Diane St. Denis has worked as a nurse and volunteered with the American Red Cross for more than 30 years, helping people following disasters of all kinds. But she said she never understood the difference she makes with the Red Cross until her experience after 9/11.
By: Jill Feldon, American Red Cross volunteer
Diane St. Denis has deployed more than 30 times over 31 years with the American Red Cross, helping people in the aftermath of terrible floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires across the country. But nothing affected her more than her volunteer experience at the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
“It was really the first time I truly understood that what we do makes a difference in people's lives," said Diane.
Twenty-five years ago today, the American Red Cross responded to the tragedy by helping people around the country and the world. More than $1.1 billion in generous donations were used to fund massive relief and recovery efforts and help more than 59,000 families affected by the terrorist attacks. The Red Cross held blood donation drives, served millions of meals and snacks, opened dozens of shelters for people who were left stranded and connected countless people to emotional support and health services. It was one of the largest disaster responses in history - made possible thanks to volunteers like Diane.
Diane was volunteering as a Red Cross health services nurse in New York City at a respite center located near Ground Zero -- the pile of wreckage that was the World Trade Center before hijacked planes crashed into it. “We were set up to provide respite for anybody working on the pile. We had food, we had a sleep room, we had teddy bears, we had computer stations, we had Barcaloungers …
Listen to Diane’s experience during her deployment to support the aftermath of 9/11.
“But it was also a place where we would take care of the responders who came in. Some of the soles of their shoes were melting on their feet, and they all had blisters. They all had eye irritation. Some had chest pains,” she recalled. “We had somebody with a broken arm. So, we would take care of them.”
Most days included helping exhausted rescue and recovery workers by providing rest, meals and medical care. But one day, Diane’s services went beyond treating the body. She noticed a police officer named George sitting alone.
“I just walked over and said, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ And he started talking. So, I just listened.” He shared for quite a while before giving Diane a big hug and left. She didn’t think she would ever see him again.
However, two days later, she saw George again. This time he was directing traffic. He called her over and said, “After you listened to me, it was the first time I slept since this happened. I want to thank you for that.”
In that moment, Diane realized that her volunteer work truly made a difference, and that healing and recovery came in all forms. She said that most often during a deployment the Red Cross helps people recover, and, although not everyone verbalizes their gratitude, she knows how grateful they are because George showed that to her.
After Diane saw this plaque in 2012 at the site where the World Trade Center’s respite center was once located, Diane said she cried for the first time. She realized how beautiful it was that people came together as one.
Although the work that Red Cross volunteers did was grueling and emotional, Diane said she never cried during that deployment. But when she returned to New York in 2012 to support Red Cross disaster relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy, she walked to the site where the respite center once stood. There she saw a plaque recognizing the Red Cross and its vital role.
“I just lost it. And I started crying,” she said. “Ever since then, I've been able to recognize the trauma from that and the beauty of it, because this whole country came together. We were just one.”
Diane has been honored with the Florence Nightingale Medal from the International Committee of the Red Cross -- the organization’s highest award to nurses and nursing aides in public health, and the Ann Magnussen Nursing Award -- the highest honor for a nurse in the American Red Cross. In 2026, she received the Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region Humanitarian Volunteer of the Year Award, recognizing her extraordinary commitment to the Red Cross mission and to her leadership in helping countless people over the years.
“Everything we do is to make the world a better place,” Diane said. “And I can't think of anything better than that.”
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