As we celebrate Red Cross Month, we honor people like you make the lifesaving mission of the American Red Cross possible — the individuals across the country who turn compassion into action, helping others in times of crisis.
People like Peggy Hayden who learned Red Cross lifesaving skills at an early age when she became a certified nursing assistant in her 20s. It was decades later that Peggy would experience the work of the Red Cross as a tornado survivor. In 2011, a deadly EF-5 swept through taking her home and business along with it. Peggy was hospitalized with severe injuries. Weeks later she returned to the place where her home once stood and was filled with joy when Red Cross volunteers brought hot meals to her and her neighbors as they sifted through rubble. "You would have thought we were eating at a five-star restaurant" Peggy recalled. "It's the small things that make a big difference after you experience something like that."
Peggy now volunteers as an office administrator. She enjoys meeting people and says it just makes sense. "I love helping people. I've done it all my life as a nurse and a minister." Peggy says that her experience helps her connect with others devastated by disasters "not everyone understands what someone needs after a disaster, I do. I've been there."
Peggy has turned her compassion into action. This month, we invite you to join the mission by making a financial gift, giving blood, time or learning lifesaving skills.
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