By Jill Eaves

For Kim Wilson, leaving a mobile home disaster response site meant more than completing an assignment. It confirmed that a family would have a safe place to start rebuilding their lives.

While working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Mayfield, Kentucky, Wilson helped deliver mobile homes to families displaced by disaster. She grew attached to those homes, watching them arrive empty and later provide shelter for those families who needed them most.

“As each one left, it was like my child leaving, and I knew it was going to help a family that was in so much need,” Wilson said.

Helping families provided Wilson with a powerful sense of purpose during her time with FEMA. After leaving her position with the agency, Wilson brought her expertise in emergency management and logistics to the American Red Cross on February 8, 2024. Although Wilson’s responsibilities changed when she joined, her commitment to help families following a disaster remained the same.

“I wanted to use my strengths to help others who had suffered a recent displacement or loss in getting them temporarily set up in a safe environment to lessen their burden of worry so they can concentrate on rebuilding their lives,” Wilson said.

At the Red Cross, Wilson puts her logistical skills into action through warehouse and supply management, vehicle readiness, and disaster equipment support. She also oversees the chapter’s disaster shelter supply trailers, helping ensure critical resources are ready when teams need to open a shelter. By keeping supplies and equipment ready for deployment, Wilson ensures her chapter is prepared to respond when communities need assistance. When asked what might surprise people about Red Cross logistics, Wilson’s answer was simple.

“How quickly we can respond and get some relief headed their way,” she said.

Wilson brings her passion for helping others to another volunteer effort that transforms broken dishes and stained glass into support for the Rise House, a women’s shelter in Faulkner County. She works alongside a small group of retired women creating unique pendants from donated materials and items the women purchase themselves. Some customers repurpose personal family treasures while supporting a worthy cause.

 “We also will take family dishes, like grandma’s old dishes, and make the pendants for the family to share as a memento or keepsake, knowing it belonged to their elder family member,” Wilson shared.

Whether she is preparing disaster supplies or creating pendants, Kim Wilson is ready to put her skills to work helping others. She encourages prospective volunteers to explore their own abilities to strengthen communities and support those in need. “If one position isn’t a fit, there are lots of other ways to help,” said Wilson.

Whether you like working behind the scenes or taking on a visible public role, there is a place for you at the Red Cross. Helping your community requires more than one type of volunteer. The Red Cross invites people from diverse backgrounds and interests to make a difference in your community. Discover how you can find your fit below.