By Gordon Williams  

Most people, when they reach 78, are ready to settle down to a life of rest and reflection. Not so Jane Relin of Lake Samish WA in Whatcom County. At 78, she made use of her training as a social worker to volunteer as a disaster mental health worker for the American Red Cross. On top of that, she also volunteered to join a Disaster Action Team (DAT) — the Red Cross responders who care for victims at disaster scenes. 

Relin has already responded to two disaster scenes — fires in single-family homes that left occupants homeless. One fire involved elderly people who Relin says were showing signs of dementia. “They could not resolve things on their own,” she says. Calling on her background as a social worker, Relin was able to help. ”It felt good talking to them, giving them the help they needed,” she says.  

Relin is asked how she held up physically to the demands of disaster response. ”I didn’t find it taxing,” she says. “My mobility is good. My endurance is pretty good.” Would she suggest that more older people volunteer for the Red Cross? “Well, my DAT supervisor on my second house fire was also 78," she says.  

In fact, Relin is far from the oldest Red Cross volunteer — nor is there a maximum age for volunteering. Volunteers make up 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce. And while the need for disaster responders is enormous (Red Cross teams across the country respond to around 65,000 disasters a year), the organization has plenty of less taxing jobs available.  

You could assist at Red Cross blood drives, or teach preparedness skills to school kids. Hundreds of volunteers work at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis McChord. They staff reception desks and help guide visitors through the vast medical complex.

Depending on your background and training, you could teach Red Cross classes in first aid or water safety. There is even a class that teaches teens how to become trained babysitters. Disaster duty officers work from home to help dispatch responders to disaster scenes. 

In other words, there is work for all hands at the Red Cross and you are never too old to join in.  

Relin came to the Red Cross in April of this 2023. She had retired after a long career of helping others afflicted with mental issues. “I’m a social worker by training,” she says, “with a specialty in geriatric mental health.” Among the jobs she held was head of counseling services for seniors for Jewish Family Services in Seattle. That job, she says, brought her into contact with individuals, now aged, who had survived the Holocaust. Relin also served as executive director of community mental health in Bellingham WA and for 10 years she taught geriatric mental health at the University of Washington in Seattle.  

In retirement, and with time on her hands, Relin cast about for opportunities to put her training and experience to productive use..‘“I wanted to do something meaningful in retirement,” she says. “I wanted to spend my time doing something I felt good about.”  

The Red Cross was an obvious choice. Red Cross response teams include workers skilled in dealing with the emotional consequences of disasters — home fires, floods, wildfires and the like.   

“I'd known about the Red Cross for many years,” Relin says. “I just didn’t have time for the Red Cross while I was working.” Last April, she finally took the plunge and started the Red Cross free training. Relin now volunteers from home, responding when called to a disaster scene in her geographic area on days she is signed up to work. 

Relin says she had no disaster response training when she signed up, but was impressed with how thoroughly the Red Cross trained her before she was sent on response. “I was surprised at how much training you have to go through,” she says.  

What advice does she offer to other seniors looking for opportunities to do something meaningful in their later years? She notes that the Red Cross has many volunteering opportunities suitable for older folks. What is most important, she says, is to find volunteer work that is meaningful. “Helping people on what's the worst day of their lives was very meaningful to me,” she says.   

If you want to become a Red Cross volunteer, go to the volunteer tab at the top of this page to get started. You will be screened and trained for the role best suited to you based on your age, physical condition, your skill set and interests.