Written by Anna Kumor, Red Cross Volunteer
Women have played an important role in fulfilling the lifesaving American Red Cross mission since Clara Barton founded the organization more than 140 years ago. Known as the “Angel of the Battlefield,” Clara had cared for wounded soldiers during the Civil War before establishing the Red Cross in the U.S., where she was a visionary leader in serving those in need.
Volunteers like Mary Bock continue on her legacy by serving their communities as Red Cross volunteers. Despite being a relatively new Red Cross volunteer, she was ready to jump into disaster deployments. She joined the Red Cross in January 2023 and within a year, she deployed to devastating disasters like Typhoon Mawar on Guam and the Maui wildfires. She has helped with numerous local responses in Santa Barbara County with the sheltering team and as a disaster recovery caseworker.
Mary has a background in social work and in disaster service work in remote locations, so she was prepared to handle whatever conditions in which she found herself. Mary recalls from her deployment to Guam that weather was tropical, hot and humid. The shelter residents were living with no air conditioning, as were the volunteers working without air conditioning. But, Mary proudly states that resourceful Red Cross volunteers were able to bring in fans and eventually transfer the shelter residents in buses to a more comfortable location.
Mary describes the dedication and ingenuity of her fellow Red Cross volunteers, “I’ve said to people ‘that was great casework,’ when they recognized a problem that didn’t have an immediate solution, but they realized how to work around it to find help.” During her virtual deployment to Lahaina, Mary was able to coordinate optical care for one shelter resident and get her the new glasses she needed. Mary explains that the Red Cross network works quickly and efficiently. “It’s something we do on the computer. We can make a referral immediately, during our first interview (with shelter residents)… and they (local resources) usually, in my experience, have gotten back to them within hours.”
Mary pulls out her phone and scrolls through the photos. “The most beautiful thing I got was this was from a 5-year-old who was basically nonverbal. I think I heard her speak two or three times, and she would come and sit next to me at the desk and draw.”
Mary relates heartwarming stories of Red Cross volunteers creating a sense of community for shelter residents. “We had at least two residents that were very pregnant. They went to the hospital to deliver, and in the meantime the volunteers set up a nursery. And it was lovely. It was great. It had a chair and bassinet and it was separated from everybody else, so that there weren’t any germs being passed around. When they came back from the hospital, they got this great nursery with toys, and all that! So hopefully it made her feel better. I know it was a good experience for me. You have to deal with all the everyday things that happened to them. One girl who was graduating from high school… you know, you have to do something that was just extra; not just normal but special. Even though they don’t have their home anymore and it’s a very sad thing to go through high school graduation, kids birthday and have to live in a shelter. At least they had a party.”
“I think was the most important part is knowing that people came together and made a special time for them even while in the shelter; to know that they’re cared about. That is a really, really important part, and one of the things that Red Crossers do very well. I mean just one-on-one, those people (shelter residents) know they’re cared about.”
This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women who stepped up to help across our region, exemplifying Clara’s humanitarian spirit and courageously supporting communities when help is needed most. To join volunteers like Mary, please visit redcross.org/volunteer.
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