| |
Privacy Policy
|
|
 |
 |
Name: Mary Birch
Profession:Chairman Red Cross Community Disaster Education Committee
In November 2005, nearly 200 victims of Hurricane Katrina packed their meager belongings, the first step of a trip back to their home state of Louisiana. Before taking the first step aboard an airport-bound caravan of buses, many of them had one final stop to make - to say farewell to Mary Birch. Like many Americans, Birch was touched by 9-11. "I felt compelled to help. I realized being part of the community was important," she told Boca Raton magazine. That compulsion drove her to serve as a shelter coordinator for the Red Cross. With that duty, Birch worked with shelter residents for three months with few breaks, comforting them as best she could: holding the hand of a 90-year-old woman or coaxing a smile out of a child. When the day came for the evacuees to go home, there was a parade of grateful people whose lives were touched by Mary, including a knee-high boy who offered a grateful hug around her leg and a long look as he and his family headed for the buses that would lead them home.
|
|
