By Alexis Gonzalez

For Rosa Salinas, volunteering with the American Red Cross is more than a way to spend her time. It fulfills a promise she made decades ago.

Nearly every day, Salinas walks into the Red Cross Panhandle Plains chapter office with a smile, ready to help wherever she is needed. Whether she's assisting with volunteer recruitment, supporting outreach efforts alongside volunteer services staff or completing administrative duties around the office, Salinas embraces every opportunity to serve.

After more than two years as a Red Cross volunteer, she says she found exactly what she was looking for: a place to help others, give back and share love with those who need it most.

“I always wanted to do something good,” Salinas said.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, and raised in the area, Salinas lived in Plainview for 45 years before returning to her hometown. Shortly after moving back, she met a Red Cross representative through a community program for seniors. The connection led to a volunteer opportunity, and Salinas jumped in right away.

"It was very exciting," Salinas said. "I had just moved back here, so it really helped me. I found a place where I belonged."

Salinas’ desire to help others started long before she became a volunteer. When she was just seven years old, her family's home burned down. She still vividly remembers the support her family received from the Red Cross after the fire.

"They gave us a place to stay that night," she said. "I remember telling my grandmother, 'One of these days, I'm going to work with them.'"

Life took Salinas down many paths before she joined the Red Cross. She worked as a teacher, became a certified nurse's aide, studied computer technology and paralegal work, opened and operated a business with her husband and raised a family. Today, she is the proud mother of four children, grandmother of 15 grandchildren and great-grandmother of 16.

Her family knows retirement isn't on Salinas' agenda anytime soon.

"They tell me it's time to retire and I tell them it’s not," she said, with a smile. "If you're having fun, there's no need to slow down."

What keeps her coming back is the people.

"I enjoy my work. I enjoy being here," she said. "Everyone makes me feel at home."

She especially enjoys traveling to events, meeting new people and sharing the Red Cross mission. Earlier this year, Salinas took her commitment one step further by donating blood for the first time during a Red Cross blood drive in April.

"I love helping people," she said. "I love being there if they need me."

The love she shared with her husband of 47 years shaped her spirit of service. Through illness and hardship, Salinas remained by his side until his final breath. Today, she carries those lessons of trust, faith and compassion into everything she does.

"We're nothing without faith," she said. "We never know what's going to happen to us. Other people need our help. They need support. They need somebody to tell them everything is going to be okay."

For Salinas, volunteering isn't just about giving back. It's about living with purpose, sharing kindness and reminding people that they are never alone.

And for anyone wondering whether they can make a difference, her advice is simple:

"Never say never. Yes, you can."