By: Frederic Klein

Their story together begins in 1976. Mitchell Ostrover was a tour director and Leslie Ostrover had signed up to be a staff nurse on a nationwide ‘Teen Tour’ organized by a now-defunct company out of Great Neck, NY. The two traveled the country with a group of 80 teenagers for six weeks, and decided they wanted to see more of each other after they returned to New York.

Fast forward four decades, and the Ostrovers are still traveling the country together — albeit having swapped their tents for a recreational vehicle. When they aren’t dreaming of their next trip to Yellowstone National Park, the Calgary Stampede, or finally making a trip to see Paris, the couple volunteers with the American Red Cross.

Mitchell joined the Long Island Disaster Action Team (DAT) eight years ago. Leslie soon followed on the Disaster Health Services (DHS) team. Feeling restless during the COVID-19 pandemic and wanting to get her feet on the ground to help her neighbors, Leslie started riding with Mitchell when he would go on responses.

“I went along with him on his DAT calls a couple of times, and I really enjoyed working with the people we help face-to-face,” said Leslie. “So usually when he goes on a DAT call, I go with him because he needs a second [person].”

The couple volunteered together for many years even before joining the Red Cross. After 9/11, they were inspired to join the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in Lake Success, NY, and have been steadily volunteering in a variety of organizations ever since.

“It’s easier working with Leslie because I understand her and she understands me,” said Mitchell. “I don’t have to say ‘hey, go interview this person’ because she’s just doing it.”

Giving back is a family affair for the Ostrovers, with their children choosing to spend time doing things like teaching and advocating for children with rare diseases and special needs. They even donate blood whenever their parents deploy to a disaster, as an expression of solidarity and appreciation for the spirit of volunteerism.

“My youngest daughter, every time I go on deployment, she goes and gives platelets to the Red Cross in Georgia,” said Mitchell. “She just feels that she wants to help, and that’s how she does it. When I do deployments, she goes and gives blood. When Leslie went to Queens, to Sunnyside [after a large fire in December 2023], she went and gave blood. That’s her way of giving back.”

When asked about whether they would recommend volunteering together to other couples, Leslie said, “People that have been together a long time and get along well and communicate well would probably do well together, just like we do. I think we complement each other in that regard. So yes, I do, and I don’t see it much actually.”

“I think it’s really great to have a spouse that is involved with you, because you come back and you talk about what goes on,” added Mitchell. “When I was going on deployments before she was Red Cross, I don’t think she really understood it — but now she does. And it makes it nicer that we can share that kind of stuff.”

Currently on the road near the Florida-Georgia border after stopping to visit their twin daughters and grandchildren in Connecticut and their newlywed youngest daughter and husband outside Atlanta, the Ostrovers continue to make time to support the Red Cross remotely. Leslie virtually provided health services to someone in need back in New York, while Mitchell made some more progress on his training to become a manager for staff relations.

“It’s really an amazing feeling to help people. We get to do that all the time with DAT, and Leslie with DHS, and I do Home Fire [Campaign], which you’re helping people before they need the help,” summarized Mitchell. “It’s just an amazing feeling, I love it.”

Put on a red vest and join Leslie, Mitchell, and hundreds of others helping neighbors in need. Visit www.redcross.org/gnyvolunteer to find out how you can support your community.