Want to make a difference? Volunteer.

Sue Critz is a retired nurse who believes in putting the skills she gained through a lifetime of service to good use helping people; that is what drew her to volunteer for the American Red Cross 25 years ago. Beginning with Services to the Armed Forces in South Korea, her work now extends to collaboration with Northern New England Disaster Action Teams for local health responses. Two years ago, she attained the position of Manager for Disaster Health Services for deployment to natural disasters based on her experience in hurricanes in St. Croix, North Carolina and Texas.

Just recently Sue felt the satisfaction of working with the Red Cross Nurse Advocate Program when their work for the 2020 Measles and Rubella Initiative resulted in $50,000 in funding for the Centers for Disease Control’s Global Health measles immunization program for fiscal year 2021. Sue explains that every year the Red Cross comes together with five different national and international organizations to seek appropriations to address measles and rubella. Since 2001, the American Red Cross and partners have worked in 88 countries to deliver 2 billion doses of measles vaccine. Despite having an effective vaccine, measles claimed more than 140,000 lives of children in 2018. The challenge in 2020 is the fear of Covid-19 and the possibility of postponement of vaccinations. Preventive measles vaccination campaigns were paused or postponed in 28 countries this year. Through a series of virtual visits throughout the summer of 2020, American Red Cross nurses raised the alarm to the dire situation with local members of Congress.

”The response of our Senators to release this money reflects the importance of our responsibility in the world. I highly recommend that individuals looking for a meaningful way to help, consider volunteering for the Red Cross,” said Sue. “I volunteer because I love seeing global response; people coming together toward our mission to alleviate suffering.”