Meet Robert “Bob” Livingston and Bill Ringler— a duo of determined and dedicated American Red Cross volunteers from the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast Chapter. Bob is originally from New York and moved to Vero Beach, Florida, with his family in 1977. He joined the Red Cross in 1999 and has volunteered for 24 years.
Bill is from Pennsylvania and moved to Vero Beach to be closer to his daughter and her family. He joined the Red Cross in November of 2021 and has been an active volunteer ever since.
When Bill first joined the Red Cross, he served as an assistant finance director and was assigned to relief operations in Alabama after a forest fire. He shared, “It was a very enlightening job but challenging because we were consistently trying to obtain information from those affected to get the job done.” It was a crucial position, but he was happy to serve as the eyes and ears of the Red Cross to provide help to those in need. Currently, Bill is a facilities and fleet volunteer in Vero Beach. In this role, he facilitates daily security checks of the Chapter offices and helps manage and maintain a fleet of Red Cross vehicles.
One of Bob’s first experiences with the Red Cross included serving as chairman of the Disaster Committee for four years, covering the east and west coast of Florida and The Keys. He has also held other roles, including managing two emergency response vehicles used to deploy to disasters within the state and around the country. Bob’s current role within the Red Cross is collecting and donating medical equipment to the Visiting Nurse Association. He shared, “For 13 years now, I have been giving out free medical equipment to anyone that needs it, and that is the biggest call and what keeps me going.”
Bob and Bill have enjoyed volunteering for the Red Cross and say it is a gratifying experience. Bill said, “I think it is a great organization, and I am proud to say that I am a member of the Red Cross.” He also appreciates that he gets to meet unique and special people such as Bob.
Bob appreciates that the Red Cross has many different volunteer opportunities to offer and that he met Bill through his volunteer work. He said, “I am proud to work with someone as hardworking as Bill, and it is not often that we can get a person of Bill’s caliber.” For Bob and Bill, knowing and working with each other within the Red Cross makes everything worthwhile and keeps them both going.
Bob and Bill continue to volunteer because it fuels their passion for helping others, and they feel that there is no better way to do it than with a great humanitarian organization such as the Red Cross. Bill said, “Whenever Bob and I get the opportunity, we talk about the Red Cross. Many people do not know about all the good the Red Cross does, and I believe it is part of our mission to explain some of the other avenues that are not as visible behind the scenes that the Red Cross performs.”
During our annual Red Cross Month celebration in March, we honor volunteers like Bob and Bill, who give back to their community in different ways. Without these community heroes, we could not fulfill our lifesaving mission. To become a volunteer, visit redcross.org/SFLvolunteer.
Written By Sarai Logan, American Red Cross Public Affairs