Disaster Action Team volunteer Christina Gramond brings decades of service to her Red Cross work, drawing on her military experience and commitment to building stronger communities. From supporting military families to guiding new responders, she dedicates her leadership and compassion to people facing emergencies across the region today. (Photo courtesty of Christina Gramond).
Michelle Ho/American Red Cross
While many American Red Cross volunteers are community members looking to give back, Disaster Action Team volunteer Christina Gramond has woven her Red Cross service into her long record of community involvement, reflecting her commitment to helping others through strong leadership and organization.
Gramond first encountered the Red Cross during her military career, where, as an Army commander, she worked closely with the Red Cross Hero Care Program to verify family emergencies before authorizing soldiers to leave a deployment to support their loved ones. Throughout her service, the Red Cross remained a steady partner, regularly supporting her unit’s family readiness events, deployment preparations and providing essential help to military families.
Years later, as a Girl Scout troop leader, she reconnected with the organization through community service, bringing her troop to donate their remaining Girl Scout cookies to a Red Cross blood donation center—a small gesture that helps donors rehydrate and regain energy after giving blood.
“I went [to the blood center] and I asked if it would be okay to donate our cookies and, if they didn’t mind, give my Girl Scout troop a little tour of the facility,” Gramond said. “They sat us down and showed us a couple of the Red Cross videos. I didn’t know that the Red Cross did disaster response, and I thought, ‘I want to do that!’”
Gramond has always aimed to serve others by improving an organization’s efficiency and order, a commitment reflected in both her military leadership and her work with DAT. She joined the Red Cross about two years ago, and her experiences so far have allowed her to cultivate a strong “sense of community and a lot of good training and learning.”
Gramond is looking forward to supporting the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program, with the willingness to deploy internationally to support troops based overseas. With three decades of military service and her continued Red Cross volunteerism, she continues to dedicate her time, skills and values to people in need.
Whether you’re drawn to disaster response or another way of helping your neighbors, the Red Cross has a place for you. Start your volunteer journey at redcross.org/volunteer.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
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