By Joan Brasher, American Red Cross volunteer

A little over a year ago, I was sitting in my Nashville home watching the news as Hurricane Ian barreled across the state of Florida, leaving destruction and loss of life in its wake. I felt so helpless. I was completely unprepared to respond to a weather emergency, but I wanted to be. I went online and signed up to be an American Red Cross volunteer that very day.

In the following weeks and months, I took Red Cross’s online training modules to become certified in sheltering and feeding. For good measure I also took classes on CPR, first aid and disaster communications.

I offered to help with administrative tasks at the Nashville chapter and saw the dedicated individuals lining up in the lobby to donate blood and plasma. I began to see all the different ways Red Cross volunteers were providing physical and emotional support near and far — from wildfires in Hawaii to the Covenant Presbyterian School shooting in Nashville.

In December 2023, a little over a year after Hurricane Ian, I put my training into action when deadly tornadoes descended upon Middle Tennessee. I answered the call for volunteers to set up a Red Cross shelter in a North Nashville middle school gymnasium.

When I arrived, trailers full of cots, blankets and care kits were being unloaded and a command center established. Local restaurant partners like Outback Steakhouse and Cracker Barrel were being contacted to provide meals. Communications were established with local law enforcement, TEMA, the OEM, the local media and nonprofits like the Community Resource Center. I was in awe of the speed and efficiency of the Red Cross’s triage response.

For a week I did whatever was asked of me. I helped unload pallets of bottled water, served meals and emptied trash cans. I helped track down boxes of diapers, formula and a portable crib for a new mom with a two-week-old baby whose power was out. I read books to two little girls whose home had a tree in the middle of the living room.

I sat and listened to a man in his 70s describing how he survived the walls of his home caving in. His house was a total loss, and his dog Remy, an elderly arthritic beagle, had gone missing in the storm. With the help of local police and the Humane Society, we were able to reunite him with Remy — and keep them both fed, safe and dry until a family member could drive in from out of state.

After a week, the shelter emptied out and many of the volunteers were deployed to a larger shelter in Clarksville that still needed support. I helped pack up all of the cots, care kits and blankets and loaded them into a trailer that was hauled back to headquarters. I went home and slept for two days.

In the beginning I doubted I had what it took to be a Red Cross volunteer. It turns out that compassion and a heart for people are all you need to get started. If you are passionate about service, you will undoubtedly find your niche, whether large or small, at the Red Cross.

The next time you are watching the news and your heart aches for people in your community, across the country, or halfway around the world, ask yourself what you are waiting for.

Taking one small step like I did could change your life — and someone else’s.

Get started now at redcross.org/volunteerTN.