March 25, 2024
By: Shelby Wells, Regional Communications Manager
Just as volunteers comprise 90% of the American Red Cross workforce, it’s safe to say that Deb Gibson has spent 90% of her life contributing to the mission of the Red Cross.
The tireless Louisiana teammate has served in nearly every capacity, deployed to disasters nationwide and has left a trail of inspiration and comfort throughout her Red Cross journey. This year, she will reach a milestone volunteer anniversary: 40 years of Red Cross service. However, the mission has been a part of her life since childhood.
After her father retired from the military in the early 1960s, Deb’s parents joined the Red Cross as volunteer teachers of Standard and Advanced First Aid and Lifesaving courses in the community. Before pre-rolled gauze was widely available, Deb remembers helping her mom roll the bandages used in the first aid courses. She fondly recalls playing dress up with the CPR mannequin “Resusci Annie” and, alongside her family, hand wrapping morale-boosters for the soldiers in the Vietnam War.
When Deb joined the Cape May County Board of Directors early in her career, each Board member chose one line of service to commit to fully. While her generational military family keeps her forever passionate about Service to the Armed Forces, she dove headfirst into Red Cross’ disaster response work and found her niche.
“I’ve been doing it ever since,” Deb shared with a smile. The proud Red Crosser has left her mark on decades of disaster relief operations far and wide. Her first deployment was to help in South Carolina after Hurricane Hugo, a Category 5 storm that ravaged the east coast in 1989.
Now Deb knows sheltering like the back of her hand. She is happy operating a forklift, feeding families, supporting logistics in warehouses or operating as a shelter supervisor. No matter the job, Deb finds joy in bringing comfort to those who are seeking safety.
“We have had kids follow us around the shelter, hug us and just want to spend time with us because we make them feel good and they’re scared,” Deb shared. “You can’t put a price on what we do.”
More recently, Deb deployed to help people impacted by disasters including the Baton Rouge floods (2016), Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama tornadoes (2023), major hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina (2019), wildfires in California (2019) and Hawaii (2024) and the typhoon that hit Guam (2023). Showing the true depth of her commitment, she was deployed for five total months in 2023.
While Deb says that all deployments come with their share of challenges and moments of hope, she will always remember the impactful moments responding to the mass casualty event at the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
The tragic event shut down the only supermarket available for a large community during the height of a nationwide baby formula shortage. Deb deployed to help set up logistical feeding sites and manage the incoming food donations.
“I still remember, and it makes me want to cry, how we had people driving from two and three states over bringing diapers and formula,” Deb recalled. “When I respond to disasters, I see the best of people at their worst time, because the community comes together to help.”
It’s this wealth of lived experience that makes Deb a nationally recognized Red Cross teacher and subject matter expert. She continues to learn, recently gaining an international instructor certification from the Louisiana Governor’s Offices of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Deb is honored to be considered a “teacher of teachers” and is invited to train others in her area of expertise.
Deb takes great pride in representing the Louisiana Red Cross locally and beyond. For 10 years in a row, she’s volunteered at first aid stations during Mardi Gras parades and supported the region’s social media engagement efforts alongside responding to disasters.
She makes Team Louisiana proud while being deployed around the country, as well! During her two months in Guam responding to Typhoon Mawar, she observed the robust leadership of Louisiana volunteers.
“People know us and respect what we bring to the operation,” she said. “They know that when Louisiana volunteers are on the ground, we get the job done.”
Volunteers like Deb Gibson breathe life into the mission of the American Red Cross and are the reason we celebrate Red Cross Month every March. She epitomizes the symbol of the Red Cross, a shining beacon of hope for people on their worst days.
“We might not change everyone’s life,” Deb reflected. “But the life we change - that’s world changing.”
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