Volunteer Spotlight: Mike Sewell

Mike Sewell is no stranger to the American Red Cross or to disaster services. Since he began volunteering with the Louisville Area Chapter in 2009, Mike has taken on a variety of roles. He has provided disaster and home fire safety education as a Community Preparedness member, responded to home fires and other local disasters as a Disaster Action Team (DAT) member, taught other volunteers as a disaster services instructor and has assisted in running shelters during disaster responses.

Mike (left) receiving a Volunteer of the Year award
from Steve Cunanan, Kentucky Region CEO

Mike has volunteered for more than 12,400 hours on disaster responses alone. Just a few of his deployments include assisting with flood relief efforts in Illinois in 2013 and participating in the 2017 Eclipse Readiness exercise, as well as assisting locally in Kentucky and southern Indiana with flooding, tornados and winter storms.

He also deployed for over 6 months to Louisiana in 2020 and 2021 to assist with recovery efforts after hurricanes Laura and Maria, which exceeded the two weeks of time volunteers typically commit when they deploy to a disaster. Mike puts those who need help and the Red Cross mission, above all else. He is a true representation of delivering the Red Cross mission, prioritizing the urgent needs of people impacted by disasters, and alleviating human suffering.

Interested in becoming a part of our Disaster Action Team? Visit redcross.org/volunteertoday to learn more.