It’s not often that a mother and daughter team-up to work in a Red Cross shelter. But that’s exactly what happened during the Caldor Fire disaster response, in which the Reno-Sparks Convention Center was turned into a mega-shelter to house several hundred evacuees from the South Lake Tahoe California area.

As bad as the Caldor fire was, it turned into a positive event for the Northern Nevada Chapter. More than 270 northern Nevadans got out of their own comfort zone to volunteer to assist at the Reno shelter. One of these Event-Based Volunteers (EBV) was Kenna Costanza, mother of Lacey Costanza, who serves as the Volunteer Recruitment Specialist for the Chapter.

Kenna volunteered for the better part of a week, primarily in food services. “This has been a great, eye-opening experience,” she stated. “I had no idea of what all Red Cross did. This got me hooked.” Kenna says she looks forward to exploring more volunteer opportunities and finding her niche in the Northern Nevada Chapter.

Lacey said that quite a few of the EBVs have remained to become full-fledged Red Cross volunteers, and she will be assisting in helping them find their place in the organization. The Chapter serves 13 counties and over 87,000 square miles, so there is a great need for volunteers, especially in the rural areas.

To learn more about volunteering with the Northern Nevada Chapter, contact Lacy at: Lacey.costanza@redcross.org