Chantel Robinson is determined to turn her family’s tragedy into a force for good. Chantel lost her mother during a fire at her Northeast Philadelphia home on March 10, 2022.
“I think I was in shock when the Red Cross arrived,” she recalled.
Chantel is grateful for the comfort and care the Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers provided to her family, including her son Marquan and goddaughter Hailey, both 19, who were living in the home.
“It was more than the financial support, although we needed that – we lost everything,” she recalled. “It was the ongoing care, the conversations, the compassion.”
Chantel shared that Charline Scott from the Red Cross Spiritual Care Team called her every day for weeks to check in. And when she moved into her cousin’s home a few days after the fire, Red Cross volunteers came out to install smoke alarms there.
Inspired by the care she received, Chantel wants to make sure other families don’t experience the loss of a loved one. In May, she worked alongside the Red Cross volunteers to install smoke alarms on her former block.
“Awareness in the most important thing,” she said. “People need to know about the importance of smoke detectors. They need education.”
She acknowledges it was hard to return to her former block to distribute informational flyers a week before the installs, but she knows it may help save lives in her community.
Chantel is honoring the memory of her mother, Anginette, through her service.
“Take the time to tell your loved ones that you love them. Tell them what they mean to you.”
- By Alana Mauger
PHOTO: Chantel Robinson and her goddaughter Hailey helped install smoke alarms on their former block after a home fire. Photo by Alana Mauger/American Red Cross