My Story: Deploying to help after Hurricane Milton

Written by Amy Miller, Communications Manager for the American Red Cross Kentucky Region

What got you involved with the Red Cross?

Amy outside the Red Cross
Tampa Bay Regional Headquarters,
Tampa, FL

I learned about the Red Cross in 2015 when I was looking for opportunities to expand my skills after I graduated from college. I started out writing volunteer profiles and monitoring social media as a public affairs volunteer with the Louisville Area Chapter, my local chapter. I’ve been with the Red Cross ever since, and recently became the Communications Manager for the Kentucky Region. In the 9 years I’ve been with the Red Cross, I’ve helped with our Sound the Alarm smoke alarm installation events, visited blood drives to talk to donors and traveled across the state for tornado, severe weather and flood responses. My first disaster relief operation was the response to the 2018 flooding that impacted communities along the Ohio River. More recently, I deployed to Franklin, Kentucky to support the 2021 December tornado response, and Lexington, Kentucky to help after flooding impacted Eastern Kentucky in 2022. This October, I had the opportunity to help communities in Florida that were impacted by Hurricane Milton on my first national disaster relief operation.

What’s deployment to a disaster relief operation like?

I think most people think of sheltering or feeding when they think of deployment, which are vital roles during a disaster relief operation, but there are a lot of other ways you can volunteer, too! When I deploy, I deploy as part of our Red Cross public affairs team. The public affairs team, in a nutshell, tells the story of the Red Cross and the communities the Red Cross is helping. This can mean doing interviews with the media to share information about how the Red Cross is responding. It can also mean going out to shelters, distribution sites and other events in disaster-impacted communities. We take photos of the work Red Crossers are doing, get quotes from the partners we work alongside, and help share the stories of the people we’re helping.

Tampa, FL. Photo credit: Sivani Babu, 
American Red Cross Central California Region

Deployments last for at least two weeks. When I went to Florida for Hurricane Milton, I stayed at a hotel near Tampa for a few days and then spent the rest of my time there in a staff shelter. I was paired with another public affairs volunteer, and we were partners for the whole deployment. We would take turns driving to our assignments, taking photos and asking questions during the day. When we returned to our lodging at night, we’d sort through the day’s photos, write up stories and captions and make plans for the next day’s activities. Wherever there were Red Crossers at work is where we’d be to help share their stories and get information out to the community.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me what I pack when I deploy. I’ve taken to telling them a sense of humor and a lot of flexibility. Disaster relief operations are constantly adapting and changing to meet the needs of the community. One day my partner and I would be working with a volunteer team passing out lunches and supplies at a community center in Tampa. The next, we’d be three hours away in Vero Beach following an emergency response vehicle as it traveled through tornado-devastated neighborhoods to serve hot meals to the community. You have to be flexible to be able to better help the people we serve!

The humor comes in handy on long car rides and after long days. Being able to go back to the staff shelter and share stories with people who come from all over the country to help was an amazing way to end each day.

What’s the difference between deploying nationally and deploying at home?

Hurricane debris near Horseshoe Beach, FL.

The biggest difference I noticed when I deployed for Hurricane Milton was being able to fully immerse myself in the disaster response. When you respond to a disaster in your own backyard, you may be impacted yourself or know people who were affected. When I was in Florida, I kept in touch with people back home, but my only focus was on the community in Florida and how I could help. It gave me a better appreciation of the volunteers who leave their families and put their own lives on hold for two weeks to lend a hand during disasters across the country.

Is there a moment from deploying that stands out to you?

It’s hard to pick the most memorable moment from my Hurricane Milton deployment because every day was something new. Early in the deployment, I remember my partner and I sitting down at the end of a long day on the road with the congregation of a church the volunteers we’d been following had delivered meals to. The residents there had only recently gotten power back to their neighborhood and had lost all the food in their refrigerators, but they’d invited us to stay and have dinner with them.

One of the most impactful experiences came on our last day of deployment. My partner and I got a tour of a beautiful small town on the Gulf of Mexico about three hours north of Tampa, on the back of a golf cart. Every single building had been damaged by hurricanes and flooding. The resident who gave us the tour had been working with the Red Cross long-term recovery team since Hurricane Idalia destroyed her home in 2023, and the Red Cross was continuing to support her through the devastation of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. She shared with us that when things settled in her life, she wanted to become a Red Cross volunteer and help others the way the Red Cross had helped her.

Pinellas Park, FL. Photo credit: Sivani Babu, 
American Red Cross Central California Region

Sprinkled in between were the intensely human interactions that reminded me of how important the Red Cross mission to end human suffering is: Being able to talk to people working in businesses in Tampa and lending an ear and a shoulder when they shared how their homes and loved ones had been impacted by the hurricanes; laughing with people from an impacted community who had stopped their truck to check on me, because I’d gotten out of the car to help a turtle cross the road; working alongside local Red Cross volunteers who had been supporting their neighbors since the beginning of hurricane season, while navigating their own hurricane clean up.

Every day, I spoke with someone who had been impacted by the hurricanes or who had been helped by the Red Cross. It was a humbling and rewarding experience.

The mission of the Red Cross would not be possible without our volunteers and donors. Our volunteers are on the ground, supporting people as they recover from what can be the worst moments of their lives. Our donors make the Red Cross mission possible. Their support allows Red Crossers like me to deploy to disasters like Hurricane Milton to support communities in times of need. You can learn more about supporting the mission of the Red Cross by visiting redcross.org/gift.