Written by Harriet Vanderbilt, Red Cross Communications Volunteer

Kat Thiede has participated in many GAP (Group Activity Position) activities in her one and a half years of Cascades Region volunteering. From blood ambassador to sheltering duties in White Salmon during the height of the Burdoin fire, Kat has touched many grateful victims with her warmth and sincerity.

“I wanted to do something after I retired and I chose the Red Cross. I started out doing Blood Drive Ambassador. I knew quickly that I wanted to do more. At a local blood drive, Kat learned about GAP work. “Someone came in to donate who was a Red Cross volunteer. She asked me what GAPS I was working. I told her I had no idea what that was.”

Kat then learned about all the opportunities available. “I may have gone a little crazy! I have like ten GAPS”. Kat is currently doing DAT sheltering, feeding and recovery intake. “I want to try different things to see if there is one particular area I really love. I want to be like a Swiss Army knife for the Red Cross. When a disaster comes, I’ll be there, ready with many skills.” She will soon begin a program for learning supervision of other volunteers.

This year is Kat’s first emersion into deployments. She went to Kentucky in January after the floods. In June, she returned to Kentucky for the tornado. “These events come, hit, and then they’re gone. Although the ramifications are still there, the events are gone. Fires continue to burn. We care for the victims of the aftermath. I handled recovery intake during both deployments.”

Kat’s first sheltering was during the Burdoin fire. “The shelter clients were a combination of people who knew their homes were burned down and those who lived in the level three evacuation zone. They couldn’t go home and had no idea what was happening.” With the fire still going, with different clients being impacted differently, being personally responsive was important.

The Grace Baptist Church in White Salmon was the shelter home for these disaster victims. Kat recalled that “the whole community was so incredibly suppurative. There were many local volunteers including those at the Baptist Church. The Red Cross leadership was amazing. DR leadership was incredible. I was given the chance to dabble in new jobs.”

Among the mixed segments of society at the shelter, Kat recalled one particular family with four kids. “They asked that we keep the children busy with different activities. The youngest, around two and a half, gave me a rock he had painted that said ‘Thank you Red Cross’. The family signed their names on the back. My heart just melted. It was the sweetest, most kind thing.”

“The Red Cross is more than just a symbol”, declared Kat. “It provides people a sense of comfort, that they have a safe place for the moment. They have a safe place to be with somebody who cares about them right now.” For more information on all the volunteer opportunities at Cascades Region Red Cross, please visit https://www.redcross.org