“It was the best job.” Tiffany Circle member and South Florida Board of Director Leah Sylvester reflects on her time as a Red Cross certified lifeguard when she was a teenager. “I was a team leader at my local YMCA, and as a part of that program, I volunteered weekly. I had always wanted to be a lifeguard, so as soon as I was old enough, I earned my Red Cross certification for lifeguarding, and I was a lifeguard for four years.” While the lifeguard instructor certification program was Leah’s introduction to the Red Cross, her involvement with the organization didn’t stop there. Leah learned the depth of service areas in which the Red Cross has—from supporting our veterans, active service military and their families, to responding to large-scale disasters, to installing free smoke alarms, and everything in-between. Leah became deeply invested in the broad reach the organization has in making a difference in her community and has served in several volunteer roles with the organization.
Today, Leah serves as a member of the Tiffany Circle, a community of women leaders giving their time, talent and treasure to further the mission of the Red Cross. Leah also recently joined the South Florida Board of Directors. Now a mother of two daughters, Leah hopes to instill Red Cross values and cultivate generational philanthropy with her family. Leah remarked, “We are in a position to help others. I am teaching my daughters to do the same. It is so important to instill those values.” Often involving them in community initiatives, Leah’s oldest daughter recently joined her at the Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to attend a donor event. Leah reminisced that her daughter asked her after the event, “When can I be a Red Cross lady like you?”
Leah shares: “The American Red Cross is simply an amazing organization that helps people. And through the Tiffany Circle, I’ve met amazing leaders and have been able to form true friendships and help our community. That’s ultimately what we are here to do—to help people.”