The work that volunteers want to do, plus where and when they are available to do that work, varies as well.  That’s why the American Red Cross is “reimagining” our approach to volunteerism by matching the needs of the organization with the needs of our volunteers. The Central & Southern Ohio region is proud to be among the first to help pioneer this new approach.

“We are everyone’s organization,” said Alex Koehler, Regional Volunteer Services Officer. “As such, everyone should have an opportunity to define how they can impact the Red Cross mission. Central and Southern Ohio Region was hand-picked as one of just five regions across the country to be the front line of informing the next great evolution of Red Cross volunteerism. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!”Volunteers comprise more than 90% of the Red Cross disaster workforce and make it possible to respond to an average of about 65,000 disasters in the U.S. every year — most of which are home fires. The Red Cross now responds nearly nonstop to major disasters across the country and volunteers are mobilizing for nearly twice as many major events today as a decade ago.

The vision is to revolutionize volunteering at the American Red Cross by providing an inclusive and empowering experience. Through modernizing our processes, systems, and organization culture, we're making volunteering more accessible, and more impactful than ever.

Soon, volunteers will be able to select from shorter-term project, task or event-based volunteering to standard position-based volunteering with shifts and hours commitments. Either way, the Red Cross provides impactful volunteer opportunities that fit into any schedule. This will help volunteers to design their own engagement experiences and truly make a difference.