by Martin Gagliano

The Red Cross mission is possible thanks to the generosity of our donors and the power of volunteers, and Veronica Oberholzer knows firsthand how impactful both can be.

In her role as Regional Development Operations Manager, she works alongside a team of fundraisers and volunteers to ensure that we can deliver help and bring hope to those affected by disasters. This July, for the first time, she deployed to Houston, Texas, to support those affected by Hurricane Beryl after it struck the Texas coast.

“It was interesting to see how the money we raise gets spent and rewarding to see it helping people,” Veronica said.

During this two-week deployment, she worked at a Red Cross shelter in Bay City, approximately 20 miles from where the storm made landfall. The area suffered widespread power outages from Beryl’s heavy rains and strong winds. One of the many affected residents was Lucille*, a 91-year-old woman who needed to keep her portable oxygen machine running.

“Since the storm cut her power at the beginning of the week, she’d been staying at the hospital to have electricity. A neighbor drove her to the Red Cross shelter, and that’s where we met,” Veronica said.

“Lucille slowly entered the shelter with her walker, visibly shaking from nerves. I welcomed her at the front desk, starting a friendly conversation while two other staff brought her snacks and wrapped her in a Red Cross blanket,” Veronica remembers.

After that, Lucille relaxed considerably and revealed that she had been a Red Cross volunteer herself many years ago, manning call centers after hurricanes in Texas. She never expected that she would one day be the one receiving Red Cross services. When Lucille left the next day, power restored, she kissed Veronica and told her, “You are very special to me.”

For Veronica, this was one of many touching experiences and this deployment will be the first of many. “It was a privilege to turn compassion into action with amazing humanitarians from all over the country,” she said.

*Name changed to respect privacy