American Red Cross volunteers Donna McCollum and Julia Muirhead check in residents at the Capital City Community Center, which is partnering with the Red Cross to provide safe shelter after historic flooding required residents to evacuate parts of downtown Frankfort.

Donna has been an American Red Cross volunteer with the Bluegrass Area Chapter for three years. Donna has responded to four disasters in her time with the Red Cross and has been a sheltering volunteer multiple times, including on deployments to Florida and Kentucky. She shared that being a Red Cross volunteer has always been her dream.

“I have always wanted to be a Red Cross volunteer,” said Donna. “I always knew this is what I was going to do with my life.”

When Donna’s husband passed away and her children left the nest, Donna decided she was going to follow her dream.

“I've [been] an ambassador, done sheltering, and I've done [disaster action team] before. I like to be face to face with people, so anything that can put me face to face with people is what I like to do.”

Donna encourages anyone who wants a way to give back to volunteer: “It is an experience and every time you go on deployment, it's always different. But you know, it's so fulfilling. It's perfect.”

Julia, an American Red Cross volunteer from the Colorado-Wyoming Region, has “deployed as everything” over the course of her 10 years of volunteering. Julia was born in Lexington, KY, and moved out of state at 16. She’s visited Kentucky since her move but was glad to return to help out after flooding impacted much of the state.

“I love the Red Cross. I jump at every opportunity,” said Julia. “I love helping people, listening to their stories, and making friends I never thought I’d have.”

We are looking for compassionate people who want to join volunteers like Donna and Julia to give back after disasters by volunteering in shelters! Join our roster of local heroes at redcross.org/volunteer.