When Christine Vanderbeek discovered her great-grandmother’s American Red Cross uniform while sorting through family belongings, she uncovered more than a World War II artifact. She found a symbol of her family’s legacy of service, passed down through four generations of women.

That legacy is measured not by a single act, but by decades of compassion, care and support. Long before Christine began working for the Red Cross, the women who came before her demonstrated that caring for others in moments of crisis is both a calling and a responsibility.

Building a Family Legacy
Christine’s great-grandmother, Teresa Kane, served as a Red Cross chapter executive in Geneva, New York during the 1930s and 1940s. In an era when leadership opportunities for women were limited, she stepped forward to organize, guide and help communities through times of hardship.

That spirit carried into the next generation, where Christine’s grandmother, Judy Connoors, followed in Teresa’s footsteps. After World War II broke out, Judy and her sister assisted their mother with Red Cross efforts at the Geneva YMCA, supporting sailors by delivering emergency messages from their families back home and offering comfort in uncertain times. As an adult, Judy continued volunteering and eventually took on a leadership role as the chairman of volunteers in the Panama Canal Zone. While there, she ensured that volunteers were trained and placed to respond to military emergency messages, disasters, and the needs of the hospital while providing CPR, First Aid and Water Safety training.

A Lifetime of Service
Christine’s mother, Debbie Vanderbeek, grew up hearing those stories and formed her own connection with the Red Cross, beginning the moment she was born.

While serving in the Navy off the coast of Korea, Debbie’s father learned of her arrival when the Red Cross delivered the news through an emergency communication to his ship. Debbie arrived a month after her due date, bringing relief and joy to her father who feared that he’d missed the moment.

Growing up in a military family with constant movement, Debbie found a sense of continuity through the Red Cross, something she could rely on that enabled her to help others no matter where life took her. As a teen, she assisted her mother while volunteering at Gorgas Hospital in Panama and teaching swimming and water safety.

Like her mother, Debbie too became a military spouse — and forged her own path of service. While her husband was stationed in Germany, Debbie spent eight years in Red Cross leadership roles, teaching CPR and delivering emergency communications like the one that connected her father and their family so many years before. With each move, she carried her skills with her, building a lifelong career that would span more than 40 years as both a volunteer and an employee.

Continuing a Family Tradition
Christine’s journey, though rooted in this same foundation, took a more unexpected path.

As a child, the Red Cross existed around her as a constant presence. Her mother, Debbie, was often on the move, helping families through emergencies. Sometimes that meant long hours, and sometimes it meant Christine tagging along, riding in the car as Debbie answered another call for help. In true Red Cross fashion, Debbie recruited Christine to volunteer when she was in high school. Her first assignment was reviewing the Red Cross babysitter’s manual.

She continued volunteering throughout college, and during the height of the anthrax scare, she helped with food distribution for postal workers at the Anthrax Response Center in Washington, D.C.

Then, she experienced the Red Cross from the other side. When Christine’s home in Minnesota flooded and became unlivable, the organization her family had served for generations stepped in to help her. Red Cross volunteers guided her through the insurance process and provided a cleanup kit, offering practical help at a moment when everything felt uncertain. It was a full-circle moment, though she didn’t fully realize it at the time.

Even when she began her career, Christine didn’t immediately think of the Red Cross as a place for her. Despite years of volunteering, it wasn’t obvious to her that graphic design skills could support the mission. It took a nudge from a friend sharing an open position to help her see how her talents could fit into the organization that had shaped so much of her life. Since joining the Red Cross nearly a decade ago, Christine has brought a new dimension to her family’s legacy, using creativity to amplify the organization’s impact.

Generations of Humanitarians
Christine’s family story is just one of many that underscores the essential role that women hold in the Red Cross. Each generation found its own way to serve — leading chapters, delivering emergency messages, volunteering in hospitals, responding to disasters, supporting military families — among other roles.

For Debbie and Christine, the Red Cross has represented an opportunity to give back and to show up for others when it matters most. Beyond that, it has offered a shared purpose passed from one generation to the next, showcasing the powerful work of women turning compassion into action.

Women Leading with Heart and Humanity

For 145 years, the American Red Cross has been powered by compassion and service. From the bold vision of founder Clara Barton to the extraordinary humanitarians shaping the mission today, women have always been at the heart of the Red Cross — as volunteers, donors, staff and leaders. Their dedication ensures the organization can offer help and hope in times of crisis. To learn more and join this legacy of impact, visit redcross.org/WomenImpact.