By Kim Mailes, American Red Cross
“I have been a volunteer with the American Red Cross for ten years, and I’m very proud of the work I’ve done,” said Jackie Rodriquez. “I’m originally from Colombia, a country that lived with war for so many years. What first attracted me to the Red Cross was seeing the work they did facilitating the freedom of people who had been kidnapped by guerilla fighters.”
During Hispanic Heritage month, we’re spotlighting volunteers like Jackie, whose fluency in Spanish and familiarity with Hispanic culture empowers them to make huge contributions to the humanitarian mission of the American Red Cross.
Jackie volunteers with the Colorado-Wyoming region and got her first taste of the Red Cross when she joined the Restoring Family Links team, reconnecting Spanish speaking people with family members displaced by social unrest and natural disasters. She then joined the Disaster Action Team and cross-trained in multiple areas. Currently, she supports the preparedness and public affairs teams.
“The Sound the Alarm campaign is one of the signature activities I have been doing year after year. It is amazing to see how people open their homes to the Red Cross to install free smoke alarms because they trust us and know we are there to help.”
Fully immersed in the culture of her home state of Colorado, Jackie works as a cyber security analyst with a local tech company, serves on the board of directors of the Denver Council on Foreign Relations, and is an ambassador for the local fire department. She spends her free time dancing Zumba to “get all the girl power I can,” and hiking and biking the Rocky Mountains.
Jackie said the Red Cross is a great place for Hispanics to volunteer, and she appreciates the organization’s efforts to provide information and services in Spanish to engage with the Hispanic community.
“It was amazing to be in Las Vegas following that disaster when the entire city was in shock. We were successful because people saw us on the scene and thought, everything is going to be fine because the Red Cross is here. As volunteers, we sometimes don’t realize how much responsibility we carry wearing the Red Cross brand: we really are changing lives.”
In addition to working in her local community, Jackie responds to disaster relief operations across the country. She deployed in the aftermath of the Las Vegas mass casualty event in 2017, connecting with churches, responding to television reporters, and cooperating with other non-profit organizations. She influenced nearly one hundred survivors who had been afraid to go the Family Assistance Center to go there and connect with local non-profits to receive recovery support to deal with the trauma.
“Being a Latina Red Cross volunteer makes an impression on other Hispanic people,” Jackie said. “They are more receptive to receiving help and listening to suggestions for their next steps toward recovery. It is incredible to see how resilient we are as Latinos, even though people from Venezuela and other countries who just recently found a home after being displaced for years, loose everything on a fire. But in spite of this we keep laughing and finding the positive side of things.”
Jackie deployed to Florida after Hurricane Michael at a mega shelter housing over 800 of those affected. She recalls a grandma who had no family nearby. Jackie and a Red Cross disaster spiritual care volunteer visited the woman in the hospital after her surgery, and Jackie said that just being able to interpret for the spiritual care volunteer and talking to the woman in Spanish made her feel comfortable and supported.
Jackie is also mentoring the next generation of Hispanic volunteers, like her niece who has grown up hearing about her aunty being a Red Cross volunteer. It’s made a huge impact on her, and instead of asking for presents for her 9th birthday, she encouraged people to donate to the Red Cross instead.
“All these experiences as a volunteer are priceless and provide meaning to my life. I think American Red Cross volunteers are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit our website and help make a difference, just like Jackie!