My Story Monday: Sally Higgins – Disaster Cycle Services

Our volunteers are always ready to respond, whether by offering support when disaster strikes, helping with lifesaving blood collection or working behind the scenes to support our vital mission. This week, we’re spotlighting Sally Higgins, a Bluegrass Area Chapter disaster volunteer who has been with the American Red Cross since 2001.

Sally Higgins

Sally began her Red Cross journey as a first aid instructor, but became interested in disaster response after volunteering to bring water to firefighters responding to a wildfire in Colorado, where she was living. After her retirement in the fall of 2018, she deployed to Florida during the Hurricane Michael disaster response and was called upon to manage a shelter team as a shelter supervisor. Shelter supervisors guide and support the day-to-day activities within a shelter, including assisting shelter residents and supervising other volunteers working at the shelter.

She came back from the experience enthusiastic about disaster response and ready to hit the ground running, taking disaster training and sharing many ideas of how she could assist with preparing Kentucky Region chapters locally. Sally has since deployed to seven disaster responses across the country and in the Kentucky Region.

Always willing to help where she is needed, Sally has also taken on multiple on-call shifts outside of the Bluegrass Area Chapter, and in the Louisville Area Chapter she has been a champion of the disaster action team (DAT). DAT volunteers respond to local, personal emergencies like home fires, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“One of the most important things about being a disaster volunteer is understanding the people we help and where they’re coming from,” said Sally.

Sally has taken her experiences as a DAT member and turned them into a willingness to onboard, mentor, and engage other volunteers. She works to increase our volunteers’ opportunities to grow as DAT responders, and takes new volunteers under her wing.

Since Sally’s retirement, she has branched out into new roles and excelled in leadership, setting examples for other team members. She has earned the position of Emergency Management Agency Team Member because of her efforts working with Emergency Management Agencies. She is also a Clara Barton Award recipient, an award that honors a volunteer for service in Red Cross leadership positions over many years.

Thank you, Sally, for your commitment to the Red Cross mission and for the time, care and integrity you extend to your fellow volunteers!

You can learn more about becoming a Red Cross volunteer by visiting redcross.org/volunteertoday.