Within minutes, the apartment complex was bursting into flames

In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 7, 2021, residents of a Fayetteville apartment complex were suddenly awakened by the sound of smoke alarms and fellow neighbors pounding on doors, yelling “Fire, Get Out!”  Dazed and confused, residents quickly saw smoke and their building on fire. One woman described a frantic scramble to get out after her barking dog

“Blood Donations GAVE US MORE TIME”

“I was married to the most amazing man, Cody, for many happy years. In 2018, we had our amazing miracle son Eli. In 2019, when Eli was just four months old, Cody was diagnosed with cancer. He battled for the next year and a half. During that time, he received 63 pints of blood. Each of those transfusions were a

WIFE REMEMBERS HER CPR Training AND SAVES HUSBAND’s LIFE

November 27, 2020, started as an ordinary day for Pat Gunter and her husband, Topsail Beach Commissioner John Gunter. Pat was in the kitchen while her husband was in the bedroom when she heard a terrible crash. She ran into the room to see John lying on the floor, face down. She ran to him and lifted his head up.

This Red Crosser Takes Her Passion for Helping People Wherever She Goes

Story by Melissa Kaye, American Red Cross Marsha Kitter knew she wanted to be involved with the Red Cross after an incident while visiting her family in New Jersey on a break from Marietta College, more than 50 years ago. “We were having dinner at a restaurant, and a person went to the bathroom with difficulty breathing,” Kitter explained, who

After a Medical Mystery, Blood Donations SAVed My LIFE

Story by Tiffany M. Harris, American Red Cross 2019 ended a medical mystery that I had been going through for years. My health was changing and there was no answer as to why. I had several medical procedures, tests and scans after the next. The final diagnosis of adenomyosis was determined by my dedicated gynecologist. This brought me a great sense of relief.

Presidential Award for Excellence Honoree Leotha Forte

Each day Red Cross employees and volunteers perform amazing work in fulfilment of our mission. Recognizing and celebrating the efforts of a workforce that represents the rich diversity of the communities we serve is vital to encouraging continued high performance and to maintaining an engaged and happy workforce. Recently, an Eastern North Carolina volunteer was recognized as a Presidential Award

no ordinary day on the job

On April 16, 2020, Justin Cross was experiencing a normal day at work with the Adams Electric Company. That day, he was working on location at a Duke University Hospital construction site. It was at that time when a co-worker began to stagger and demonstrated difficulty breathing. Justin, who was driving a telehandler at the time, was signaled to dial

Helping People with Emotional Support After a Disaster

Michael Brown is a resident of Greenville, North Carolina, and has been a Red Cross volunteer with Disaster Cycle Services for close to 22 years. Through his time with the Red Cross, he has served in several roles. One role that is close to his heart, is the role of Disaster Mental Health Volunteer. Where a devastating storm, hurricane or

Would You Know What To Do?

In January 2020, Jon Carter was at work at Duke Energy in Raleigh, North Carolina, when another employee asked him, “Do you know CPR?” Fortunately, he recently became CPR certified after participating in workplace Red Cross training offered by Duke Energy. While someone called 911, Jon found a man unconscious on his stomach with several people gathered around. The man

Red Crosser Describes Commitment to Armed Forces: Before and During COVID-19

Robin Callahan, Director of Services to the Armed Forces and International Services for the American Red Cross Eastern NC Region, recalls when she was training in Germany last January to deploy to a support site in Baghdad. The Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi Militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis had just been assassinated by a United States drone strike. Callahan