After Hurricane Michael, Sarah Waby joined the American Red Cross as an eager volunteer. Spending most of her career dedicated to helping others as an infectious disease registered nurse, Sarah is passionate about service and community work. Sarah is dedicated to making the lives of others better through hands-on work and joining the Red Cross has allowed her to do exactly that. Having seen first-hand the devastation of natural disasters, Sarah understands the difficulties and hardships families and individuals experience and dedicates her time to making sure she is there for people and making sure they are able to find success in their near future.

Being a Red Cross volunteer, Sarah is a part of many teams and is tasked with many responsibilities. Being the Disaster Action Team (DAT) coordinator for the Panama City area, Sarah interviews the victims of house fires and other disasters to make sure they find housing for the night and provide assistance to make sure they feel safe. Being the DAT coordinator Sarah works with a hard-working team and ensures that her team members all have the proper training they need, sets the schedules for the team, and answers any questions they might have. Kelly Jo, one of Sarah’s teammates, states that Sarah is “Always there, willing to help clients and teammates!” Being a registered nurse, Sarah is also able to work with the health services part of Red Cross by helping clients replace lost medicine and medical equipment after a fire. In addition to taking care of medical needs, Sarah also works in recovery where she is tasked with working with clients to find referrals in order to recover after a fire.

After working with the American Red Cross for nearly three years now, Sarah regards this time spent with the Red Cross as one of the most rewarding things she has ever done. Seeing the difference she makes in people’s lives and making a difference in her community is what she believes Red Cross is all about. Being a Red Cross volunteer has given Sarah the opportunity to make a difference and by working with a team, they are all able to lean on each other through the sadness and stress to make sure that they are the most supportive and committed they can be for those who needs help.