Volunteer Profile: How Zoe Anderson will help to Sound the Alarm this Spring with Red Cross

by Stan Frank

This Spring, the American Red Cross will initiate the most ambitious national Home Fire Campaign ever held. Called Sound the Alarm. Save a Life., the event will take place between April 28 and May 13, 2018. During this time, the Red Cross volunteers and partners will install, free of charge, more than 100,000 smoke alarms in high-risk neighborhoods throughout the country.

There are so many ways to get involved. From going door to door to canvass neighborhoods to serving as a logistics volunteer to working with our information management team, there is a position available for whatever interests you.

We recently surveyed a number of Red Cross volunteers and here’s what Zoe Anderson said about her past volunteer experiences:

Zoe Anderson, logistics volunteer with the home fire campaign

What motivated you initially to become a Red Cross volunteer with the Home Fire Campaign?

I was motivated by my sister, Hortensia ("Rok")Anderson. She has been a volunteer since 2014 when the [Home Fire] campaign started. Often when she would come in from her shift, she would tell me how her day went and it sounded intriguing, and I wanted to learn more about how the Red Cross installs smoke detectors for free in homes.

What kind of volunteering have you done with the Home Fire Campaign?

After having a sneak peak of what my sister did on a regular shift, I decided to go all in. I signed up with the Red Cross, joined the Home Fire Campaign, and began training in how to educate clients, install smoke detectors, and document vital information about the clients and their family members. I continued on to become the Home Fire Campaign Coordinator for the Bronx, where I coordinated all of the programs and activities in the borough. Currently, I am the Home Fire Campaign’s Logistics Lead for New York City, where I oversee all of the logistical activities for all five boroughs.

Can you give an example of a satisfying experience you had while volunteering with the Home Fire Campaign?

My first major event was most satisfying when I saw the lengths to which the Red Cross goes to help people in need.

What would you say to someone thinking of volunteering with the Home Fire Campaign?

I would tell them to do it! It’s an important venture that the Red Cross and the Fire Departments across the country have developed to help prevent home fire related deaths by 25% or more. You will definitely meet and enjoy working with people from a diverse and caring community.

Thanks Zoe for sharing your experience with us!

Join us this fall to Sound the Alarm and help #EndHomeFires

Visit SoundTheAlarm.org or Volunteer Connection (existing Red Cross volunteers) to learn more and sign up today!