By: Christopher Ho, Red Cross Youth Volunteer

In the beginning of high school, I first became engaged with the Red Cross mission when I worked in collaboration with volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to install free smoke detectors in disadvantaged neighborhoods through the Sound the Alarm program. I became extremely engaged with the Red Cross mission and the real-world impact you could make on people’s lives, as well as the fascinating stories and backgrounds of my fellow volunteers.

Shortly after, the pandemic hit, so I had to pivot to virtual volunteering. I became the International Humanitarian Law Youth Action Campaign Lead, where my team worked hard to engage our community on the rules of warfare. We had 2,500+ unique community interactions.

As we came back in-person, I knew we had to rebuild youth offerings for Red Cross Youth. As president of my high school’s Red Cross club, our club officers and members worked hard to give back to the community through Sound the Alarm, Missing Maps, disaster relief, and preparing dozens of kits for Veterans through SAF. We were able to become the most active club in our region.

Additionally, I joined the Youth Service Council (YSC) of my region. I cannot emphasize enough how beneficial a YSC is to Red Cross Youth engagement. It allows youth to design engaging volunteering events that are extremely engaging to 1,200+ Texas Gulf Coast Region Youth. I started out as Co-Events chair my first year and Executive Chair my final year.

 I’m proud of the work our YSC did to bring back the first in-person youth volunteering events to restock disaster ERVs (trailers with disaster supplies to rapidly convert buildings into shelters) which were later deployed to Florida during Hurricane Ian to allow hundreds of people to access disaster shelters. I also enjoyed hosting Leadership Development Conferences with 60+ youth where they got to learn about different lines of service, how to lead a club, get basic first aid training, and connect with fun games/events.

My high school Red Cross Journey was only possible because of the amazing Texas Gulf Coast Region Red Cross Youth Engagement Specialists Ms. Ann and Ms. Amina, my school club sponsor Ms. Decerbo, and the hard work of all youth volunteers!

Now, I am currently a college student, but I still stay engaged in the Red Cross via the National Collegiate Assembly. I currently represent the Northeast Region, and my goal is to better support clubs in more under-resourced areas.

I think my experience shows that there is a role for you at the Red Cross at any age and under any circumstances, even during a worldwide pandemic. I would challenge everyone to go out and volunteer!