texas – On the morning of Aug. 29, 2005, Candy Clark of Wichita Falls, Texas, was on the telephone with her brother who resides in Louisiana. This was anything but a typical family phone call. Through the receiver, she could hear howling winds, trees snapping and the terror in her brother’s voice. Hurricane Katrina was making landfall.
As she pleaded with her brother to stay safe, the phone suddenly went dead. For the next seven days, Clark had no contact with her loved ones, which included three brothers and one sister sprinkled throughout the cities of Covington, Folsom and Slidell, La.
American Red Cross volunteer Candy Clark, on her first assignment with the organization, assesses the wildfire damage in Ringgold, Texas, in January 2006. (Photo Credit: Anita Foster/American Red Cross)
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“I have no words to describe the anguish that we went through,” said Clark. “There was nothing I could do from Wichita Falls except pace the floor and worry.” And that’s just what Clark did.
Every few minutes, for days on end, she tried to make contact with one of her loved ones in Louisiana. Each time, she was met with a screeching busy signal or a voice recording indicating that her call could not be completed due to a hurricane in the area.
“All I wanted was word that my brothers and sister were alive,” said Clark. “It didn’t matter at all if their homes were damaged or destroyed. I only wanted to hear that they were alive.”
In between bouts of panic and floor pacing, Clark decided to do something that she had considered for quite some time.
“We were all seeing the hurricane coverage on television,” said Clark. “It seemed so hopeless. I mean, what could we do from here?”
But Clark did see that there were local people helping, and many of them were wearing the logo of the American Red Cross. She contacted her local Red Cross chapter and started the process of becoming a volunteer.
While anxiously awaiting word from her family, Clark was busy taking Red Cross training courses on how to set up shelters, provide meals for the masses and how to best help families in crisis. She says the training helped her to focus on something else, if even for a little while.
One week after Katrina made landfall, Clark finally got a phone call through to her brother. He had made it safely to an Arkansas shelter.
“I was overjoyed, to say the least—I knew he was alive,” she said, but it would be another week before she would learn the whereabouts of her other siblings. One in an Arkansas shelter, one evacuated to Baton Rouge, one stayed at his job site and one rode the storm out from his home.
“I had a permanent smile on my face,” said Clark. “There was a relief and an elation that made its mark on my heart.”
Clark completed her Red Cross training and was issued her Red Cross disaster relief vest. All that was left to do now was wait. Thinking her initial assignment would be to a springtime tornado or windstorm, she was surprised to get her first official Red Cross activation on the first day of 2006.
Wildfires, which have been creating havoc across the states of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, found their way to the small city of Ringgold, Texas, just a short distance southeast of Wichita Falls.
The morning after fire officials got the blaze under control, Clark was on the streets of Ringgold, helping families understand what Red Cross services were available and where financial assistance was being distributed. She held people’s hands, gave out hugs and assured a devastated community that help was available.
Wildfires that created havoc throughout parts of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, destroyed more than 80 percent of the town of Ringgold, Texas, leaving many homes in ruins. “I had never seen a burned out home before, much less an entire town in charred remains. It was hard to witness,” said Red Cross volunteer Candy Clark. (Photo Credit: Anita Foster/American Red Cross)
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“It was my first disaster,” said Clark. “I had never seen a burned out home before, much less an entire town in charred remains. It was hard to witness.”
It didn’t take Clark long to realize that wearing the Red Cross logo carried hefty responsibilities.
“That logo means help, and people understand that,” said Clark. “I vow to do everything that I can to live up to this logo—to live up to the trust that families place in us.”
Clark said that wearing the symbol of the Red Cross makes her proud.
“The Red Cross helped my family, and now, I can help others. I’m so glad I took my training.”
Over Christmas, Clark and her sister from Louisiana had their first reunion.
“My sister came to Wichita Falls so we could spend time together, and she could get away from the overwhelming devastation and grief in Louisiana,” said Clark. “We walked side by side, representing the American Red Cross, at the Wichita Falls Christmas parade.”
While studying for her Master’s degree, Clark plans to stay involved with the Red Cross well into the future, ensuring that families have her shoulder to lean on when needed.
Anita J. Foster is the Metroplex Communications Officer for the American Red Cross in Dallas/Fort Worth.
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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