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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Armstrong, Red Cross a Comfort in Time of Need

Tim Armstrong is a walking example that you get more out of community service than you give.

Armstrong is the principal at Albany Elementary School, a rural school in Clinton County, KY. He’s also a Lake Cumberland Red Cross Community Board member and part of the Bluegrass Area’s Disaster Action Team. When the school district received, through a grant, a quantity of Automatic Emergency Defibrillators (AEDs), Armstrong trained not only his teachers, but also county staff, coaches and community members in first aid, CPR, and use of AEDs.

It was after a fire destroyed a home in Cumberland County, Armstrong found himself comforting the family who’d just lost their home. The family included one of his students, a special needs child. Armstrong gave the child a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy as a comfort.

“Upon returning to school this child was more open and, unlike in the past, spoke to me,” said Armstrong. "The fact that he opened up and embraced me when he came back to school triggered a deep feeling in me."

“In that emotional time, as we tried to help the affected family, that stuffed character was his comfort.”

“That moment drove home to me how the work we do is a real blessing, not only to those we help, but to us volunteers,” Armstrong said. “I went away from that event knowing how the Red Cross helps me to be a better principal, and a better person,” he said.

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