Story by Elaine Pancake, Communications Volunteer
After surviving two home fires as a youth, Southeastern University student Delanie Ruggles, now 21, knew she would one day give back.
When Delanie was 5-years-old, her mother was away with a sister who was hospitalized. Delanie was at home with her two younger sisters and her grandmother when a home fire broke out. Even at such a young age, she remembers Red Cross volunteers coming to help that day and giving her a special blanket. She cherished the blanket.
Thirteen years after the first fire, when Delanie was 18 years old, the unthinkable happened – a second home fire happened, this time on Mother's Day of 2018. She had enjoyed her senior prom the night before the fire and was preparing for high school graduation. Sadly, she lost the blanket in that home fire, but the Red Cross was there to help again.
After the second fire, Delanie returned to where her family home had been. She distinctly remembers seeing a rainbow in the sky that reminded her of the blanket she had loved for all those years. She took a picture of this moment so she wouldn’t forget.
Her family lost everything in the fire, but they were safe, and for that, Delanie was thankful. She recalls the Red Cross volunteers saying, “Recovery can start now.” This statement meant a lot to Delanie and her large family as they started moving forward again.
Delanie's personal experiences with disaster recovery were so meaningful, they influenced her education and career direction. At 21, she is a university junior majoring in social work. She chose the Red Cross for her required hours of field observations and plans to continue to volunteer in the future.
Delanie completed recovery training quickly and over four months she served 15 families displaced by disaster by helping them develop their recovery plan. "Given her life experience, she came with empathy for the families which showed in the quality of her work and the interaction she had with clients," said Steve Thompson, her mentor and Disaster Program Manager for the Mid-Florida Chapter that Delaine served.
“I chose the Red Cross to give something back. I look forward to helping others understand that family is everything. Stuff is just stuff,” she said.
It is very rewarding to see how Red Cross services have immediate impacts and lasting impressions. In this case, traveling years into the future and shaping a young life.