A version of this post originally appeared on News from the Kentucky Region, written by Lauren Thomas.
Happy National Donut Day! If you’ve never heard of Red Cross Donut Dollies, you’re in for a treat! (That is, unless you’ve already snagged a donut today. Then this is treat number two.)
From her time as a Red Cross Donut Dolly in Vietnam, to disaster responses across the United States, to her current service in Lexington, Kentucky, Kathy Hoff has devoted years of time and talent to helping the Red Cross in a variety of capacities.
Hoff’s first volunteer experience with the organization was in 1969. As an adventuresome recent college graduate, she and her roommate saw a newspaper ad to go to Vietnam as “Donut Dollies,” and they signed up. She spent the next year there, offering moral support for the troops. The Dollies, a name inherited from their predecessors in World War II and Korea, would run recreation centers, put on self-designed programs to entertain the troops, and visit hospitals, which was difficult and heart wrenching for Hoff.
“As long as we could take the guys’ minds off the war, that was our main aspect of having them do these games. A lot of times I would just sit and talk. I did not like going to the hospital, because I had to smile and be cheerful, and seeing these guys that were my age and younger, and what they’ve been through [. . .] that was really challenging,” she said.
Following her service in Vietnam, Hoff was deployed twice following Katrina. She spent three weeks in Mississippi operating an mobile feeding vehicle, and then two weeks in New Orleans feeding the thousands of displaced residents. Since then, she has responded to numerous disasters across the country, including relief operations in California, Iowa and Texas, and on the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Currently, Hoff presents The Pillowcase Project (a free disaster preparedness program) to elementary school students, and she’s continued her work with the military, serving as a Service to the Armed Forces Specialist and donating her time at the local VA hospital.
A retired teacher originally from the Seattle area, Hoff and her husband moved to Lexington five years ago to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren. Volunteering is a way of life for Hoff, and she has discovered plenty of volunteer opportunities in the Bluegrass State.
“It’s just giving of yourself, just thinking of other people, and not worrying about yourself and all that’s going on. It’s just such a good feeling to help. There’s a lady at the VA where I volunteer. She’s 98 years old, was a nurse in World War II, and she just beams when I walk in,” she said.
She has stayed in touch with a number of fellow Red Crossers from her deployments around the country. Kathy is also relaying the importance of volunteering to younger generations by involving her grandchildren in numerous activities.
“It’s a great feeling to give of yourself. When you get a hug [. . .], that’s the biggest pay you could ever have.”
Learn more about the Donut Dollies, and find Red Cross volunteer opportunities on www.redcross.org.