American Red Cross Seeks Volunteers for Shelter and Blood Donor Screening

The American Red Cross (redcross.org) is looking for volunteers to fill key roles in the community, especially to support shelter efforts and to serve as blood-donor and facility screening assistants. The coronavirus pandemic has made it challenging to deploy trained disaster volunteers from other parts of the country, should an emergency occur, so the Red Cross needs area residents to step up for these needs.

There is a particular need for volunteers to support sheltering services, as the Red Cross is placing those people needing a safe place to stay into emergency hotel lodging, when possible. If hotel stays aren’t possible, the nonprofit will open traditional shelters. To help keep people safe, they have put additional precautions in place and developed special training for their workforce. Volunteers are needed to staff shelter reception, registration, feeding, dormitory, information collection, and other vital services for those they serve. If you’re interested in helping the community in the event of a disaster, please visit redcross.org/volunteer today.

The Red Cross also has an urgent need for volunteers to serve as screeners for blood donors and facilities. In these positions, volunteers welcome blood donors and other visitors to blood drives or Red Cross facilities and screen their temperatures to ensure maintenance of a healthy environment for donors, staff, and volunteers. Minimal training is required, and precautions are in place to keep volunteers safe. To find an opportunity in your area, visit the Volunteer Connection on redcross.org.