Red Cross West Texas Chapter hosts open house
EL PASO, TX (KVIA) – In honor of Red Cross Month, The West Texas Chapter of the American Red Cross is opening its doors to the community, to showcase their impact in the Borderland and encourage volunteers to join.
The open house is today, March 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the American Red Cross El Paso Office at 3620 Admiral Street.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson will be at the event to read a proclamation and declare March as Red Cross Month in the city.
"We wanted to not only recognize the wonderful organization that we all work for and support, but also the work that we're doing in this community," Anna Apodaca, executive director of the Red Cross West Texas Chapter told ABC-7. "We are specifically highlighting one of our fantastic partners, Marathon Petroleum, and their support of the American Red Cross.”
The chapter provides critical services, including emergency disaster response, fire relief assistance, and community education programs. Volunteers participate in home fire safety initiatives like the "Sound the Alarm” program, where they install free smoke alarms in homes. The Red Cross also offers support to military members at Fort Bliss and veterans at William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
Apodaca says they currently have 30 to 40 active volunteers and about 300 that are available to deliver a mission for big events. “I would love to easily double that if possible,” she said. “I think El Paso, we can do it.”
“I cannot express my gratitude enough for the volunteers we have in El Paso who support this work on a day to day basis,” emphasized Apodaca. “They are fantastic. They take the calls at three in the morning. If that's the time that a fire is coming in, they are taking those calls and going and responding.”
The chapter also deploys volunteers nationwide for disaster relief efforts, responding to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other emergencies.
"We go where we're needed, we know that communities are already facing floods and tornadoes as we speak." Apodaca said. "One of our volunteers just returned from assisting with the California wildfires. The Red Cross provides volunteers the training that they need in order to deploy and covers the cost of deployment.”
For those interested in volunteering, the Red Cross offers a range of opportunities, even virtual opportunities.
“Come to our open house, get to know the Red cross, get to know some of the volunteers and the work that we're doing,” Apodaca said. “I would love to also hear from community members, who join us at the open house, where they think the Red cross can better fit in El Paso and what we can be doing better here to support the community.”
