April 19-25 is Volunteer Appreciation Week. To celebrate this important week, we are highlighting the people who carry out the important work of the Red Cross---ordinary people who donate their time and talents to help others. If you would like to join their ranks, visit our Volunteer page.

Closed roads. Cold temperatures. Two blizzards. Thousands of people who need hot food, drinks and a few kind words.

Many would shiver at just the thought. American Red Cross volunteer Melody Stevenson not only accepted that assignment, she embraced it.

As the waters of the Red River threatened homes and businesses in North Dakota in March, the Red Cross pre-positioned cots, ready-to-eat meals and Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs). Local Red Cross volunteers steeled themselves for a long disaster response and began providing for the needs of their fellow residents.

The waters rose. The response grew beyond what the volunteers could handle.

So the Red Cross asked volunteers all over the nation to come and help, and to drive the organization’s ERVs to the Dakotas for feeding those affected by the flooding and the sandbaggers who were fighting back the water.

Stevenson was ready, and she and another volunteer drove an ERV to North Dakota. Once there, they spent two days passing out snacks, hot cocoa and warm meals to members of the National Guard, sandbaggers, police officers and residents fighting to keep the waters out of their homes.

On their first day there, Stevenson and another volunteer found one of those residents along their route. Located just a few blocks from the river, the woman and her husband were not only fighting to keep the waters back, but they also opened a warming station in their garage. For days, they offered food and snacks to their neighbors and the sandbaggers who worked to keep their neighborhood dry. However, they were running out of supplies, and were very happy to see the ERV roll in with hot cocoa, coffee, sandwiches and water. Stevenson also gave them snacks and drinks so they could continue to offer snacks to the sandbaggers and their neighbors.

“There was water everywhere, even in people’s homes,” Stevenson says. “There were cars floating. The water kept rising.”

When a snow storm struck the region, the Red Cross volunteers kept the ERVs rolling for as long as they could, knowing that residents would need food and drinks more than ever during the winter weather.

“It never stopped snowing,” Stevenson says of that day. “And the temperature went from cold to colder.”

After a few days, Stevenson received a new assignment: sandwich maker. With more than 40 ERV crews providing thousands of snacks and meals every day, sandwiches for the sandbaggers and residents was in high demand. So Stevenson rolled up her sleeves, and formed an assembly line. “People from the community were always grateful,” Stevenson says. “And the volunteers were very nice, very appreciative of any help that we could give.”

That’s what kept Stevenson going, and what keeps her coming back to help more. Even when the temperatures are cold, it’s the kind response of the people she helps---and her fellow volunteers---that warms her up.

The American Red Cross in Southeastern Wisconsin relies on donations of time and money so they can provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies in Dodge, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth and Waukesha counties. To donate your time, please visit our Volunteer page. Financial donations can be made online through our secure contribution site.