By: Ara Rexford

For Atticus Garden, the American Red Cross became more than just a job; it became part of who he is.

Atticus first joined the Red Cross in 2021 after helping to manage the city of Columbus’s Shelter for Isolation & Quarantine, a shelter setup during the COVID-19 Pandemic to support the cities unhoused community. A friend working in emergency management encouraged him to apply for a Disaster Program Manager position with what was then the Greater Columbus Chapter, now known as the Central Ohio Chapter.

“I knew of the American Red Cross. I knew of their mission,” Garden said. “I was privileged to be accepted into that position.”

Over the next four years, Garden helped oversee disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts across Franklin, Delaware, and Union counties. Much of his work centered around supporting the hundreds of volunteers who make the Red Cross mission possible.

“Quite a bit of my job was centered on supporting our volunteers,” he said. “It was an incredible position and I was immensely proud to share with people what it was that I did for a living.”

During his time on staff, Garden deployed to several major disasters, including flooding in eastern Kentucky and California, as well as the devastating Maui wildfires in Hawaii.

By far, Maui left the deepest impact.

“It was one of the hardest experiences of my life,” he said.

Garden described the response as uniquely emotional and complex. In addition to the scale of the tragedy, responders had to carefully build trust within a community grieving immense loss.

“One of the things I learned while I was there was this term called ‘talk story,’” Garden said. “It really means to build community. You share your story, they share their story.”

That lesson changed how he approaches disaster response today.

“We really want these interactions to be relational, not transactional,” he said. “However long we need to be there is however long we need to be there.”

Disaster work, Garden explained, requires long hours, emotional endurance, and a willingness to step into some of the hardest moments in people’s lives.

“For some, it will be the most difficult period of their life,” he said. “You want to do right by them. You want to give them everything that you can.”

He also emphasized the importance of mental health support for responders, especially after difficult deployments.

“One of the mottos that we often use is ‘don’t suffer in silence,’” Garden said. “Sometimes as helpers, it’s often hard to ask for help.”

After four years on staff, Garden made the decision to step away professionally, but not from the mission itself. Following a year away to decompress, he returned as a volunteer, something he says has been incredibly meaningful.

“When I came back as a volunteer, I am still just as proud to call myself a volunteer,” he said. “My family and friends are just as proud, if not prouder, to know that this is now work that I do in a volunteer capacity.”

Today, Garden serves on the Disaster Action Team, responding to local home fires and helping families in the immediate aftermath of disaster.

“The fact that there are individuals now, myself included, that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year willingly sign up to be on call … to meet an individual or family they’ve never met and say, ‘Hi, my name is Atticus. I’m a volunteer with the Red Cross and I’m here to help’  it’s one of the most unique volunteer experiences that exists anywhere.”

Garden says volunteering with the Red Cross has become deeply tied to his identity and purpose.

“It really will be the best decision you ever make,” he said about becoming a volunteer. “The Red Cross and the volunteer experiences here really do become a part of your identity and who you are as a person.”

Reflecting on his journey, Garden says what makes the Red Cross truly special is the people behind the mission.

“There is not a single person that I have met over my five years with this organization who does not care deeply for those in their community,” he said. “It really is a great privilege to get to do this work.”

For Garden, the mission has always been bigger than any one individual.

“It’s never about me,” he said. “It really is about us.”