Story by Sharon Squires

Born and raised in California, Vicki Pelton was deeply inspired to help people after a nine-month trip to Africa. Seeing poverty-stricken people tugged at her heartstrings and she felt compelled deeply to give back in some way. Once back on U.S. soil, the Mountain View resident signed up with the Palo Alto Area Chapter of the Red Cross (currently known as the Silicon Valley Chapter), beginning her 34-year journey as a Red Cross volunteer.

Over the years, Vicki has learned and fulfilled multiple roles, or Group-Activity-Positions (GAP) with the Red Cross, including Recovery, Logistics, and Disaster Services Technology (DST). She enjoys the fact that the Red Cross constantly creates new positions and provides opportunities to train for those new roles. She just finished training for a position within the Disaster Cycle Services team as part of the E3 initiative: Every Shelter, Every Day and Every Need. This initiative streamlines the supply distribution for all shelters during a Disaster Response Operation.

While active within her own chapter, she also takes the opportunity to help elsewhere. Vicki has deployed to more than 30 Disaster Relief Operations across the country. During her first year as a volunteer, and thanks to her freelance work in computer programming, she was able to deploy for six months to six different disasters, one month each.

Vicki’s first deployment was to assist Florida residents impacted by Hurricane Andrew, in 1992. She remembers it as, “the most devastating disaster that ever hit the U.S.” Thousands of people were left homeless, and thousands of homes were destroyed. Red Cross volunteers nationwide responded to help.

“You felt like you were making a much bigger contribution as a group than as one individual in getting the job done,” she said.

She recalls a deployment to Southern California in the 1990s following an earthquake that damaged homes and communities. Since this was a pre-cell phone era, Vicki used her HAM radio to communicate with the disaster headquarters.

Vicki shares about serving in a Disaster Relief Operation that took place in Louisiana after flooding along the Mississippi River. She remembers meeting a reporter from France; he was there because the entire world knew about the Mississippi River flooding and was interested in the response. One of the many impacted residents that Vicki met, a native Louisiana resident, stated that he had never traveled more than 100 miles from his home and was shocked that people would come from all over to help him and others in this time of need.

Vicki’s Hurricane Katrina deployment in 2005 included a helicopter ride.

“That ride was jaw-dropping as we flew over the area where the broken levee of Lake Pontchartrain had flooded New Orleans, the Ninth Ward. From the sky, you could see where the flooding only made the rooftops of homes visible for miles upon miles. We saw no people, only a small motorboat on the water.”

In 2022 she deployed after Hurricane Ian hit Florida. She worked in logistics and learned to drive a forklift. And in 2023, she deployed locally here in Northern California after the atmospheric rivers caused floods in the area. She was tasked with distributing food to impacted residents in San Mateo County.

A “badge of honor” Vicki has collected over the years through her deployments are Red Cross pins. These pins are a unique way of commemorating a Chapter or disaster response. Red Cross pins are a way to share with others their experiences in Disaster Response Operations. After many years of service, there are volunteers who can cover their entire Red Cross vest and hat with pins. They would even bring their chapter pins on deployments to exchange with volunteers from other regions and chapters.

“It was way to break the ice, meet other Red Crossers, interact, and connect with people.”

Depending on the type of natural disaster a Red Crosser deploys to, they may receive a pin associated with the disaster such as a “Hurricane Disaster Pin” or a “Flood and Fire Pin.” After being in the Red Cross for many years, Vicki said she was happy to learn that her Aunt Betty Heal had been a Red Crosser as a Nurse in World War II, and her pin said “Overseas.”

When she is not deployed, Vicki spends her time planning for the next opportunity to deploy while volunteering with the Silicon Valley Chapter Disaster Services team. Recently, she helped survey potential shelter locations and inventory items to ensure they have enough supplies if needed.

Vicki has been retired now for eight years and has plenty of time to dedicate to her volunteer activities.

“I will stay in the Red Cross for another 30 years. There are so many different things you can do. I like to do new things. I am always learning and eager to help others in need,” she says.

Her willingness to help others extends beyond the Red Cross. She also volunteers for other organizations such as Ham Radio, providing emergency communications and even securing foster care for rabbits. In 1989 she volunteered to help after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. She drove seven days from California to Alaska and cleaned sea otters for three months.

Vicki truly embodies the spirit of volunteerism. Her selfless dedication and passion are an inspiration to all her fellow Red Crossers in the Northern California Coastal Region. Thank you, Vicki!