When Randy Warburton was ready to retire, his doctor gave him some sage advice.

“Just remember, Randy, the day you quit helping people is the day you start dying,” he said.

Randy, 61, took those words to heart. It wouldn’t be enough to relax and fish and be sorry about the eye disease that ended his career.

Then at a blood drive in Bozeman, his wife visited with a Red Cross volunteer, and she told him, “They need you here.”

Randy was drawn to the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program. He is a regional caseworker for the American Red Cross Hero Care Network and provides local follow-up for their efforts delivering financial aid, emergency communications and referrals.

When the family of a deployed service member has a major life event back home, such as the birth of a child or loss of a loved one, the network verifies the event and coordinates with a commanding officer. If the service member has an issue, the connection runs the other direction, too. When service members or veterans need help, the network connects them with low-interest loans and local resources.

“When I thank them for their service, they thank me for my support. It does mean a lot to them that we are doing this,” Randy said.

At least once a month, he has a case that sticks with him. Recently, a mother was trying to reach her three children in three different military branches to let them know their grandmother was just about to pass away and to see if they could make it home.

“Usually what I do takes about three or four minutes on the phone. I went through the steps with this lady, and then when I asked if there was anything else I could do, she asked if I had a minute to hear her story,” Randy said. “That became a 34-minute call, and I realized she was sitting with her dying mom in the hospital and just needed someone to listen.”

Sometimes that is what the Red Cross mission to “alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found” looks like.

Randy heard of the children’s grandfathers, who served in the military, and their grandmothers, who served their communities. Only one of her children was close enough to get home in time, but Randy learned about them carrying on the family commitment to service and to leaving no one behind.

“I was helping her in her time of need,” he said. ‘That made me feel honored. That’s why I do what I do. I know I’m making a difference.”

In this era of instant communication around the world, the Red Cross remains an important link between home and deployed service member.

“If you ever have an emergency with a deployed person, this is the process you want to use. The message goes to command, and they know it’s verified and are more likely to grant leave,” Randy said.

The program starts before deployment. Randy works with families and service members on family contact cards. When the emergency communications are needed, he gets ahold of the family, offering condolences or expressing concern if there was an issue. He makes sure the message reached command and checks if they need anything else.

Randy also is on the Red Cross disaster recovery team, following up with families to make sure they have what they need to continue moving forward. He continues to give blood, and he noted that means he’s supporting three missions of the American Red Cross.

“When I posted that I started volunteering with the Red Cross, many people thanked me. I thought, ‘why are you thanking me’, but this is a valuable service,” he said. “The more I can do on the volunteer side, the more the paid staff are freed to develop the programs and the more people are helped.”

Join the team

Are you interested in becoming a Service to the Armed Forces caseworker? Visit redcross.org/volunteer to learn more and sign up.