Story and photo by Cindy Huge, an American Red Cross Public Affairs volunteer
A neighbor asked me where I was going at 10:30 p.m. My answer was “to help several people who just lost everything from an apartment fire.”
It is now 4 a.m., and I am home and wide awake (probably since I drank coffee at 11 p.m.), reflecting on the compassion I witnessed tonight.
I took this picture of my friend and fellow Red Cross volunteer, Janie D. Ramsey, as she provided a warm blanket and hug to a client who was shivering out in the cold.
This man had just lost everything he owned. All he could salvage from the fire was one small bag of clothes.
He cried when we told him we were there to help.
And in all honesty, I shed a few tears as well when he told me his nearest relative lived thousands of miles away, and before we arrived he could not think of anyone who would be able to help him.
These are the moments of my heart.
These are the moments that I am thankful to be able to leave my warm home to help complete strangers.
These are the moments when I can witness strangers helping other strangers in their greatest moments of need.
These are the moments that matter.
These are the precious moments of life.
Thank you to our donors who make it possible for us to help others when they are in need.