By every measure the year 2020 has been one that won’t soon be forgotten. From a total of seven named hurricanes, five named tropical storms, wildfires that burned over 9.5 million acres and the greatest loss of life caused by tornadoes since 2011, nature’s wrath was felt far and wide. Overshadowing the already very difficult conditions caused by these natural disasters has been a global pandemic, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for generations.
Nevertheless, despite such serious challenges, the American Red Cross is there to meet the needs and adapt in ways that allow for successfully providing critical basic services to thousands of people affected by such dramatic and stressful conditions. This accomplishment was only made possible by dedicated Red Cross volunteers like the Southern Tier Chapter's Don Lamanna.
A native of the Mohawk Valley, Don is no stranger to working in difficult situations to help others. Now retired from a 30-year career with the Oneonta Fire Department and service as an emergency medical technician, as well as a motor coach driver, Don notes he wasn’t content with “just sitting around and watching television” news stories about disasters in which he might help out. So when news of August 2018 flash flooding in the Finger Lakes region came across the screen, he was quick to make his first Red Cross deployment relatively close to home. Since then Don’s passion for serving others in their time of need has led to his creating a log book so that the number of Red Cross deployments in which his has taken part won’t be forgotten. In 2020 alone Don’s log gained four new entries which now brings the total number of times he’s deployed since 2018 to 11. Deployments in 2020 sent him to the Philadelphia area following Tropical Storm Isaias, Baton Rouge and New Orleans in support of hurricane recovery operations, and twice to Oregon wildfires.
To his further credit, Don performs more than one role with the Red Cross and reports that when he arrives at a deployment the first thing he does is ask what needs to be done that he can help with. Such duties have included damage assessment to determine areas where localized Red Cross assistance is needed as well as serving as a mass care supervisor. During this year’s deployment to Louisiana Don helped supervise the care of 380 displaced people who were provided with accommodations in commercial lodging to avoid the potential spread of COVID-19 in the close quarters of congregate sheltering. Other adaptive measures were Red Cross services like health counseling that were provided by volunteers remotely by computers. While Don is not shy about acknowledging that his experience and interests don’t include computer skills, he was equally ready to point out that other volunteers with such skills were close at hand to take care of that part of what was needed. By and large Don was very pleased to observe that, during his deployments this year, the public in general followed Center for Disease Control COVID-19 guidance in a manner akin to that practiced by the Red Cross.
Teamwork and support outside the deployment is also something Don is aware of and keenly appreciates. When at his home in Oneonta he volunteers several days a week at a busy local food pantry. In his absences that has also included mandatory self-quarantines upon returning home from deployments, other volunteers, among whom his wife, Sallyann, is one, step up to carry out the work he would normally be performing.
Then too, adding even more to the year’s remarkable achievements is the fact that while all of these Red Cross responses to natural disasters were taking place, irreplaceable, ongoing routine services like community blood drives and Disaster Assistance Teams that respond 24/7 to emergencies such as residential home fires likewise continued.
Whether
contributing financially, donating blood, or through volunteer service like Don
Lamanna’s, there are a wide range of opportunities for others who would like to
be part of the gratifying and crucial work the American Red Cross has provided for
almost 140 years. Learn more by visiting
redcross.org.
