Red Cross Volunteers Save Lives Across All 50 States

When Kent Terry turned 64, most people might think about slowing down. Instead, he trained as a Red Cross lifeguard and saved a young boy's life.

Kent is one of more than 300,000 volunteers keeping the American Red Cross running across the country. These everyday heroes make up 90 percent of the organization's workforce, responding to disasters, donating blood, and helping families through their darkest moments.

For Jim Williford from North Carolina, volunteering is a family tradition that started during World War II. His parents met at a Red Cross center in Paris while serving overseas, using it as a safe place to reconnect between deployments. When his uncle was wounded in battle, the Red Cross helped the family find him and reunite the brothers.

Today, Jim and his wife Sally continue that legacy. He delivers blood to hospitals and helps families in disaster shelters, honoring the same organization that once supported his own family during uncertain times.

Then there's Uchizi Phakati, a registered nurse in New England who answers disaster calls at any hour. She remembers Stephen, who stood outside his burning home clutching a single suitcase, the only possession he saved. Because of volunteers like Uchizi, Stephen received immediate shelter, resources, and support when he had nowhere else to turn.

Kent's journey shows how volunteer work can grow and evolve. After delivering heaters to 200 flooded homes in Marseilles, Illinois, he kept finding new ways to help. He's now donated blood more than 20 times, organized blood drives, installed smoke alarms, and mentored students at his local community college.

His personal motto captures the spirit of all Red Cross volunteers: "I want to help as many as I can, as much as I can, for as long as I can, until I can't do any more."

The Ripple Effect

The impact of these volunteers extends far beyond individual acts of kindness. Every blood delivery, every disaster response, and every middle-of-the-night phone call creates a chain reaction of hope. When Jim helps at a blood drive, he's potentially saving three lives with each donation collected. When Kent mentors students, he's creating the next generation of volunteers who will carry forward that same spirit of service.

National Volunteer Week runs April 19 through 25, celebrating people who give their time to make communities stronger and safer. These volunteers prove that helping others isn't about age, background, or special skills. It's about showing up, again and again, to leave every situation better than you found it.