By: Trista Lay

When longtime volunteer Mary Franklin first started as a swim instructor with the American Red Cross in the 1970s, she says it did not once cross her mind that she would still be a volunteer half a century later.

“When I started out, I was only looking to gain skills teaching swimming lessons and lifeguarding,” Mary says.

In the five decades since her first time volunteering, however, Mary has fulfilled various roles across the organization. In college, Mary swam competitively and initially began as a teacher in water safety and lifeguarding but since then she has gone on to work across all five lines of service within the American Red Cross – Disaster Relief, Biomedical Services, Training Services, Service to the Armed Forces and International Services.

Her volunteer work with the Red Cross has endured across international borders for both International Services and Training Services. In addition to remaining an active volunteer in the 1980s when she and her family lived in Germany, she also volunteered in countries like Belize, Myanmar, Vietnam and Japan. Mary is slated to once again return to Germany this year to train military members.

Beyond fulfilling roles across borders and as an instructor, she also contributes to the Red Cross mission in other ways. Due to having previously lived in Germany, Mary was restricted from donating blood until the FDA changed their guidelines a few years ago. She has since resumed donating blood on a regular basis, making up for lost time. In addition, she is also a member of the local East Tennessee chapter board as well as the National Philanthropic board and is an instructor for virtual classes on behalf of Volunteer Services, the equivalent to a Human Resources department for all Red Cross volunteers.

Of the years of experiences Mary has gained as a Red Cross volunteer, she recalls a specific experience that happened recently at her home chapter that has stuck with her. According to Mary, an immigrant from the Middle East arrived at the Knoxville office and requested assistance with contacting the agency in charge of his immigration status and hearing as he had been having trouble reaching them. The moment was a particularly monumental one for Mary, because it showed the true meaning of the American Red Cross symbol.

“He knew where the Red Cross was, and he knew if he came to the Red Cross, he would get help because that sign is an international symbol for part of a global network, and he knew we’d be able to help him,” Mary recalled.

Mary was recently recognized at the East Tennessee chapter’s annual volunteer celebration luncheon for her 50 years with the Red Cross. Executive Director Sharon Hudson commended Mary’s years of volunteering.

“We are fortunate to have her as one of our volunteers and we look forward to what adventures she gets involved with next,” Sharon said.

For potential volunteers, Mary encourages them to seek out and learn more about the different avenues that the organization has to offer volunteers. As she notes, the Red Cross “is a large organization, and if you’ve got skill sets, we can put you to work.”

You can learn more about becoming a volunteer by visiting redcross.org/volunteer.