Volunteer Voice A publication from American Red Cross, European Division
January 2018, Vol. 5
New Year, New You, New Volunteers Christine Spalding, Division Partner Europe
As I write this article I am flying from Boston to Washington D.C. on New Year’s Day; there seems to be some significance to this. Boston is the city of our American Revolution: bold ideas, courage, community. Out with the old and in with the new. Bostonians in the 1700s looked to tomorrow and to our future as a nation. They understood that their individual efforts were part of a bigger something and better life for all. DC is the place where we solidified our spot as a country. Our government headquarters is there, the place where We the People said “Okay, let’s do this thing!” Our American Red Cross National Headquarters is located literally across the road from the White House and next to the headquarters for the Daughters of the American Revolution. I find great tie-ins from our American history to the past and future of our Red Cross. In 1881, our founder Clara Barton realized things had to change. We needed to be better at taking care of our wounded and citizens after witnessing the events of another chapter in U.S. history, the American Civil War. It took courage to say we need to create an organization different from others, that we need to be bold in our thinking and take the best possible care of our communities. It meant listening to the ideas of others about processes, funding, and creating a presence in our nation’s capital. It was a time of taking a collective of people and ideas to build something that was enduring and meaningful. Not everyone agreed with Clara Barton, not by a long shot. Not everyone had the same plan of attack. However, everyone knew that there needed to be an organization that looked to tomorrow and ensured Brittany Parker & Chris Spalding communities were well cared for. Today’s Red Cross is no different. As we start the new year there will be a need to fill leadership roles, Community Volunteer Lead and Station Volunteer Partner roles, and supporting volunteer roles that are seriously necessary, too. Through knowing what the division, station, program, and individual goals of volunteers are, you can help each other to maintain the vision of taking the best possible care of not only our military family our stateside Article continued on next page.
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