During COVID-19 and Back-to-Back Disasters, Veterans Support Communities
STATE COLLEGE – This Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2020, the American Red Cross honors and remembers veterans during this unprecedented time in our nation’s history.
The Red Cross is proud to acknowledge U.S. veterans who are choosing, once again, to serve on the front lines. Today, U.S. veterans are standing up with the Red Cross to stop the spread of the coronavirus affecting military and veteran communities across the globe.
“The Red Cross has supported military and veteran communities for nearly 140 years, including supporting World War I soldiers through the 1918 flu pandemic,” said Hope Roaten, executive director of the Mid Central Pennsylvania Chapter.
“Today, veterans across the country are bringing history full circle by lending a hand to safeguard their communities against COVID-19.”
Veteran volunteers are applying their unique, professional skills in a variety of ways. They are assisting doctors and nurses, granting medical staff more time to address urgent patients. Through the Hero Care Network, they answer emergency calls 24/7 to help separated military families.
Veterans are putting needle to thread and sewing thousands of face coverings to deliver to military and veteran hospitals in need. They are deploying and responding to back-to-back disasters.
They are conducting virtual workshops to combat feelings of isolation in injured veterans and their caregivers. They deliver care packages to quarantined military families in need.
In the Greater Pennsylvania Region, veterans have stepped up to support their communities by volunteering at veterans and military hospitals, providing virtual community outreach to military families, hosting virtual Resiliency workshops and assembling care packages for distributing to area veterans.
Additionally, during FY20 at the Mid Central Pennsylvania Chapter, the Service to the Armed Forces program:
- Opened 110 emergency cases to help ensure that military families’ needs are met when faced with an emergency.
- Opened 280 critical community service cases to help provide vital services and referrals to military members and their families.
“This year is unlike any other in our lifetime. The need is so great. It’s pretty humbling to realize you are part of such a great community of fellow veterans who are all willing to step up and support their communities whenever necessary” said Jonathan Glenn, regional director of service to the Armed Forces.
What You Can Do
Many Red Cross volunteers are veterans who continue to support their communities after their active duty service ends.
Also, about 6 percent of Red Cross employees include transitioning military or veterans – from nurses to logisticians, emergency management experts, project managers and preparedness experts, as well as a number of veterans in leadership roles at local Red Cross chapters across the country.
Tens of thousands of Red Cross volunteers also serve in Veterans Administration (VA) and military hospitals across the nation and around the world. These volunteers support such areas as rehabilitation, recreation, administration, and personal services to the men and women who are now cared for each day in these facilities.
To learn more about how you can give back in your community this Veterans Day, visit redcross.org/volunteer.