In recognition of National Volunteer Month, the American Red Cross is celebrating the community heroes representing more than 90% of our workforce – our volunteers.  I am pleased to highlight Nancy Barlaugh, a key member of our Disaster Action Team from the Florida Gulf Coast to Heartland Chapter.  I recently had the pleasure of learning more about Nancy’s background and motivation to join the Red Cross and felt compelled to share her impressive story.

Nancy enjoys helping others and giving back to the community.  She loves to see the community come together through her work and contribute to a good cause.  Nancy is originally from Aurora, Illinois, but relocated to Florida as a young girl.  She eventually ended up in Clearwater, where she welcomed her daughter.  After getting married, she moved back to her hometown in Aurora, IL.

Nancy was inspired to start her own business in the home cleaning and daycare industries to provide services to low-income families and children with disabilities.  She also helped to place foster youth into homes and took several teenagers into her own home.  Nancy and her husband are hard workers who helped their community and local unions while living in the greater Chicago area.

In 2011, Nancy and her husband eventually moved back to Florida.  Then, a few years in 2019, Nancy began looking for opportunities to start a new chapter in her life.  After an afternoon visit to the local mall, Nancy and her sister Angela visited the Red Cross booth at a Hurricane Expo.

Initially, Nancy thought the Red Cross only assisted with CPR and blood donation services and was pleasantly surprised to learn about the other types of services the organization provides, including deploying to help after disasters and supporting families who’ve experienced a home fire.  It was then she decided to become a Red Cross volunteer.

Nancy volunteers with the Disaster Cycle Services team and has assisted after eight disasters since joining in 2019.  She especially enjoyed working in shelters and hearing individuals’ stories about what they have endured.  She leaves feeling inspired by their courage and tenacity and recalls working in shelters as a “truly humbling experience.”

In addition, Nancy is a Disaster Action Team (DAT) member.  DAT volunteers respond when a home fire has occurred and provide financial assistance, health and mental health services and recovery support.  She says when the Red Cross shows up to a home fire, the community looks like “hope has arrived.”

Nancy enjoys providing support and hope during such hard times.  She tells me that she is never sure what to expect when she arrives at the site of a fire but knowing that she can provide some hope and comfort to the family is an incredibly rewarding experience.

Every day, people are forced from their homes due to fires, storms, and other disasters.  Single and multi-family fires account for 90% of disaster responses.  You can be a part of a team that helps and responds to over 65,000 emergencies every year.  From offering a caring and compassionate ear to meeting the disaster-caused needs of individuals and households, such as lodging and clothing, and connecting them with long-term recovery services, our volunteers ensure that families don’t have to face tough times alone.

This Volunteer Month, the Red Cross is inviting you to put on a red vest and join our team.  Visit redcross.org/SFLVolunteer to get started today.

Written By Brianna Cook, American Red Cross Public Affairs