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The Canadian Red Cross responds to thousands of calls for help every year and most of the people who respond are volunteers, some of whom are newcomers to Canada. These trained volunteers are ready and willing to assist people affected by a disaster whether it's in the middle of the night or as a result of a weather-related emergency.

Ebola has been one of the most talked about health emergencies in the past year, but unless you’ve been in close contact with an infected person, you are very unlikely to contract the virus. There are many myths and fears surrounding the Ebola outbreak, both in the affected region of West Africa and in our own country. These fears are hampering efforts to fight the disease.

It has always been in Tory Dalrymple's nature to give back. On her eighth birthday, she asked her guests to donate to charity instead of bringing a gift. Since then, the 13-year-old from High River, Alberta, has made giving a part of her life. After learning about the Ebola crisis in school, she set her sights on making a donation to the Red Cross. 

Like most Canadians, I am itching to ditch the cold and lie on a beach somewhere. I’m searching for travel deals and getting insider tips on the best places to go. I’m also making sure I can enjoy my whole vacation and get back in one piece! I’m a Red Crosser so ‘safety first’ is one of our unspoken mottos. Here are a few things to remember if you’re looking to head south like me.

Social worker Lindsay Jones has just recently returned home to Ottawa after working at the Red Cross Ebola treatment centre in Kenema, Sierra Leone. She was there to provide psychosocial support to patients being treated for the virus. She’s been describing her experiences on her blog and recently in this CBC interview. We share this excerpt.

It was the largest Red Cross response ever to a single country. The Red Cross helped one in two Haitians, about five million people. After the 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, individual Canadians and governments generously donated $222 million to the Canadian Red Cross to support the tremendous emergency and recovery efforts. 

While much of the attention around the current Ebola outbreak has been on treating patients, combating the fears, stigma and myths associated with the virus is another important component of the Red Cross response.

I’ll admit it. I’m not much of a hiker. If I had to choose, I would pick reading a book on the beach to hiking mountains any day. But I just came back from hiking through the mountains for seven hours in Honduras and even though my legs are sore, I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.