Three feet of water from Race Horse Creek covered the main level of the Boyd family home. The road leading to their house in Deming, Wash. was a swiftly flowing river that would not allow them to escape.
On Dec. 13, Jim and Kim Boyd and their two sons, ages 17 and 21, were evacuated by helicopter. The family later contacted the Red Cross for help.
Two weeks earlier, on Dec. 2, the Boyd family donated to the Red Cross at the 13th Annual Real Heroes Celebration, the program’s biggest fundraiser of the
year.
The water receded from the house on Dec. 15, but the Boyds’ road is still flooded. The family is living in their friends’ living room while they wait for insurance information to process so they can repair the house.
Marinda Peugh, financial development director for the Mount Baker Chapter, said the Boyd family didn’t know much about the organization before the fundraiser. They attended because their 17-year-old son had been nominated for a Youth Hero award for his volunteer work with Animals as Natural Therapy.
“It’s incredible that a family who gave a generous donation to the Red Cross at the Real Heroes Dinner needed us just two weeks later,” Peugh said.
When she donated, Kim Boyd never expected to be in need of Red Cross assistance.
Race Horse Creek began to overflow and reached the Boyd house a half a mile away on Dec. 12.
“We tried to walk out early in the day,” Boyd said. “But the water down the road was too swift.”
That night, the family contacted search and rescue but it was too dark to attempt a rescue.
“[It] was fine — we weren’t dying or anything,” she said. “On the 13th the helicopter came to take us out.”
Once rescued, the Boyds called the Red Cross. They were provided with blankets and a card to purchase food and clothing. A volunteer caseworker from the organization contacted them for counseling. Kim Boyd said the people at the Red Cross were very kind and understanding.
“When you are not expecting a disaster it throws you for a loop and some help is nice,” she said. “It was really touching how people came together like that.”
Friends offered the Boyds a place to stay and a car to drive. The family was grateful for all the help.
“The whole purpose of the Red Cross is the community helping each other,” Peugh said. “It’s really neighbors helping neighbors. You donate but you never expect that it will be you that will need the help. This is just the perfect example of you never know when something could happen and we’ll be there.”
Kim Boyd said the flood was a major hiccup in their lives but she realizes there are many people in worse situations. She said she is thankful her family is safe. They are lucky nothing worse happened, she said.
Receiving help from the Red Cross made Kim Boyd more aware of the impact the organization has on the community. “You know they are there, but when you have been affected and ask for assistance it puts things into perspective,” she said.
Kim Boyd said it is important to volunteer, as she has witnessed through the examples of her son and the people at the Red Cross making a difference in the community. She intends to volunteer in the future and plans on giving to the Red Cross again.
“We are an organization that has to raise 100 percent of the funds needed to provide emergency services to our community,” Peugh said. “We are 98 percent volunteer-driven, so it is very important to have people volunteering and donating money.”
For students who want to get involved, Western has a Red Cross Club that works closely with the Mount Baker Chapter to help the community and bring together like-minded students.
“I would love to see more people volunteering,” said club president Ariella Angell. “I know a lot of people do, but I feel like a lot of people are busy with their own lives and don’t realize how much of a difference they can make with just a small thing.”
To learn more about how to get
involved with the Red Cross, visit
mtbredcross.org or check out the Western
Red Cross Club Facebook page. The
Western Red Cross Club meets
The Western Front
January 1, 2011
January 1, 2011
http://www.mtbredcross.org/index.php?nShow=183
