Volunteers Serve Military Families, Children in Their Community

During the Month of the Military Child the Red Cross focuses on the unique needs of military children

American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces volunteers Kelly Iglesias and Barbara Dupree are volunteer co-leads for the Helping Hands Food Pantry and Lending Closet at the Fort Knox Army Installation near Louisville, Kentucky.

"We give families about 25 grocery items that we put into bags," Kelly said. "We'll give them bags of food that should sustain them for a couple of weeks - all the way up to cleaning supplies, diapers and wipes for babies, at no cost."

Barbara and Kelly say that the Helping Hands Program at Fort Knox is not only a safe zone for the military community, but a comforting place to welcome children with disabilities, including their sons Jesse and Jack. They have both joined their mothers in volunteering with the Red Cross SAF team at Fort Knox.

"This is wonderful," Kelly said. "In a place where you don't really have the transitional service for young adults with disabilities, the Red Cross has offered us an environment where they can get it. It feels like a family here. The boys are supported."

Barbara, whose husband has served in the Marines for 25 years, moved with her family to Kentucky from Italy. She wanted to find job training opportunities for Jack, and Red Cross SAF volunteering was the perfect fit.

"We've had many opportunities to volunteer with different organizations, but we have always gone back to Red Cross," Barbara said.

Kelly, a military spouse based on Fort Knox with her family, says the Red Cross is close to her heart after receiving Red Cross Emergency Communication Services after her father passed away. She says the Red Cross team was with her every step of the way, communicating messages to her family, ultimately helping her and her family return home to Guam for his funeral.

"After going through that hardship, I came to the Red Cross and found a family," said Kelly. "The Red Cross was here when I needed it."

One of the many missions of the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces is to support military families and develop strong, resilient military children. The Red Cross offers free, confidential mental wellness classes led by mental health professionals for the whole military family, along with offering programs like Helping Hands at military installations across the country.

"If the programs didn't exist, I think it would be devastating," Barbara said. "I remember a mother who was so grateful for our help. She received clothes and toys for her children. She was like, 'All this food for us?' I said, 'We will find a way for you. Come back if you need more.'"

The American Red Cross is on more than 100 military installations and deployment sites worldwide. Over the last year, the Red Cross has provided over 367,000 emergency communications and more than 196,000 critical community services to military members, veterans and their families.

"My volunteers will tell me there's a huge need," said May Giulitto, Director of the Kentucky Region Service to the Armed Forces. "And I say let's do it. All of this is because of volunteers."

Each year, the Red Cross provides around 471,000 services to members of the military, veterans and their families by leveraging a network of some 14,700 volunteers across the country and around the world.

"We don't just help families on base," Kelly said. "We want more people in the military community to know they can come here."

You can volunteer to support military children and families alongside the Red Cross. Learn more here.

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