Finding Fulfillment in Volunteering: John’s Story

“It’s such a great organization. It has been the most fulfilling time of my life. I really encourage anyone – if you’re looking for something to do, please check out the Red Cross. You won’t be sorry.”
-John Ramsey

John Ramsey of Decatur started volunteering for the South Central Illinois chapter of the American Red Cross in 2016. One of his favorite roles is installing smoke alarms with fellow Red Cross volunteers, as part of the Sound the Alarm program.

“A lot of people don’t know all the things Red Cross does, and installing smoke alarms is a big one,” he says.

In addition to installing smoke alarms, John serves on the disaster team and responds to home fires, helping people with their immediate needs. Seeing both sides of this process has been a powerful experience for him.

“You can’t understand the fulfillment it gives you, the gratification to help somebody else and know that you may help them avoid a terrible situation,” John says. “We invite you to come help us. It’s great fun and camaraderie with people. I have developed really good friendships from it, and it’s a great experience.”

John’s dedicated efforts have helped produce significant outcomes. Watch this video to find out how he helped save two lives, by installing smoke alarms with another volunteer at a home in Decatur.

Thank you, John for volunteering your time and talents! Visit redcross.org to sign up as a Red Cross volunteer.

Written by Illinois Region Communications Manager Brian Williamsen

Sound the Alarm: Saving Lives During Home Fires

Since the inception of the American Red Cross home fire campaign, more than 1,500 lives have been saved throughout the U.S. Five of those lives were saved during two fires in the South Central Illinois chapter of the Illinois region.

In Decatur, Red Cross volunteers previously had installed smoke alarms at this location that alerted the two residents to the fire and helped them escape safely.

In Springfield, smoke alarms installed by the Springfield Fire Department helped save three people’s lives during a home fire, there.

These smoke alarms were installed during Red Cross Sound the Alarm events. Numerous smoke alarm installation events are scheduled for this March. Click here to sign up as a volunteer for one or several of those events.

Check out these short videos, showing why it is so important to have working smoke alarms in your residence, and why our volunteers and community partners like local fire departments encourage you to get involved in the Sound the Alarm program.

Getting Involved: Beverly and Emilie

Beverly Tomita and Emilie Lemieux

Getting involved and helping other people are priorities for Beverly Tomita and Emilie Lemieux. Now, they are encouraging their peers to get involved and join them as volunteers.

Beverly and Emilie are medical students in the Champaign-Urbana area. Together, they are working to build up a base of volunteers at their school, with a focus on disaster and emergency medicine.

Both have volunteered with the American Red Cross before; most recently during a Sound the Alarm home fire safety event. The duo visited numerous homes in the Bloomington-Normal area this May, installing smoke alarms and sharing home fire safety information with residents.

“This is a very valuable learning experience for us, because we are learning about fire safety as well as teaching the community about important disaster preparedness tips, and getting some life skills, too.”
-Beverly Tomita

“It’s awesome to see how excited people are to see you help them. It’s a very rewarding feeling inside, to see how the community opens their arms to you.”
-Emilie Lemieux

Beverly and Emilie hope to spark interest in volunteering in their fellow students, while continuing to serve others by helping the Red Cross.

For Emilie, volunteering gives her “valuable exposure and experience with different aspects of serving.”

Beverly enjoys the opportunities available to serve others, both locally and around the world. She says, “It’s a really great way to get involved and give back to the community, while living the student life.”

We are thankful for Beverly and Emilie’s time and efforts in supporting our mission! Visit redcross.org/volunteer to find a volunteer opportunity in your community.

Written by Illinois Region Communications Manager Brian Williamsen

Red Cross and Partners Team Up to Sound the Alarm in Peoria

American Red Cross volunteers and community partners gathered in Peoria Thursday, May 5 to install free smoke alarms in dozens of homes and share home fire safety information with residents.

The event kicked off the 2022 Sound the Alarm campaign in the Illinois region. Volunteers will be installing smoke alarms in numerous communities in the region in coming weeks – 50,000 in total, throughout the U.S.

Volunteers gathered at the Red Cross chapter office in Peoria, where Peoria Fire Department officials instructed them on how to properly install the smoke alarms. Teams of two or three went out into the community from there, to educate homeowners on fire escape plans and complete the installations. Volunteers installed 74 smoke alarms in homes of Peoria residents.

“It is important that we partner with other community leaders to promote fire safety,” said Jesse Getz, CEO of Getz Fire Equipment. “It was very rewarding. Any time you can volunteer to help others in your community, it’s just a great experience.”

Click here to see more photos of the Peoria event.

Thank you to the following community partners for helping make this possible:

Ameren
ATS
Caterpillar
Commerce Bank
Getz Fire Equipment
Maxim Healthcare Services
Peoria Fire Department
Salvation Army

The Sound the Alarm program is part of the Red Cross home fire campaign, which has helped saved 1,275 lives since launching in October 2014.

Written by Illinois Region Communications Manager Brian Williamsen