By Abby Walker, Red Cross

Deb Phelps is a helper by nature, sometimes by necessity. She has been a volunteer with the American Red Cross for more than six years, after serving as a nurse-midwife for more than five decades. She was molded into a caregiver even earlier.

Deb was the oldest of 5 kids, tightly packed into 6 years and a teeny house.  She remembers doing a lot for her family while her parents worked full-time; their dad, a door-to-door salesman and mom, a nurse working horrible shifts for a paltry hourly wage. 

Deb followed in her mom’s footsteps, serving her community as a nurse, focused on helping others.  

In the fall of 2017, she got her first glimpse into how the Red Cross helps others.

It started with a phone call from her daughter, detailing a horrible fire in Santa Rosa, California. Deb wanted to help.

Arriving at the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, she saw the power of the Red Cross in action. Volunteers caring for those impacted by this disaster: staffing shelters, delivering meals, and providing support.  

She had her nursing license, a fanny pack full of medical supplies, and after some vetting by the local team, Deb went to work. It was the first of more than 40 deployments to disaster operations as a Red Cross Nurse.     

She has traveled to floods, one earthquake, wildfires, tornadoes, a typhoon and too many hurricanes – including Hurricane Helene in the fall of 2024. Each time she deploys, she encounters dedicated volunteers and staff who strive to care for the survivors of these events and help them begin their recovery.   

The bulk of the work happens in shelters: replacing medication and medical equipment. But Deb says the tasks outside the official job description have meant the most.

“In Texas, I repaired a man's flip-flops, which meant a lot to him, even though they were in rough shape. In Mount Vernon, I assisted a person with disabilities who was experiencing homelessness, helping them get their first shower in months. In Minnesota, I was able to provide life-saving CPR to a woman who had been reluctant to go to dialysis,” she said.

Deb also put her experience and expertise as a midwife to good use, “I did prenatal education for a pregnant teen mom just a few weeks from delivery. She knew nothing at all about birthing babies so over the course of a few days, the midwife in me got her as prepared as I could.” That baby would be about 5 years old now.

Deb now serves the Red Cross as a supervisor, managing volunteers much like her. She says her role is to assist teammates through challenging situations while mentoring them to become future leaders in the Red Cross.  

“This role has helped me to grow as a person as well,” she says.  “I can see that all the nurturing I’ve done through all stages of my life – from folding freshly washed diapers for my mom as a child – to coaching a new team member here in our Northwest Washington chapter are all part of my lifelong commitment to serving my fellow humans.”