By: Jennifer Astion, Northwest Region Volunteer

Leveraging her passion for personal growth and service to community, Namitha Reddy currently serves as Red Cross Club Coordinator for the American Red Cross Northwest Region.

She started volunteering with the Red Cross in September 2021. At that time, Reddy was a freshman at Skyline High School in Sammamish, WA. She was interested in helping her community because of the COVID epidemic and thought the Red Cross would be a great place to volunteer. 

As a high school student, the only way for her to volunteer with the Red Cross was by starting a club at her school. Reddy became a co-founder and later president of the Red Cross Club at Skyline High.

“A lot of people were interested in a service club. We had 30 people sign up for the first meeting,” she noted.

The club’s first project was to raise funds for “Vaccinate a Village,” a worldwide vaccination program of the Red Cross. At homecoming, the service club organized a Polaroid photo booth with proceeds going to the vaccination initiative.

Then, in February 2023, the service club hosted a blood drive at Skyline High School. “There were a lot of first-time donors,” Reddy explained. “We established a first-time donor base at our school.” 

As the Northwest Region Red Cross Club Coordinator, Reddy provides leadership training to 23 high school Red Cross Clubs.

“I give them information on projects and enroll people in Volunteer Connection,” she said.

Reddy hosts bi-monthly Teams meetings so club leaders can ask questions and learn about new volunteer opportunities. Some months, she volunteers as many as 35 hours in addition to her schoolwork. In addition to her volunteering and schoolwork, Reddy enjoys tennis, bike riding, and binging her favorite TV shows.

“I am very busy but I value time with friends and family, and time outside,” she said.

Because of this, she encourages other club members to take a balanced approach to volunteering.

“Don’t overwork yourself,” she said. 

After high school, Reddy plans to study pre-med and public health. Her overall goal is to work toward equitable health care around the world.

In the meantime, she strongly encourages other young people to volunteer with the Red Cross. “I 100% recommend this organization. I have grown so much and expanded my leadership skills,” she explained. “The Red Cross values youth involvement and visibility for youth.”

Are you a high school or college student looking to get involved with the Red Cross? Click here to learn more about opportunities!