December 16, 1999 | Read Time: 4 minutes
Like countless charities this time of year, the 1,300 chapters of the American Red Cross are deluged with phone calls from
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individuals moved by the holiday spirit and looking for opportunities to volunteer.
But unlike many groups that are forced to turn people away because they can’t handle the influx, the Red Cross will find a volunteer project for just about anyone who wants to lend a helping hand. Often, Red Cross chapters turn volunteer surpluses into ways to generate new funds for the charity.
“We cannot ever slack in our recruitment and orientation of volunteers,” says Linda Ceilley, who together with her husband, Bernie, serves as national co-chair of volunteers for the Red Cross. “We are always pre-planning, thinking, and preparing for ways to involve volunteers,” she says.
That’s because the group cannot afford to turn prospective volunteers away. Indeed, each year, the charity relies on the services of some 1.3 million volunteers — 43 for every Red Cross employee, according to the Ceilleys — who combined have put in 68 years of volunteer service with the organization. The Red Cross depends on those volunteers to assist in disaster relief, coordinate blood drives, and perform a host of other assignments.
Nearly all Red Cross chapters have at least one staff member assigned to supervise volunteers. During the holidays, many chapters take on projects that require extra assistance, which makes it easier for them to pair volunteers with assignments.
For example, Bernie Ceilley says, hundreds of local chapters will ask volunteers to participate in holiday blood drives, not only by giving blood but also by transporting supplies from Red Cross blood-donation centers to local hospitals.
“It’s a time of year when many blood centers face a shortage because people aren’t thinking about giving blood. They’re visiting their relatives,” he says.
Also, holiday-related accidents increase the need for blood, Mr. Ceilley says.
Some chapters have found ways to turn holiday volunteer projects into fund-raising activities.
At the Tidewater chapter, in Norfolk, Va., for example, the group has for several years recruited volunteers to assist shoppers at Lynn Haven Mall, in nearby Virginia Beach, from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve.
The 100 or so volunteers, who range from high-school students to military personnel to retirees, open doors and help shoppers carry their packages to their cars. In return, the mall makes a donation to the Red Cross. Last year, it donated $5,000.
“People love to do it,” says Carrie Basso, public-relations coordinator for the Tidewater chapter. “It gives them a chance to get out in the community and be with people.” She adds, “A lot of people who did it last year are doing it again this year.”
The McLean County chapter in Illinois is another one that uses holiday volunteers to raise money. Each year the Illinois Wesleyan Student Nurses Association makes and sells holiday luminaria — candles placed in decorative paper bags for use as lawn decorations — donating the several hundred dollars in profits to the McLean County chapter.
Other chapters have found new opportunities to attract young volunteers by taking advantage of requests from schools looking for holiday projects for their kids to participate in.
The American Red Cross of Greater New York, for example, has 1,200 volunteers, ages 14 to 18, who are participating in a book and toy drive. Already they have collected 18,000 books, toys, compact disks, videos, and other items to donate to homeless children and families.
The effort is part of the Red Cross’s “Youth Affirmations” program, designed to get more kids involved in the organization and to groom them as community leaders.
In Washington, meanwhile, 7,000 children in 21 elementary schools are making Christmas stockings and filling them with candy and small toys. The stockings will then be distributed to needy families by high-school students.
Numerous chapters have also enlisted the help of elementary- school students to make holiday greeting cards. The cards are sent to military personnel stationed overseas, who in turn send them to family and friends back home.
After the holidays, local chapters usually follow up with volunteers by holding an event, such as a coffee or a tea, to thank them. Often such gestures of appreciation, as well as the group’s ability to manage volunteers successfully, will transform a holiday helper into a devoted volunteer — and donor.
Says Linda Ceilley: “If they have confidence in us, then they will be willing to share with us beyond their time.”
