Mother and Daughter duo, Cindy (left) and Angela volunteered at a Red Cross shelter during the recent flooding. This Mother’s Day we thank those mothers who give much of their time to the Red Cross and share their volunteering experiences with their children.

Gratitude comes from experiencing something traumatic and realizing you could have not made it, or the situation could have been worse. 

For Cindy Love an American Red Cross volunteer, that worked one of the shelters this past weekend here in Texas, due to the severe flooding near the Trinity River, she expressed how grateful she felt giving her time to volunteer because Red Cross helped her at one time and because as she said, “it’s the right thing to do.”

Cindy also brought her daughter, Angela Tugwell, to volunteer as well to give her the experience of Gratitude. She went on to say that she has always supported the Red Cross because they are always helping everyone out when disaster hits any part of the world. Cindy stated her daughter really enjoyed the experience and it helped her be thankful and appreciative for what she has.

“Gratitude can make a person understand another person who has also faced difficult times and had to reach out for help, it makes it easy to give my time,” said Angela. 

She states, “I volunteer as much as I can because I’ve needed help before and got it.” Cindy volunteered along with her daughter in the kitchen mainly.

The shelter she assisted with had three families that came in on their own as there was not a mandatory evacuation yet. While there she assisted the families by making them feel welcome and safe and serving them food.

While many lost material things, these families and volunteers are grateful for another day. They are grateful to be able to give back and also include their kids to come experience the Gratitude the families that come in are for shelter, food, and a place to lay their head.

This Mother’s day, let’s honor those Mothers like Cindy Love that give back to the community and that are also is a great example of gratitude. 

To volunteer with the Red Cross like Cindy and Angela, go to redcross.org/Texas to sign up.

If you would like to help those affected by the floods, you can make a meaningful difference by donating online at redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Story by Rachel Fuentes