Volunteering in the 'Banks

   Today I went to an hour long information session about  the American Red Cross and their role in disasters and it is official: I am now a nurse volunteer for their disaster response team (it was a very educational and motivational hour, luckily they were only trying to talk people into becoming a volunteer and not trying to get me to buy a timeshare or start selling makeup or jewelery...).

I will go through an 8 hour training on April 9th to learn about the paperwork and how they document the care that nurses and physicians provide and then it will be officially official that I can be part of a disaster response team and will respond to any disasters locally in Fairbanks (such as a flood, fire, avalanche, etc.), in the state of Alaska, and within the United States depending on the nature of the disaster.  Most importantly, after April 9th I will get a vest and name tag!  There will be multiple training sessions offered in the coming months so that I will feel like I know what the heck I am doing but this sounds like it will be a good way to spend some free time and actually be able to help people when they need it the most.  Apparently the Red Cross just opened an office in Fairbanks within the past year and has a total of four people working in it and only has 8 current volunteers, none of which are medical professionals.  Don't worry, I haven't gone completely off the deep end, they emphasized that I can be as involved as I please meaning that I won't be required to respond to every fire that happens in Fairbanks, or every natural disaster but if I happen to be available and able to help, it will be nice to know that I am prepared to offer some assistance.  It is good to know that during my three years in Fairbanks I can use my free time to do some good.