By Amber Bierfreund, American Red Cross

For Daniel Fudge, volunteering with the American Red Cross started as a way to help others. Nearly four years later, it has become something more: a path that has helped shape his future.

A University of Florida student, Disaster Action Team volunteer and president of the university’s Red Cross Club, Daniel has already built an impressive record of service. Now, he is taking that experience to the national level as a member of the American Red Cross National Youth Council, where he is helping make it easier for the next generation of young volunteers to get involved.

But Daniel’s Red Cross journey began much closer to home.

He first became involved during his senior year of high school, joining his school’s Red Cross Club. An athlete who played football and basketball, Daniel was initially drawn to opportunities that connected with his interests, including creating medical kits to support athletic programs.

Then, a fire in his own community changed his perspective.

One of his neighbors experienced a home fire, giving Daniel a firsthand look at how suddenly disaster can upend someone’s life. When he arrived at the University of Florida and learned about the Red Cross Disaster Action Team, he saw an opportunity to help families facing those same difficult moments.

Daniel began responding to local disasters, initially alongside longtime Red Cross volunteer Mark Greenberg, who helped onboard him and became an important mentor.

One response in particular stayed with him.

Daniel was dispatched to help an older man living alone outside Gainesville following a home fire. Although the home remained largely intact, the resident was experiencing breathing problems and had little immediate support nearby. His family lived in South Florida.

There was no dramatic rescue or large-scale disaster. What mattered was simply being there.

“Being there in a moment when somebody really needs a lot of support, especially when they don’t have much around them to help them, was really meaningful for me,” Daniel said.

The experience reinforced something he would encounter repeatedly through the Red Cross: helping after a disaster is about more than providing resources. Sometimes, it means being the person who listens, offers reassurance and helps someone figure out what comes next.

It also helped Daniel discover how much he valued serving others.

From Volunteer to Leader

As Daniel became more involved with the Red Cross, he brought that commitment back to campus.

Today, as president of the University of Florida Red Cross Club, he and his fellow officers work to connect students with the many ways they can support the Red Cross mission.

The club participates in blood drives, smoke alarm installations, International Humanitarian Law education and other volunteer projects. Members have also looked for opportunities to serve beyond Gainesville, including an environmental cleanup organized last year.

For Daniel, recruiting students is only part of the job. The bigger challenge is helping them understand why their time matters—and giving them a reason to come back.

“One of the biggest things that I’ve found is really helpful is trying to explain the meaning behind the work,” he said.

Whether students are supporting a blood drive, installing smoke alarms or learning about humanitarian issues, Daniel tries to connect each activity to its real-world impact.

That can be especially important for busy college students balancing classes, jobs, extracurricular activities and social lives.

“If you can allow them to see that there’s impact in the time that they’re committing,” he said, they are more likely to understand the importance of the work.

Smoke alarm installations have been particularly meaningful. Daniel often drives fellow students into communities outside Gainesville, giving them an opportunity not only to help make homes safer but also to see communities they might not otherwise encounter during their college experience.

Those moments can be eye-opening—and they reflect the same kind of learning Daniel experienced when he first joined the Disaster Action Team.

Taking His Experience National

Daniel’s leadership has now expanded well beyond the University of Florida.

As a member of the Red Cross National Youth Council, he serves as one of three Red Cross Club program leads working to strengthen the experience of youth and young adult volunteers across the country.

His own early experiences are helping guide that work.

Daniel remembers how challenging it could be as a new club leader to determine where resources were located, what steps needed to be completed and who to contact for help. Now, he and his fellow program leads are working to make that process easier for others.

The goal is simple: put information in one place so new club leaders can spend less time searching for answers and more time serving their communities.

Just as important, Daniel wants young volunteers to know they have someone they can turn to.

Because he and the other program leads have served in Red Cross Clubs themselves, they understand the challenges student leaders face.

Learning From Those Who Serve

Although Daniel now mentors younger students, he is quick to point to the volunteers who have mentored him.

The American Red Cross workforce is approximately 90% volunteers, bringing together people of different ages, professions and backgrounds who share a desire to serve.

For Daniel, seeing that commitment has been one of the most inspiring parts of his experience.

“I see other people making time, and it makes me feel like I’m not alone in this,” he said. “Other people in the community also care about the same issues, the same topics, and they’re willing to set aside their time and not be paid for it.”

Now, as Daniel looks toward graduate school and a future career, the Red Cross remains part of his plans. He is researching Red Cross opportunities in the communities surrounding the schools where he is applying—and if an established program doesn’t exist, he is prepared to help build one.

That commitment is tied closely to another discovery Daniel made through volunteering: his interest in medicine.

Before college, he wasn’t certain he would pursue a medical career. His experiences responding to disasters and meeting people facing health challenges helped change that.

And that is the message he hopes other young people take from his story.

“I think that’s how you really find what your real purpose is,” Daniel said. “Because if you can enjoy it when you’re not being paid for it, then that’s kind of how you feel you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

For students who aren’t sure where their own path will lead, Daniel’s advice is to start by serving somewhere—even if they don’t immediately know whether it is the right fit.

“Volunteer wherever it may be,” he said. “That’s really how I think you can find your purpose.”

Nearly four years after joining his first Red Cross Club, Daniel is still discovering where that purpose will take him.

But one lesson posted in his room serves as a reminder to keep moving forward: set your goals high, and don’t stop until you get there.

Those goals may change as new experiences shape the path ahead. For Daniel, volunteering with the Red Cross has helped him find not only where he wants to go, but the kind of difference he wants to make along the way.