For more than a century, the American Red Cross has helped Armed Force members, veterans, and their families. To provide service of this magnitude, it takes a special type of volunteer to step up, go forth, and answer the call,

Fortunately, we have an awesome volunteer who works with the Red Cross to assist the Armed Forces in their time of need.

Lawrence Sullivan, a Volunteer Instructor for the 99th Medical Group at Nellis Air Force Base, has been with American Red Cross since September 2019. With 20 years of service in the United States Air Force and 22 years of service in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, he knows the great significance of bringing Service to the Armed Forces.

When he first came to the American Red Cross, he started with helping victims of the 1 October shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. He moved on to serving military personnel by training them for safety and preparedness measures, including basic and advanced life support. This type of passion and dedication helped him strongly connect with the airmen at Nellis Air Force base where he runs classes.

When asked about the biggest challenge he faced, he mentioned the following COVID related issue. “A lot of us volunteers are at the higher age risk group for COVID, so we were unable to volunteer on the base. This was done for our own safety. They wanted to restrict the number of people that came onto the hospital and I wasn’t unable to teach.”

With challenges, Lawrence also mentions about the biggest opportunity he experienced. “The biggest opportunities I had were with active-duty people that are [volunteer] instructors also. While they have other duties to do, instructing is an extra duty for them. For them, teaching can be difficult if they are on call.”

And when he steps up to train military personnel, he makes sure that he provides value for the people he instructs. “Volunteers are needed everywhere in many different places.” Sullivan says, “The American Red Cross has so many opportunities that one may not be aware of. There’s a lot you can do for your community and your neighborhood.”

For more information on the American Red Cross Service to Armed Forces, please go to the following link