Volunteer with Idaho Red Cross in the new year

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — Still looking for a New Year’s resolution, and one that’s worth keeping? How about volunteering with the Idaho Red Cross?

Each year, Red Cross volunteers help more than 750 people in Idaho following disasters like house fires, wildfires and floods and help communities become better prepared and more resilient through its readiness programs. Service to the Armed Forces teams provide support to 1,200 military families by teaching them how to cope with the stresses of deployment and helping service members return home for a funeral or the birth of a child.

About 90% of the Red Cross workforce are volunteers in communities big and small across the state, and there are opportunities for almost any interest or skillset.

Here are just a few of the volunteer options:

• Disaster Action Team members: These volunteers help meet families’ most immediate needs like food, clothing and shelter following a disaster, and just as importantly, provide emotional support and a shoulder to lean on.
• Service to the Armed Forces caseworkers: Help members of the military, veterans and their families prepare for and respond to the challenges of military service. These volunteers provide critical services with a caring touch to military families by connecting them with local, state and national resources.
• Preparedness volunteers: From helping install free smoke alarms in homes to teaching schoolchildren how to be ready for an emergency, these volunteers help reduce the risk of disaster and help families be ready when the sirens sound.

To learn more about these volunteer opportunities and explore what other options are available – including volunteer work that can be done from your home – visit redcross.org/volunteer or call 208-947-4357. Training is provided and the payoff is priceless.

“I love it,” longtime Idaho Red Cross volunteer Vicky Johns said. “You feel good at night when you go to bed and can say that you made someone’s life a little bit better.