The Flin Flon Red Cross is holding a community barbecue on June 12 as part of a search for more volunteers.
The event will take place at Pioneer Square.
Amanda MacQuarrie, a volunteer with the Red Cross, outlined what the group does.
“Right now we need personal disaster assistance,” she said.
“You pretty much just help anybody. Last night there was a house fire. If they needed 72 hours of assistance, we would have been able to help them with accommodations if they didn’t have any.”
MacQuarrie said the Flin Flon Red Cross is looking for six more volunteers.
“We have about 10 right now, but some of them are not active,” she said.
“By active I mean performing the duties, which means being on a personal disaster call list and just coming to meetings and stuff like that. Some people can’t participate, but they’re volunteers. We would need around six more to be comfortable.”
MacQuarrie said the volunteer drive is partially driven by the time of year. The Flin Flon Red Cross usually has fewer calls to action during the winter months.
“We don’t get as many house fires. I find we need more help during the summer times. We’re more busy during the summertime,” she said.
MacQuarrie is a supervisor with the Red Cross, and has been called to assist wherever help is needed throughout Canada and the world. She was recently asked to help out in Northern Ontario.
“I just got called to go to the northern fire in Ontario to help evacuate people,” she said.
“I did respond that I was able to help out for a week, but I didn’t hear back from them. I don’t know if they still need supervisors are not.”
MacQuarrie said the best quality they’re looking for in a volunteer is availability.
“I just [want] somebody who is able to commit their time monthly for the 10 meetings and who just wants to be a part of a team,” she said.
“There is a certain protocol you have to go through for the Red Cross. It’s not just a sign up. You have to go through a screening and stuff.”
For more information on the Flin Flon Red Cross, email [email protected]
