Storm hits close to home for local volunteer
March 6, 2007
DEDICATED VOLUNTEER: Kaitlyn and Priscilla Collins continue to help their community in need. (Photo: Jeffery L. Biggs/American Red Cross)
By Christi Harlan, For the American Red Cross
ENTERPRISE, Ala. – March 6, 2007 Delores Swensen reported for duty today as volunteer for logistics at the Coffee County Chapter of the American Red Cross in Enterprise, Ala., five days after a tornado killed nine people, including eight high school students.Although the Coffee County Chapter immediately began to shelter and feed tornado victims in Enterprise, Swensen had a good excuse for her delayed arrival: her home was one of 243 to suffer major damage in Friday’s storms in Alabama. Another 250 homes were destroyed, and 360 were damaged or affected.
Swensen is one of thousands of Red Cross workers across the United States who each year set aside personal hardship to don their red-and-white vests and help their neighbors recover from disaster.
“These are people who are trained, skilled, experienced volunteers who have responded to numerous disasters,” said Elaine Roberts, director of disaster relief operations for the Coffee County Chapter. “This time, the disaster was in their own town. They are to be commended for their service and commitment.”
The Coffee County Chapter is almost entirely volunteer-staffed; the chapter has only two paid staff. In mid-January, the chapter performed a disaster exercise.
“The irony was that a tornado in Enterprise was the scenario they chose for the exercise,” said Joseph Cilano, chapter solutions manager for the Red Cross Southeast Service Area. “I’ve facilitated a dozen of these exercises, and this was the only one I’ve done in which all of the participants were volunteers. That’s very unusual.
“They did well in the exercise,” Cilano said, “and they’ve done a phenomenal job in this disaster operation.”
In Coffee County, a total of seven Red Cross volunteers saw their own homes destroyed or damaged by the March 1 tornado and still joined the disaster relief operations afterward.
“We’ve got one volunteer whose home is totally gone, and he hasn’t missed a day (on the disaster operation),” said Sue Beckman, Coffee County Chapter manager.
Other volunteers were affected by the disaster in other ways.
Kaitlyn Collins, a junior at Enterprise High School, is the daughter of Priscilla Collins, volunteer public affairs specialist with the Coffee County Chapter. Kaitlyn, 16, was in the science wing of the high school, where some of the students were killed, but she was unhurt. Still, it took Priscilla 90 minutes to be reunited with her daughter.
Priscilla reported for duty as a public affairs specialist less than 24 hours later without hesitation.
“How could I hesitate?” she said. “This is my town, my community, my school, my church. How could I not help?”
Beckman, the chapter manager, said her team may be volunteers, but they function like professionals.
“This disaster has been harder because our own people have been affected,” she said. “But they set their own tragedy aside to help their community. That’s what the Red Cross is about.”
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