Volunteer Appreciation Month: John Sternberg

Bluegrass Area Chapter volunteer John Sternberg has a long history with the Red Cross. Originally from Louisville, KY, John did community service with the Red Cross during his high school days by working in the print shop at the Louisville Area Chapter office. John has also been donating blood since he was 18 years old and estimates that, as of today, he’s donated over 5 gallons.

John (right), with fellow Red Cross volunteers.
Photo credit: John Sternberg

John was a federal agent with the Department of Health and Human Services for 25 years and served as an air marshal for 5 months after 9/11. His career took him to Ohio and Georgia, until he moved back to Kentucky in 1997. After he retired, he decided to get involved as a volunteer.

“I think it’s important to be able to do something when tragedy occurs,” said John. “The best outlet I could find was with the Red Cross.”

He joined the Red Cross Bluegrass Area Chapter in 2021 and began volunteering with the Disaster Action Team (DAT) responding to home fires in the Lexington area.

“I interviewed people over the phone and did training on the computer,” said John. “Then I started meeting with people to do the DAT local responses.”

John has deployed to disasters several times since he became a volunteer. He deployed to the tornado response in Western Kentucky in 2021 and the flood response in Eastern Kentucky in 2022. He has also deployed to Puerto Rico, Florida, California, and Texas to assist with everything from flooding and hurricanes to tornadoes.

John shared that his roles vary when he deploys.

Photo credit: John Sternberg

“I did [sheltering] for like 4 days in Eastern Kentucky, but then switched to distribution of emergency supplies,” said John. “And when they sent me to Puerto Rico, it was actually for damage assessment.”

John went on to explain he usually works in sheltering or logistics during a disaster response. As part of his chapter volunteer activities, John responds to home fires and recently taught his first First Aid/CPR class in the Bluegrass Area Chapter.

When asked why he volunteers, John said it was because he wanted to be able to give back: “I’ve been blessed in my life. To be able to give back and to do something in a time of need, just to be able to get down there and be involved.”

“We need to look out for each other,” John added. “It doesn’t have to be a big thing. It could be collecting money and donating it, it could be to giving your time. There’s always going to be that need, whether it’s a fire or natural disaster, just to be able to help those in need.”

Thank you, John, for your dedication to the Red Cross mission! Learn more about volunteering with the Red Cross at redcross.org/volunteer.