When disaster strikes, Red Cross volunteers from all over the world come to the aid of strangers in need. However, that altruistic spirit often goes unrewarded when emergency response volunteers give of themselves every day, right here at home.
The San Diego and Imperial counties chapter of the American Red Cross honored three Point Loma residents with the Spirit of Volunteerism award March 31. Lee Durand, Bonnie Bailey-Jones and Bob Petersen were among 13 volunteers recognized for providing at least three years of volunteer service or having logged at least 200 hours of volunteer service in one year, Marketing and Communications Coordinator Peyton Roberts said.
As part of the Disaster Action Team, Durand and Bailey-Jones responded to emergency calls to provide victims with necessities such as water, food and shelter within the first 24 to 72 hours of a disaster.
A total of five teams on a rotating schedule provide 24-hour service, with each group on call for a week at a time. The Disaster Action Team responds to an average of one emergency every 24 hours, Disaster Response Coordinator Scott Di Pretoro said.
According Di Pretoro, the majority of calls pertain to residential fires, and the team responded to 25 emergencies in March.
“[When] people think of disasters, they think of a big earthquake or a tornado, but a house fire is just as much as a disaster for someone who has lost everything,” Roberts said.
Durand, a team leader, was awarded for participating in the highest number of emergency responses. She spends the better part of a week each month responding to emergency calls from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Durand, a Point Loma resident since 1972, is retired from UCSD medical school, where she worked in pulmonary physiology research. She said volunteerism has always been a part of her life, but working for the Red Cross in January 2006 helping hurricane Katrina victims gave her a new perspective.
“Empty houses, cars in driveways, totally [quiet]. No sound, no birds, no flowers blooming. Nobody there for miles,” Durand said of the storm ravaged areas.
In San Diego, Durand often works alongside Bailey-Jones, who was recognized for responding to the second highest number of disaster calls as well as her leadership in the Red Cross Shelter Management Project.
A retired attorney who now gives legal advice, Bailey-Jones said she has always enjoyed helping others. She spent five years doing humanitarian work with the Canadian Peace Corps in Africa and the South Pacific and has volunteered with the American Red Cross Family Assistance Center in San Diego. The center helps Katrina survivors find shelter, food and other long-term assistance organizations, she said.
Bailey-Jones said she often finds herself consoling disaster victims who have lost everything, holding their hands just to keep them calm. For her, volunteering can be a rewarding and growth.
Bailey-Jones also heads a 15-person team that updates information on 650 sites such as schools, recreational centers and churches that can serve as potential shelters in the event of a disaster.
A Point Loma resident for 49 years, Bob Petersen has volunteered with the local Red Cross chapter for the last 16 years. He currently volunteers one day a week and follows up on Disaster Action Team cases and collects feedback on improving the program.
Petersen also serves as the Red Cross’ community representative on the Bio Ethics Committee of the San Diego Naval Hospital. He meets once a month with five or so doctors, a lawyer and the head of the ICU to offer a compassionate and ethical viewpoint on life-or-death medical decisions, he said.
According to Roberts, the Red Cross Spirit of Volunteerism awards are given to individuals who exemplify the seven principles of the American Red Cross: voluntary service, humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, unity and universality.
“To help people, to help others, is the primary thing,” Petersen said. “It’s a better world if you can just help others.”
For more information, visit www.sdarc.org.