Disaster Action Team volunteer Alison Goldfrank stands in the response area at the midtown Manhattan headquarters of the American Red Cross of Greater New York as she prepares to go out to a disaster response in New York City. (Photo by Frederic Klein/American Red Cross)
By Seethal Sara Thomas, FNP-BC
When Alison Goldfrank was nine years old, she arrived home excited to see her sister and two cats. Instead, she saw all her neighbors outside of her apartment building in the Upper East Side. The fire department was there. The doorman told them they could not go inside because of a fire.
Alison found her sister outside in their mom’s sweatpants because of the rush in which they had to evacuate. Although she found her cats, Mischief and Pussywillow, they sadly did not survive due to smoke inhalation.
For years after this incident, Alison was hypervigilant to the smell of smoke. Today, nearly three decades later, she is proud to volunteer with the Red Cross as a member of the Disaster Action Team, who responded to help that fateful day.
“When I was applying to be a volunteer, I told my mom and she said, ‘Do you remember the fire? The Red Cross came to help us that day,’” said Alison. “And I had not remembered until she said it. But now, it’s like a full circle moment. It’s a literal brain-shift for me because now I have the tools and I feel in control, from being afraid to being able to say, ‘how can I help?’”
Alison became a volunteer with the Red Cross about a year and a half ago after looking for an opportunity to “be a part of a community that’s hands on.” When her friend Dan, who had been volunteering with the Red Cross for several years already, learned about her desire to be involved in the community — he handed her an application and encouraged her to continue at each step of the process.
On her first day as a volunteer, there was a call for help to assist after a huge fire in the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan. Although she had not yet completed her training, Alison felt compelled to go. She called her volunteer manager, Siobhan McGinley — the Community Disaster Program Manager for Manhattan — to ask if she could respond anyway. This would be the first time Alison met the Red Cross team in person, and the sense of community was palpable and inspiring to her.
Alison remembers vividly that she wore the wrong shoes and was feeling a little self-conscious about asking so many questions her first day, but Siobhan reassured her, saying “it’s exciting that you’re
excited [to help].”
While the Red Cross team was waiting for permission from the fire department to enter the disaster site, Alison felt drawn to the sense of community amongst the volunteers and knew she
was then “all in.”
Since that day, Alison has been exposed to a variety of perspectives and, now equipped with all the standard training provided to new volunteers, has a sense of calm when she responds to disasters. Whether she is spending time with her fellow Disaster Action Team responders or donating blood again after a decades-long hiatus, Alison is reminded that being around the people who power the Red Cross is the most rewarding aspect of volunteering.
“The camaraderie has been one of the best things about volunteering here in person,” said Alison. “Getting to know the people — why they chose to volunteer, how long, gaining those friendships — I think is an unexpected and amazing surprise for me. I feel united with everybody.”
Put on a red vest and join Alison as a volunteer. Visit www.redcross.org/volunteer for more information.
Community Disaster Program Manager Siobhan McGinley reviews training materials with Disaster Action Team volunteer Alison Goldfrank at the midtown Manhattan headquarters of the American Red Cross of Greater New York. (Photo by Frederic Klein/American Red Cross
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