Amy K. Mueller, a dedicated volunteer of the American Red Cross of Colorado, began her volunteer journey in 2014 as a Western Colorado DAT member, the local disaster response unit of the Red Cross, which provides disaster relief services on an on-call basis to events like house fires.
In the fall of 2016, Amy deployed for the first time to help provide shelter for South Carolinians who were displaced by Category 5 Hurricane Mathew. Since then, she has deployed six times, working as a shelter supervisor, shelter manager and most recently in staff relations.
Amy is modest about her Red Cross deployments. She says, “Seven deployments are nothing compared to the number of times other volunteers have deployed. But anytime a person can volunteer their time is worth a lot.”
One of Amy’s favorite memories is from a deployment in Florida. She was working the night shift in a shelter. At 3 am, a mother and child presented her with a thank-you card. “This family lost everything, but they reached out to me at 3 in the morning with a card. Now that is THANKS.”
Amy loves to volunteer with the Red Cross because “you never know what you will be doing. It is forever changing, which is great because you never get bored. And no matter what you are doing, you are helping someone in need.”
Amy encourages everyone to volunteer for the Red Cross. “When I explain the Red Cross to people, I tell them there is a place for everyone. This organization is full of people from all walks of life and interesting backgrounds and the one thing they have in common is that they all care.”