By Diane Weber, American Red Cross volunteer 

“You guys have been really wonderful. I’ve even become a volunteer,” Gloria Gonzalez pointed proudly to her red and white American Red Cross vest. 

“She’s a mover and a shaker,” agreed Bill Sien, a Red Cross shelter volunteer from the greater D.C. area. He handed her a commemorative pin from his home chapter. “This is from Alexandria, Virginia.” 

“My very first pin!” Gonzalez said. She promptly pinned it on her vest. “Now I’m official.” 

Sien explained how he spotted Gonzalez’s potential to be a spontaneous volunteer the minute she walked into the shelter and went from resident to resident, offering help.  

“I just want to interpret,” she said. “I want to help my community get what they need. Because I know exactly who they are, and I know the ones who really need, need. You know, like the disability people in my community. I have just done what I can do.” 

Gonzalez described her own escape from her Daytona Beach home: “It was like a swollen river. They had to rescue us in boats.” 

She had to leave her cats behind in the evacuation, “But they’re with me now,” she said. “Animal Rescue brought me my animals. They are right over there. I’m in the animal community.” She pointed to a partitioned section of the shelter. 

“They have crates for our animals and cots for us to sleep near them. Red Cross has been wonderful. They even gave us pet food because our pet food floated away. And the vet comes and checks on them.” 

Gonzalez said the flooding from Ian caught her neighborhood by surprise. “You know, I’ve been here 12 years,” she said. “And it’s never flooded. We thought we were safe.” 

She explained that the property management of her complex posted instructions including a number to call in case of flooding, but the notes were posted on outside doors and blew away in the wind. 

“So, no one knew what to do,” she said, “or who to call. So, some of us got stuck. So, we had to be rescued by boat.” 

Once at the shelter, Gonzalez was energized, moving among her fellow evacuees and helping anywhere she could. Helping others is her way of coping with difficulty. She has suffered her share of sorrow and difficulty, “So, now I try to help other people when I can.” 

“And you’re the kind of person we need,” Sien said.  “I could see that when you walked in. That’s why we drafted you to be a part of our Red Cross team.” 

American Red Cross relief is free to anyone with disaster-caused needs, thanks to the generosity of the American people. To become a trained disaster volunteer, go to redcross.org/volunteer or call 1-800-REDCROSS.  

If you would like to support the Hurricane Ian response financially, visit redcross.org, text the words IAN to 90999 to make a $10 donation, or call 1-800-HELP NOW.