By Terri Seydel

Ten years ago, Jayne Cabnet was searching for ways to make acquaintances and create ties to a new community when she relocated to Pennsylvania. Today, she’s searching for people for an entirely different and very important reason!

As she settled into her new community, Jayne decided that volunteering would be a positive way to meet people with similar interests and joined the Red Cross as a Disaster Action Team case worker. This work allows her to partner with other volunteers to connect local disaster victims with basic needs such as housing, food, and emotional health services. Even though most of this work is done over the phone, she has made many lasting connections with people she meets through the Red Cross.

Over time, Jayne became interested in natural disaster recovery as she watched the Red Cross respond and help people across the United States. She learned of the Red Cross Reunification service that reunites missing victims with their loved ones after major disasters and enlisted to join that team of volunteers.

Reunification volunteers are deployed virtually, working from unaffected areas to ensure they have uninterrupted power, internet, and phone service to perform their searches. This team uses critical thinking and detective-like skills with the clues provided by family members or close friends of missing people.

In 2022 Jayne was virtually deployed as a reunification volunteer for disasters in California, Kentucky, Florida, and Pittsburgh and is now serving as a Mass Care Reunification Supervisor. Jayne and her teammates work in 12 hours shifts during these deployments, gathering information and searching for missing people. They use personal details such as place of employment, hobbies, and religious or volunteer affiliations as clues to where a person might go to seek refuge during a disaster.  

Recently, Jayne helped reunite a young coffee shop employee with her family after a severe flood. Using Google Maps research to look for likely shelters, Jayne noticed a police station near the coffee shop.  She called the station and verified the missing woman was indeed there seeking refuge. This story shows how Red Cross volunteers often partner with other rescue teams and first responders to help communities recover from disasters.

A decade of volunteering has made a significant impact on Jayne’s life. She began her volunteer journey hoping to make new connections and do some good within her new community. All these years later, she’s now connecting with other communities and helping people across the country.

Red Cross volunteer opportunities come in all shapes and sizes, tapping into any skills or time commitments a volunteer has to offer, including in-person and virtual options. Are you interested in learning more? Check out current volunteer opportunities to see how you might fit volunteer work into your lifestyle to help others in your community.

Editor’s Note: We’ll be profiling outstanding Red Cross volunteers throughout National Volunteer Week April 16-22. Be sure to check back daily!