March Is Red Cross Month: Central Pennsylvania Chapter Honors Volunteer

By: Nicole Roschella

Every March, the American Red Cross honors and celebrates the everyday heroes who help fulfill our mission. It’s a time to recognize the humanitarian spirit that inspires compassionate people to step up when help can’t wait.

Dave Myers has been a Red Cross volunteer for the past 15 years.

“When I was growing up, things weren’t all that easy for us, but we had people to help,” Myers said.

Myers recalled his first interaction with the Red Cross many years ago, when someone set a building on fire in Carlisle and the flames spread to his mother’s house.

“I saw the Red Cross checking people into the shelter. The power was down in the area, but they kept working, trying to help people like my mom,” Myers said.

That moment inspired Myers to join the organization and help his neighbors in need. His work with the Red Cross is primarily focused on disaster scenes. Recently, he responded to a large apartment fire at the Boiling Springs Mill building, a colonial-era landmark in Carlisle. Everyone got out safely but lost their homes and belongings.

Myers was stationed at a nearby firehouse to interview each resident in a quiet place and give them financial assistance, blankets and comfort kits. Myers says he and another Disaster Action Team member, Carolyn Bixler, stayed at the fire station until 3 a.m. to help the people who lost their homes.

“We stay until we feel like they don’t need us anymore. We wait until the last moment,” Myers said. “For me, the job’s not done until I get to that point when I see a small smile on their face, to let me know that I’ve done everything I can for them.”

Myers’ role is the first step in helping people who have been displaced by a disaster.

“We help them find a place to stay, get the smoke smell off them, eat a warm meal. Then in the next 24 hours they’ll get a call from a Red Cross caseworker to handle their recovery needs,” Myers said.

Although the Red Cross is a big part of Myers’ life, his humanitarian efforts come after a full workday at a warehouse. At one point, Myers averaged 53 hours a week volunteering with the Red Cross on top of his 40-hour workweek.

“There are some nights I only get a couple hours of sleep because I get woken up at night to respond to a disaster,” Myers said, “but it’s those moments when people give you a hug and say thank you or when the firefighters acknowledge the Red Cross for stopping by. People appreciate you and it gives you a little bit of energy to be ready for the next call.”

Myers said he tried out volunteer roles at other nonprofits, but he didn’t feel like he fit in.

“I’ve met so many good people at the Red Cross, training and working with me,” Myers said. “One thing I like about the Red Cross is that you’re not pushed into doing something you’ve always done. You can do something different. It’s how much time you want to put into it. If that’s a couple hours a week or a couple hours a day – it’s your choice.”

Myers said his best memory from his time volunteering with the Red Cross is from his deployment to Panama Beach, Florida in 2018 for Hurricane Michael relief efforts.

“We were going from house to house throughout neighborhoods asking if they needed supplies. Some people told us we were the first people they saw since the National Guard came through,” Myers said. “It feels good to see people helping each other.”

Join Red Cross Month by visiting redcross.org to make a financial donation, give blood, become a volunteer or take a class in lifesaving skills, such as first aid and CPR. On March 23, you can also join our annual Red Cross Giving Day campaign by donating at redcross.org/givingday to help provide shelter, food, relief items, emotional support and other assistance for people affected by disasters big and small.

Cancer Survivor's Family Hopes to Drive Donations During Blood Supply Shortage in Her Honor

By: Nicole Roschella

In the Back Mountain area of Pennsylvania, near Wilkes-Barre, she’s known in the community simply as “Ms. Lori.” Lori Russell ran a childcare center there for 20 years and owned her own childcare business for the last 16 years. She raised children who grew up and brought their own families to the center to be cared for by Ms. Lori. 

Since September, Russell has been fighting Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It progresses rapidly without treatment.

“The doctor told us, had she not received treatment within weeks, she would not have survived," Nikki Wilkes, Russell’s daughter, said.

Now, Russell and her family are hosting a Red Cross blood drive in her honor, the day after she was scheduled to receive a bone marrow transplant.

When Russell was in the hospital, she had difficulty retaining platelets, but the hospital’s supply was so scarce that doctors did not give her transfusions unless her count was extremely low. In addition, some of the blood transfusions she received were not an exact match because of supply issues.

“It became very apparent how dire the blood and platelet supply situation is,” her daughter said. “To think that doctors have to choose between which patients receive blood and platelets is devastating.”

It was Russell’s idea for their family to host a blood drive to address the need. This is the first time that anybody in her community will learn that she has cancer.

“In true fashion of our family, we take on the cause like it’s our own,” her daughter said. “We take a really lousy situation — no matter what it is — and just give back. That’s how she raised us.”

Russell’s mantra is, “It takes a village,” and now she is looking to her local community to step up and make a difference in the national blood supply crisis.

“I think we sometimes forget there are ways to give back to the community that have absolutely nothing to do with money and financial situations. You don’t have to be financially privileged to donate blood,” Wilkes said. “You can do this for free, and this can literally save someone in your family or a complete stranger. How can you top that?”

Wilkes said, before experiencing her mother’s medical situation, she did not realize cancer patients would be recipients of donated blood and platelets.

“You shouldn’t wait until something happens to make a positive impact. I'm guilty of that. And here we are — hoping to make things better,” Wilkes said.

Generous community members have filled all the appointments for this specific blood drive in honor of Lori Russell. You can schedule your blood or platelet donation at any of our other drives by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS.