The Red Cross is my #1 favorite organization. I’ve had oh-so-many-years of Red Cross involvement, dating back to my swimming lessons from Petie Littfin when I was five years old at Allens’ Beach on Lake Mary near Winsted, Minnesota.
Fast forward to today. I’m a Red Cross “Ambassador”, public affairs volunteer, and swimming teacher. This past Saturday night I went to the annual Red Cross gala. There was a happy, caring spirit in the air, and when you walked in the door to the ballroom, you knew you were at a Red Cross event. There was a mocked-up scene from a disaster shelter and disaster response supplies. There was a nice mix of festivity and organizational mission. There were women in gorgeous ball gowns, men in tuxedos, volunteers demonstrating proper arm splinting techniques, and college kids selling raffle tickets (and if you bought a raffle ticket, you got a big ol’ flashing light ring, which went well with tuxedos and cocktail dresses.)
Local news anchor — the dashing Randy Beamer — was the funny, energetic, and sometimes joyfully inappropriate MC. NBC weatherman Al Roker was the guest speaker. He told the 450+ people in the audience, “No matter what happens, regardless of what it is, the Red Cross is there,” and said that when the weather teams arrive at a weather emergency (a hurricane, for instance), the Red Cross is already on site. Roker also staged an impromptu auction (with himself as the auctioneer) at the end of the evening, offering a tour for four of the Today Show set and an appearance on the weather segment of the show with Al, garnering a $5,000 donation to the Red Cross.
The Red Cross responds to an average of 1.5 disasters each day in San Antonio. Over 90% of the Red Cross personnel are volunteers. Saturday night’s gala will help all of that good work of neighbors helping neighbors continue.