International Youth Day: Young Volunteers Important to American Red Cross

On International Youth Day, the American Red Cross celebrates our young volunteers and their support of our mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.

These volunteers embody both the present and the future of the Red Cross. By actively participating in our services and programs, young people gain firsthand experience with the humanitarian values at the heart of our mission. Through their involvement, they are not only making a difference today—they are also growing into the future leaders, volunteers, blood donors and advocates who will carry our work forward.

We are proud of our commitment to youth and value their many contributions to the organization. Programs to involve young people start in elementary school and extend through high school, college and beyond. As many as 25% of our volunteers are youth or young adults, age 24 and younger.

JOIN US The Red Cross has many opportunities for volunteers of all ages. You have the power to make a real difference and support those in greatest need. Put on a red vest and join the team. Visit redcross.org/volunteertoday to get started.

Here are a few of our outstanding young volunteers and visit our “Youth Voices” pages to read about the accomplishments of some of their fellow young Red Crossers.

MAKENZIE PATZKE is a freshman at West High School in Anchorage, Alaska. Stepping into high school, Makenzie sought service opportunities that blend her aspirations for studies in the medical field with community building and engagement. Having not found a club that filled this niche, she reached out to the local Red Cross Club and took the leap of creating the first high school Red Cross Club in Alaska.

Makenzie is president of the West Anchorage High School Red Cross Club which has raised hundreds of dollars for disaster relief, supported disabled veterans over the holidays, engaged in a community food drive, and raised student awareness for cardiovascular health. One of her favorite experiences was touring the Alaska Fisher House while leaving cards and treats in veterans’ stockings, meeting children, and learning the different ways veterans are supported in the community.

She’ll also be working on a spring fundraising project to provide measles and rubella vaccines, and will be culminating the school year with a community blood drive.

BEVERLY TOMITA is the founder and president of the Red Cross Club at Carle Illinois College of Medicine where she is currently a medical student.

In high school, she co-founded a Medical Emergency Club. Upon turning 18, she joined her university's Red Cross Club and its Disaster Action Team (DAT). Since then, she has been a proud Red Crosser in three different states – PA, MA, and IL – and supported mobile vaccine clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic. She continues to respond to local DAT calls as her schedule allows and mentor new DAT and Red Cross Club volunteers.

During her clinical rotations, Beverly worked with a global trauma surgeon who volunteers in areas of international conflict. She enter the 2024 American Red Cross’ nationwide essay contest addressing International Humanitarian Law. The theme was nuclear war and armed conflict, which dovetailed seamlessly with her newly acquired knowledge of blast injuries. This unexpected 1st place award cemented her calling toward a career in surgery and humanitarian endeavors.

DIANNE N. ESTEVEZ ESCALERA is studying to become a chemical engineer. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, her passion for helping others led to her involvement as an active volunteer with the American Red Cross Puerto Rico chapter.

Dianne serves at the Puerto Rican headquarters as the Volunteer Recognition and Appreciation Lead, engaging in activities ranging from administrative work to promoting youth projects. Dianne’s contributions led to her being recognized as the Volunteer of the Year in Puerto Rico. She most notably worked as a Lead Coordinator for the International Humanitarian Law Youth Action Campaign (IHL YAC) in 2023, educating her community about humanitarian law violations during times of conflict. The significant impact this campaign had on her community was recognized nationally at the 2023 Annual IHL Summit in Washington, D.C.

Most recently, she was invited to both the Red Cross 2025 National Youth Camp in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and the 2025 Mexico Youth Camp, where she shared her experience as a volunteer with the American Red Cross and learned about the organization’s impact around the world.

MINGFEI SHUAI is a junior at Olentangy High School in Ohio. When she was little, her parents brought her to a CPR/First Aid demonstration hosted by the Red Cross in China. From there, Mingfei's passion for the Red Cross grew as she learned more about the missions and impacts of the Red Cross – notably the aid that was provided to her dad’s province, Sichuan, after the catastrophic earthquake in 2008. From then on, she was motivated to become a Red Cross volunteer as soon as she was eligible.

In 2022, Mingfei was officially onboarded to the American Red Cross as a Youth Advocate for International Law. In the spring of 2023, she started an American Red Cross Club at her high school with the focus of providing accessible training and service events to all. Now in 2025, she is a part of her region's Youth Leadership Team as well as her region's SAF Engagement Lead and Recognition & Appreciation Lead.

Mingfei is beyond grateful for the amazing experiences that being an American Red Cross volunteer has brought to her. Her Red Cross Community ─ Red Cross employees and volunteers that she has met throughout her Red Cross journey ─ inspires her to continue volunteering.

KAJAL PARMER, a junior at Cary Academy, Cary, North Carolina, is passionate about medicine, global and public health and humanitarianism. When the blood supply fell to critically low levels during the pandemic, she helped transform her school’s administration-led blood drives into fully student-run endeavors by creating a Red Cross Club at Cary Academy.

As club president for three years, Kajal has helped organize nine school blood drives, collecting over 270 donations. As vice president of the North Carolina Central Red Cross Club, she has helped organize initiatives like a Sock Drive, Thank You Cards for Blood Donors, Totes of Hope, and a fundraiser after Hurricane Helene. Serving as the Projects Chair of the North Carolina Youth Leadership Council, Kajal has coordinated statewide volunteer opportunities including International Humanitarian Law events and Hands-Only CPR. She also served as the NC Region Youth Ambassador, where she launched Educate and Vaccine Our Village: NC Against Measles and Rubella, a project which had her partner with clubs and chapters across the state to raise awareness and funds for vaccines.

Her proudest achievement has been educating hundreds of students on Measles and Rubella, raising nearly $2,300 — enough to provide almost 1,200 vaccines — and collaborating with the Measles & Rubella Partnership to initiate an NC Region World Immunization Week.

NICOLAS HUERTA recently graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor’s of Healthcare Management. He is the Strive to Save Lives Officer on the North Texas Youth Services Executive Board and the program lead for Strive To Save Lives. He joined this program due to his passion for equipping others with skills that can transform lives and even save lives. Strive To Save Lives is an initiative led by youth volunteers through the American Red Cross of North Texas to tackle one of the most urgent public health challenges in the United States: cardiac arrest.

Nicolas first started volunteering with the Red Cross as an instructor for Strive to Save Lives which he still does today. Through his instruction, he certifies Red Cross volunteers in First Aid CPR and AED, First Aid Severe Trauma and Basic Life Support Skills.

Every day Nicolas finds inspiration in the life-saving experiences shared by those he has taught and the other instructors who stand beside him. One of his most memorable moments was teaching hands only CPR to elementary school students. He recalls how he felt when he could see the technique click in their heads and the impact he is making on our next generation.

GABRIELLE WARREN is an incoming freshman at the University of South Florida and has been volunteering with the American Red Cross since 2023. She is now preparing to step into a leadership role as vice president of the Youth Executive Board in the South Florida Region.

What Gabrielle enjoys most about volunteering is how rewarding it is to make tangible impacts in her community. The volunteers here are all working toward the same goal—making the world better for everyone. It's that shared sense of purpose, along with the kindness and drive of her fellow volunteers, that keeps her motivated to stay involved.

One particularly memorable experience for Gabrielle was working on the social media campaign for the annual International Humanitarian Law Youth Action Campaign. This project allowed her to amplify youth voices, raise awareness about global humanitarian issues, and dive deep into topics like the Geneva Conventions, the history of the Red Cross, and the role young people play in the movement. This experience left a lasting impression and strengthened her belief in the power of young people to drive meaningful change.