I haven't mentioned it in a while...

... but I finished my Red Cross training some time ago. By the time I got my training, saw my doctor to get a health evaluation, got my shots & sent in all the paperwork, I guess I missed the boat, at least it terms of volunteering in response to Hurricane Katrina. I didn't even get a call in response to Wilma. Oh, well. I feel better about myself because I stepped up, even if it didn't amount to anything.

Even if I didn't get to volunteer for anything hurricane-related, I'm still a qualified Red Cross volunteer. I live in a really rural area, and the Red Cross doesn't have much structure here. In the training sessions, though, there was quite a bit of talk about changing that. One surprising thing I learned in training was that the typical "disaster" to which the Red Cross responds is one in which a family's house burns. Hurricanes are seasonal, and typically only affect coastal areas. House fires aren't and don't. Fires happen everywhere. I live amongst many low-income people. If their homes burn, they'll most likely need some help. If things get rolling, and we can organize some Red Cross structure in my area, at least this gives me a chance to potentially put all that training to use in my own community.