Disaster Services is one of RSVP’s (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) six focus areas, which also include Aging in Place, Capacity Building, Education, Economic Opportunity, and Nutrition/Food Support. Forty-eight RSVP volunteers have given hours to the American Red Cross of the National Capital and Chesapeake Bay region in the past year. For three of them, it is their primary service station, and we are currently working with the local Red Cross Volunteer Recruitment Specialist, Cortez Sanchez, to promote their opportunities to more of our volunteers.
Uma Chaudhari has been a Red Cross Blood Donor Ambassador since February 2020. As such, she engages donors at blood drives by greeting and registering them, providing information and answering questions, and supporting them with refreshments after they give blood. Her husband, Chandra, started volunteering at the Red Cross in 2023.
Mike Mixon has volunteered for the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Red Cross through RSVP since 2019 and currently serves as coordinator for their Specialty Vehicle Program. The program is responsible for the maintenance and operations of three response vehicles and training and support of over 30 qualified drivers. In this role, he helped with Hurricane Helene crisis response efforts in 2024 by supporting the mobilization of 12 specialty vehicles and drivers to some of the hardest hit areas.
Donald Averett is a driver on the Specialty Vehicle Team and has volunteered nearly 300 hours since July 2022. In that role, he supports home fire safety community outreach and education as well as disaster preparedness and response activities.
Since April 2025, these three volunteers have given 137 hours – that’s almost 3½ full-time work weeks – of support to the local Red Cross, and their service is truly appreciated. If you or someone you know is over the age of 55 and would like to volunteer through RSVP for the Red Cross or to support other RSVP emergency preparedness or response efforts, join our September RSVP Zoom New Volunteer Information Session by registering HERE.