Story told by Saskia Lindsay

On December 10th, 2021, catastrophic tornadoes devastated Kentucky and the surrounding states. Dozens of deadly tornadoes touched down that week across multiple states in the center of the country, leaving behind considerable damage and heartbreak.

At least 74 lives were lost. The American Red Cross of South Carolina sent 21 volunteers to help people impacted by the catastrophic disaster. Anna Morgan who, at the time, was a brand new volunteer received a call to deploy.

"I signed up to volunteer in September and unbeknownst to me, three months later, the tornadoes hit Kentucky in December and I got the call to see if I was able to deploy and I left the next day," said Anna.

More than 535 people found shelter in over ten Red Cross and community emergency shelters in the hardest-hit communities in Kentucky. Thousands of people lost everything they had. With thousands of homes affected and damage spanning some 250 miles, this response was a team effort. Anna says she is proud of the work she and her fellow volunteers were able to do on the ground, and she was amazed by the strength of the families impacted by the tornadoes.

"I knew absolutely no one when I got there and ended up meeting - I think there was close to 500 volunteers there and it was absolutely, absolutely incredible," said Anna.

The Red Cross worked very closely with the entire response community — government agencies, community groups and others — to coordinate emergency relief efforts and get help to people as quickly as possible.

"More than anything, it was impactful. It was impossible to not be reminded of why you were there," said Anna. "You made so many connections with the community members. They were so thankful to have us there, but it was mutual. They stuck with me when I came back. I still think about them and the impact that they had on our lives."

With such widespread damage and thousands of homes affected, Red Cross volunteers stayed in Kentucky for weeks to support the families impacted. Anna remained in Kentucky the entire two weeks, volunteering through Christmas.

"A lot of people see these volunteer positions and think, 'oh, I don't have time, or I have family or I work full time,' but any bit of help makes a difference," said Anna.