“There’s always someone here to help,” says Becky Amborn, a Red Cross volunteer who responds to local disasters, mostly home fires, in central Minnesota. Learn more at BINGO Night with the Red Cross and Montevideo Fire Department on March 10. See details below.
“I feel like I’m doing something meaningful,” says Becky Amborn, a Montevideo resident and Red Cross volunteer who helps families before, during and after disasters, mostly home fires in nearby communities.
Becky joined the Red Cross a few years ago. “What motivated me initially was that I had recently retired and wanted to give back in some way and continue to use my skills. The Red Cross helped me explore different jobs and training. I decided to help respond to disasters in our area.”
Becky’s volunteer role includes the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign. This program has saved the lives of at least 715 people across the country, including 11 people in Minnesota. Becky’s role is to help prevent home fire deaths and injuries by installing free smoke alarms and sharing vital home fire safety information with adults and youth.
Sometimes she deploys to support national disaster relief efforts. “I love being involved and helping people during tough times,” says Amborn, while remembering the looks of gratitude and relief on evacuees faces as they arrived at a Red Cross shelter after Hurricane Dorian.
“One of the nice things about volunteering is I get to choose what I want to do and how much time I want to give,” she says. In fact, volunteers schedule when their availability for disaster response and smoke alarm installations. Some even block a morning every week to make neighbors safer from home fires.
More Volunteers Needed
The Red Cross is looking for more volunteers in central Minnesota who can help people in local communities affected by disasters, mostly home fires. Last fiscal year, for example, volunteers helped more than 150 people affected by 79 disasters in local communities (see infographic). Volunteers also are needed to install free smoke alarms and to provide home fire prevention education.
To learn more, join the Red Cross and the Montevideo Fire Department for BINGO night, Tuesday, March 10, from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (bingo starts at 7 p.m.) at the Montevideo American Legion. Participants will get a free Red Cross red bingo dauber and learn more about local volunteer opportunities with the Red Cross.
For more information, send an email to Angie on our Volunteer Services team at MNRecruit@redcross.org.
