With much of the East Coast under water, four Los Angeles based volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty, traveling 2400 miles to help those in need. Their digital community back home showed support, virtually accompanying them along the way.
By Ashley Henyan, Digital Communicaitons Manager, Los Angeles Region
On October 10, 2016, Sandy Hanagami, Angela De Rozario, Henry Mills and Pedro Orellena departed from the American Red Cross Los Angeles Regional Headquarters in Emergency Response Vehicles on a 5-day trip to the East Coast to assist with Hurricane Matthew Relief Efforts. Before they left, I exchanged numbers with the group, in hopes of getting a few photos from the volunteers to share the Red Cross mission in action with our social media community here in L.A. Within hours, photos and videos started coming in; and with every state line our volunteers crossed, those of us virtually joining the trip on social media began to feel more and more like we were also a part of the team. By the second day, our Twitter followers and Facebook users were completely engaged, giving advice on the best routes to take, where to stop for local cuisine, and “must-see” landmarks along the way. I did my best to keep up with the content, posting and tweeting updates as best I could in real-time. It wasn’t long before Red Cross chapters from other states began to take notice and follow their journey too, sending virtual shout-outs and waves as our volunteers passed by on freeways and interstates just a few miles away.
The dedication and commitment of our traveling volunteers was great, but the response from our social media community was just as awesome! Not only were people re-tweeting and sharing photos and videos from our volunteers’ trip; but, through the power of social media, our digital community was actually along for the ride, virtually enjoying the journey every step of the way.
By the time Sandy, Angela, Henry and Pedro reached the state of Georgia their deployment destinations were finalized and those of us following from Los Angeles were excited to see them begin assisting with Hurricane Matthew relief efforts and help those affected by the storm. Luckily for us, the photos and videos kept coming; and I kept posting, keeping our volunteers’ new and expanding Red Cross digital family informed and engaged throughout the rest of their 14-day deployment.
“Being out in the field and being able to help people during their greatest time of need is such a great feeling, but the response from social media and the support we received from our Los Angeles community was huge! We really felt like everyone was in our corner. The entire time we were assisting with Hurricane Matthew relief efforts, we knew everyone back home wanted us to succeed.”
– Angela De Rozario, Red Cross Volunteer
If you want to be a part of their journey too, check out this photo album on Facebook and watch this highlight video on YouTube.
