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Hi, I'm Dana Corbiere. I work at Canaport LNG in the HR department
I'm married to a great guy who also volunteers with me, and we have two children
two adult daughters, and in our spare time we like to have family time, watch movies, and just hang out.
I, honestly first of all, we were just driving down the street one day
and we heard an ad on the radio that said there was an information session for Red Cross disaster management
so we both looked at each other and figured now would be a good time to give back to our
community. So we went to the information session, uh, went for the interview, through the process,
and then joined up. So, it's been great.
The Red Cross to me means a helping hand. So, we've seen it over and over on TV when there's
disasters, um, but it's also local, so there's fires and floods and all that type of thing,
and there's always the Red Cross is always there with, you know, blankets and comfort
kits and anything that it can do to help support the people through.
The most rewarding, uh, aspect of the Red Cross volunteering is helping people. So it
gives you that feeling of satisfaction and you know that there are people that are less
fortunate than you and you're able to help them in their time of need.
I got a phone call at 3:20 a.m. from my team captain who said "Hey, do you wanna go to
a fire?" So, up out of bed, ready to go, brush my teeth, out the door. Um, we went, we got
to the fire. She took me to meet the fire chief, so he gave us an idea of people, numbers
and that type of thing. And then we went a block or half a block away and we had a city
bus there. This was during the winter. Um, and the families were in the bus where it
was warm and they were provided with some drinks and something to keep them...to try
and help settle them. Um, the team captain stepped on and said okay this is the process,
this is what we're going to do, and each volunteer took a family. Um, all the while trying to,
you know, to stay calm and to give them the support that they needed. Of course, it was
a very anxious time for them. We took the, uh, took the information, took the people
to their hotels, got them food and lodging. Um, you know, gave them comfort kits, teddy
bears, if that was...if they had small children. It's a very emotional time, but as long as
you, you know, listen to your...remember your training and listen to your inner thoughts
where you're really just helping people and you're doing what you can, um, and you're
giving them the comfort that they need and the support, um, and that could be with like,
uh, comfort kits or, you know, sometimes it's just as easy as a conversation. They just
need to vent or need to say what they need to say.
It's a great experience. There's lots of learning. You can't even imagine, when I thought about
joining, um, I had no idea what I was in for, so I've met some amazing people. I've done
some great teamwork. A lot of people say "oh well, I don't have the time". You know, it's
totally flexible, so come and see, come and hear. Hear the presentation. See what, what
Red Cross has to offer, and see if you're the person, you know, to fill those shoes.