Written by Tammy Hensley

Media Relations Volunteer
Communications and Public Affairs department

It’s been more than 60 years, but Joyce Caswell has never forgotten the report she wrote in grade school on her childhood idol, Clara Barton.

“I found it very fascinating in what she accomplished and represented,” said Caswell, referring to the woman who founded the American Red Cross in 1881. “I always wanted to do something with the Red Cross, but life kinda got in the way. I always had to work and now that I’m retired, I can devote the time to it that I couldn’t before.”

The 71-year-old Elizabethtown, KY, grandmother and great-grandmother began volunteering by doing intake work in western Kentucky after the December 2021 tornadoes.

“I wanted to do more than just donate,” she said. “That was my first deployment. The timing was right, and I had the free time to do it. That was what prompted my decision to retire. I made the Red Cross my retirement job.”

In 2022, Caswell accepted another deployment to assist with flood damage in eastern Kentucky. She has also traveled out of state as a Red Cross volunteer, both as a Disaster Action Team member after Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022 and a Shelter Resident Transition team member after the Hawaii wildfires in 2023.

She has also helped with feeding and sheltering in various disasters and her latest volunteer effort has been serving as a duty officer where she is the first point of contact with people after they experience a disaster like a home fire.

Many of Caswell’s volunteer positions have been more hands-on, so she was hesitant to become a duty officer because she wondered if she would have enough contact with people to make a difference.

As a duty officer, she investigates and makes the initial contact with people impacted by disasters. She helps get them on their feet immediately after they’ve been displaced by a fire or other disaster by putting them in contact with the resources they need.

“You get to talk to all of them and you’re still helping them,” she said. “Helping them get through what is probably the worst (or one of the worst) days of their lives.”

With the proper training, Caswell has learned that volunteering with the Red Cross is not difficult, but extremely rewarding.

“Whenever I saw a need, I said, ‘Well, I can do that,’” she said. “(I) take a few (training) classes and hop on it.”

When she is not serving in a deployment capacity, Caswell volunteers as a blood donor ambassador by helping sign in donors at a blood drive, calm their nerves about donating blood and make sure they are not going to faint after they donate.

“You’re pretty much a friendly face to greet them and make sure they’re taken care of,” she said. “I try to do at least 2 or 3 blood drives a week. I wanted something to do in between disasters.”

Caswell said the most memorable experience she’s had during her service with the Red Cross was an elderly man who was one of the first people she met when she was volunteering in Hawaii.

“He said, ‘I’m the fastest senior citizen on this island. You (normally) have to light a fire to get me going, but I didn’t know I could run that fast,’” she said, as he described trying to escape the flames that destroyed his home hours earlier. “He still had that positive attitude and sense of humor. Every time he came in, he made me laugh. That’s the same attitude I always want to have and keep.”

Caswell received a recognition award for her exceptional volunteer service in July 2024, but it’s the people who come to her upset and crying after a disaster that motivate her to serve 20-30 hours per week while also caring for her 94-year-old mother.

“You give them some things to help out and they are so grateful,” she said. “I hear ‘Thank you for all you’ve done’ from my help with the Red Cross more than I have all my life.”

Caswell urges other volunteers to explore the many opportunities available and experience the blessing volunteering with the Red Cross has been to her.

“It makes me feel good to give back,” she said. “I think that’s what we’re all put here on Earth to do . . . and I’m finally grateful to get that opportunity.”

You can learn more about volunteering with the American Red Cross by visiting redcross.org/volunteer