Clay Cartmell, American Red Cross

American Red Cross Kentucky Region volunteer and Rookie of the Year Award recipient Mary “Eenie” Burkeroe has spent the last year offering help to various people and places in need. Here is a short snippet into her story, the many roles she plays as a Red Cross volunteer, and why she chooses to help her community through volunteering.

Eenie’s story begins in November 2024 when she chose to volunteer after Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina. In visiting the Red Cross website to donate for disaster relief, she saw the volunteer button, and feeling she needed to do something, clicked on it. Just a few months later, Eenie was put on stand-by to respond to the Los Angeles wildfires, and a week later was deployed to help shelter residents who were impacted.

Eenie spent the next couple of weeks providing support and comfort at shelters in L.A. She describes her time offering support as life changing. Listening to survivors, hearing their stories, and learning from fellow Red Crossers was the experience of a lifetime.

“It taught me so much,” said Eenie, “I knew I had found my place.”

After returning from her work in shelters in California, Eenie volunteered with other disasters, this time, in her home state.

Not long after returning from California, Kentucky experienced back-to-back disasters. Winter floods that swept through much of the state and spring tornados left her with much work to do. She volunteered all the time she could to provide people with the necessities such as food and water. Although, according to Eenie, a lent ear and a hug are just as important for survivors. “The gratitude they show… That’s what it’s all about.”

During this time, Eenie thought of the importance of staying active and engaged – as that is how she believes she became the Rookie of the Year in Eastern Kentucky. The Rookie of the Year award is presented is to an American Red Cross volunteer who has been volunteering for less than a year and who has demonstrated superior job performance.

Enjoying her time at home for the moment, Eenie has offered her services to Red Cross events and programs all around Eastern Kentucky. She loves teaching children about fire safety with Pedro the Penguin through the Prepare with Pedro program, spreading the Red Cross word, recruiting new volunteers at festivals, and installing free smoke alarms in homes that need them.

If Eenie would leave you with one message, it would be to volunteer. “You can do as much as or little as you want.”

She has found little else as rewarding as an experience as volunteering to help those in need. “Can you give three hours a month? That’s a nice nap for me!”

Eenie’s story is just one with the goal to not only better our community, but also our world. You can join volunteers like Eenie by visiting redcross.org/Kentucky to learn more about volunteering in the Kentucky Region.