|
Disabled Volunteer Teaches the Most Important Skill: Confidence
By Mary Etta Boesl, Communication and Marketing, American Red Cross
Friday, May 25, 2007 — Bruce Rex and the American Red Cross had a date with destiny.
Red Cross instructor Bruce Rex, who celebrated 30 years of volunteering in April, teaches CPR to Webelos Scout Neil Forde for his Readyman badge
|
In the late 1970s, Bruce was a young father wanting very much to serve his community. He joined the first aid squad in his hometown in Chatham, New Jersey, but could not be an active member because he suffers from a progressively degenerative neuromuscular disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT).
To complete the squad's certification requirements, Bruce took a Red Cross CPR class. During the course he learned it was possible for him to be of service to others by teaching lifesaving health and safety skills such as first aid, CPR and babysitting.
Excited by the opportunity, Bruce signed up to become an instructor. Soon he was teaching Red Cross first aid and CPR, not only to individual students but to groups of firefighters, corporate employees and university personnel. It was the beginning of what has become a 30-year partnership with the Colonial Crossroads Chapter in Summit, New Jersey.
"Like many of our volunteers, it was destiny that brought Bruce Rex to that first CPR class," said Christine Hodde, the chapter's executive director. "He has taught hundreds of people around Summit and Madison the skills they need to save a life, and we're very proud that he's a member of our Red Cross family."
Bruce's role has expanded over the years as his own training and abilities as an instructor have grown. In addition to teaching people the skills they need to save lives, he trains a new cadre of Red Cross instructors every year. And since the early 1990s, he has served as volunteer chair for CPR and first aid, scheduling and coordinating courses and instructors.
Now retired, Bruce still teaches courses for the Colonial Crossroads Chapter nearly every day. He measures his success not by keeping track of how many students he teaches, but by what he teaches them.
"I'm proud of those I've taught because they've gained the confidence needed to respond calmly in a crisis," he says. "It's not only the skills themselves that are important. Knowing what to do makes a big difference!"
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
Related Content:
|
