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When Williams Lake resident Cindy Lahaise returned home after having to evacuate this summer, she decided she wanted to help her community recover. Cindy jumped at the chance to become a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross at her local resiliency centre. 

This week, at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Vancouver, three outstanding water safety volunteers were inducted as members of the Order of Red Cross - our society's highest honour - in recognition for their years of dedication.
In appreciation of their ongoing commitment to the community, we are pleased to welcome Anne Porteous, Wayne Little and Janice Makepeace to the Order of the Red Cross!

In our current era which favours immediacy over careful contemplation, some things still take a lifetime to achieve – and they are worth the wait. Just ask Red Deer’s Women of Excellence Lifetime Achievement award winner, Nora Styner. A long-time Canadian Red Cross volunteer, Styner also took home the Red Deer & Community’s leadership award in the category of Athletics, Recreation and Fitness. Both awards symbolize Styner’s unwavering commitment to volunteerism.

For Virginia Monias, 61, a member of Garden Hill First Nation, it was Manitoba's changing winds that forced her out of her home.
"The smoke was coming from the south, but they were afraid the smoke would come from the west and hit Garden Hill. They were prepared for it. That's why we came to Winnipeg," said Monias, who was evacuated on September 2.

When Telus employee Nerissa Muxlow was asked to describe her experience volunteering at the Resiliency Centre in Williams Lake, B.C., she only had one word.
“Amazing.”

Over the past week, Canadian Red Cross volunteers from all across the country have arrived in Prince George, B.C., to support the local team. Meet some of the amazing Red Crossers that are already making a difference on the ground in Prince George.

Volunteer André Robert has participated in many major Red Cross responses, including the train explosion in Lac-Mégantic and the Syrian refugee arrival, and has worked for various NGOs over the course of his career.

In what proved to be a well-timed coincidence, Red Cross volunteer Cheryl Beckett was part of a training exercise last Thursday with the City of Ottawa. Her role was to help set up a mock reception centre. The very next day she would do the same thing but not as part of an exercise this time, as flood waters in Ottawa began to seep into residential areas and many families became unsafe.