By Suzanne Lawler, Red Cross Regional Communications Manager

At the tender age of 8, Irene Birch Noden splashed into a pool in Macon, Georgia, for beginner’s swim lessons. Little did she know her early Peach State days would spark a lifelong passion for volunteering with the American Red Cross and making a difference in countless lives.

“From the moment I took my first swim lessons, I could see all the kids around me were having fun, I was having fun, the instructor was amazing,” Birch Noden recalled. “Mrs. McKenna was nice, patient, fun-loving and truly enthusiastic about teaching us.”

Riding the wave of enthusiasm that would become her lifelong passion, Birch Noden dove deeper. As a teenager, she took the Red Cross junior lifesaving course. Later she completed the lifesaving course, after which she became a certified lifeguard. She went on to obtain her Red Cross water safety instructor certification and teach Red Cross swimming classes for several summers. In the 1970s, she became a Red Cross water safety instructor, which meant she could also teach lifeguarding courses.

The Red Cross created the first U.S. water safety program more than 100 years ago, helping millions of people learn how to swim and become lifeguards. Today it’s still the gold standard for aquatics training. Each year, American Red Cross training providers teach more than 2.5 million people to swim through lifesaving aquatics programs, helping to keep individuals and families safer in, on and around the water.

“I loved the pool,” she said. “One of the mottos of the Red Cross was that every child learns to swim, and it was a technique the Red Cross instilled in me to drown-proof every child.”

Birch Noden married, moved to Florida and stepped away from the pool but not the Red Cross.

When 9/11 hit, she and her husband, Tom, like many Americans, found themselves yearning to help their fellow man. “We wanted to do something,” she said.

Birch Noden thought of her heroes — her parents. To this day, she has her mom’s Red Cross volunteer pins, which she keeps in a heart-shaped keepsake container. “There is a pin in there that says five years of service, and that meant she was truly dedicated to it,” she said.

With that in mind, she and her husband became Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) members. Red Cross DAT volunteers respond to disasters, many of them home fires, at all times of the day and night, providing comfort, hope and care for victims.

In 2004, four hurricanes slammed into Florida: Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. As DAT members, the husband and wife worked at shelters and manned Red Cross emergency response vehicles, which are used to deliver meals to disaster-stricken areas.

Birch Noden took it one step further and invested her time in becoming a Red Cross-certified first aid and CPR instructor.

“To be able to save somebody’s life if you’re at the pool and you see someone’s child thrashing about and unable to bring their face above the water to get a breath or, worse yet, if you see that child not thrashing under the water, to be able to jump in pull the child out and possibly save that child with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, what a powerful gift that is to teach people so they can save someone’s life,” she said.

Birch Noden said volunteering brought her more gratitude for the Red Cross and its mission.

“So many people go through life, and they take it for granted. They take for granted that they’ll always have their home, that they’ll always have their children, that nothing bad will ever happen to the people they love, but it does, and the Red Cross is there,” Birch Noden said with tears in her eyes.

Her teaching and DAT days are well behind her, but last year at age 68 and fresh off a knee replacement, Birch Noden found another way to give back. “In April, I saw the Red Cross Swim Challenge,” she recalled.

The objective is to swim 15 miles in 30 days and collect donations. “My goal was $300, and I collected over $600,” she exclaimed.

For generations, people have stepped up to care for one another through the Red Cross. These deep roots are the foundation for the organization’s work to comfort and care for those in need. Birch Noden is a living example of the Red Cross mission. When asked if her journey came full circle, she paused.

“I don’t know if this type of work comes full circle, because there is always something to be done,” she said. “I do live in a hurricane-prone area and if there is another major disaster with a hurricane, I will jump back in.”

How to Volunteer
Volunteers make up about 90% of the Red Cross workforce. People like Irene Birch Noden are how the organization prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies. If you are interested in volunteering your time and talent to make a real difference, visit redcross.org/volunteer.