By Joe Gutierrez, American Red Cross volunteer

Ethan Goddard considers his work as a long-term volunteer for the American Red Cross of Orange County to be a happy accident.

A full-time student at Cal State Fullerton, Ethan was looking to fill up his free time, so he started looking for volunteer opportunities. He saw the Red Cross as a good place to go but all he knew at the time about the non-profit was that they collect blood donations.

“I wanted to find something where I could make a positive impact in people's lives,” said Ethan. “I wasn’t really aware that there was a lot more to it until I started volunteering.”

Last March, he signed up for a Sound the Alarm event in Placentia and joined other volunteers to install free smoke alarms. “I had a great time,” said Ethan.

Ethan thought that was the only thing he signed up for, but a couple of days later, he received an email to complete Red Cross onboarding and then in April last year, he started to volunteer in Disaster Workforce Engagement. It’s that and his work in recent months as a coordinator for Disaster Workforce Engagement that led to him being named the Red Cross Volunteer of the Month for December.

In Disaster Workforce Engagement, which is responsible for onboarding and engagement of new disaster services volunteers, Ethan guides new volunteers through their first few steps in the Red Cross before handing them off to the activity leads for the positions that they will volunteer for. He fields general questions from volunteers to help them get connected to the right resources and does administrative work in EDGE and Volunteer Connection.

In stepping into the coordinator role, he helped train new AmeriCorps members as well as two new Disaster Workforce Engagement members.

Ethan believes his volunteer work to be a “good fit” for the Red Cross because he considers himself to be a people person and organized.

“I really enjoy talking with people and hearing stories from different people because I think that everyone always has something to share,” Ethan said. “I also like to think that I am a very organized person and like to plan things out, skills that I have been able to utilize while volunteering at the Red Cross.”

He also uses these skills at Cal State Fullerton, where he works on the university's Resident Student Association board and helps organize its new pickleball club.

Ethan is finishing his general education requirements and is looking into potential majors. “I am leaning towards Public Administration as I would like to do something public service, which has been somewhat inspired by my time volunteering.”

Ethan said he is motivated to stay involved because of his fellow volunteers and the new volunteers.

“I think people who volunteer with nonprofit organizations often have a very positive and optimistic energy that I always am happy to be around,” he said. “It’s a great experience that has taught me a lot. All of which is thanks to my Disaster Workforce Engagement team who are all very patient as I am also learning alongside them.”

Ethan believes his Red Cross moment came while at an Orange County monthly general meeting. At the start, all the new volunteers were asked to stand up and introduce themselves. There were at least 10 new volunteers, all of whom he had personally spoken to and onboarded prior to the meeting.

“As they were all introducing themselves and telling people how excited they were to start helping others, I knew that I was volunteering and contributing to the right organization that gives people the opportunity to help others who could use a hand,” Ethan said.

He believes that the best part of being in the Red Cross is the volunteers and staff and that they all share a passion for helping others. “All of the meetings I have attended have been very welcoming.”

That being said, Ethan said the message he would give to his fellow volunteers “is that anyone who is willing to set aside their spare time to volunteer is not only making a positive impact on people's lives but is also inspiring others to contribute to a mission like the American Red Cross’s as well.”

His message to potential Red Cross volunteers is that volunteering with an organization like the Red Cross really does make a lifesaving difference in people's lives.

“Whether you are donating blood, responding to Disaster Action Team calls, or doing administrative work, I think that everyone who volunteers contributes to fulfilling the American Red Cross mission.”