Marcia Antipa, American Red Cross Public Affairs

Sarah Sennett and Betsy Simpson are sisters, and they are also Red Cross volunteers. They traveled from their homes to Florida for a family reunion of sorts—to serve people impacted by Hurricane Milton.

The sisters are busy dishing up hot meals from a Red Cross emergency response vehicle and spending their days visiting muddy, debris-strewn neighborhoods throughout South Florida, 

Sarah, Betsy and the driver of the vehicle, Red Cross volunteer Dick Young, are making a difference for those affected by the disaster. A hot meal and a smile provide a bit of hope as people begin to recover.

“Oh my gosh, they love it!” says Sarah.  “Even in neighborhoods that are primarily Spanish-speaking, they express it in their own way.”

"They’re exhausted and grateful that we’re bringing them food,” Betsy said, “so they don’t have to think about having to prepare anything or go somewhere while they’re in the thick of it, moving furniture and appliances out to the curb.”

Volunteering for the Red Cross runs in the family. The sisters spent years volunteering at blood donation events, and Sarah often deploys to disasters with her husband.  But they are especially happy to serve together.

“I love deploying with Sarah because we have fun together,” says Betsy, “she’s actually been doing it longer than me, so she knows the ropes.  

Sarah’s Red Cross story began decades ago when she and her twin sister began donating blood together.  Their four-year-old daughters would tag along.

The girls would say, ‘Oh, we want to give blood,’ and we would say well, you’re too little.” But the girls brought toys to donate and ended up with their photos in a Red Cross newsletter. Sarah says she was so touched she couldn’t help but become a Red Crosser. 

“So that just sucked me in from right then.”  

The sisters say their volunteer work is punctuated by both tears and laughter.

“You build a relationship on some of these routes, you know? By the end, people are hugging us and crying.”

“Mobile feeding is physically draining -- and sometimes mentally draining -- because you’re seeing all the devastation,” Betsy said, “but it’s also rewarding because you are helping people.”

Sarah acknowledges it can be tough to leave her home and husband for two weeks to deploy to disasters. But she has a way to put that sacrifice into perspective.

“I heard a quote several years ago and it kind of sustains me,” she says, choking up.  “It says, ‘there is joy in sacrifice.’ So, I thought, we’re all sacrificing, but there’s joy in it, too.”

If you would like to become a trained Red Cross volunteer, or support the disaster relief effort in other ways, visit redcross.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS.