Mitchell Ostrover has been volunteering his time to help others for many years. Along with his wife, Leslie, he was motivated to get more involved in making the world a better place as he watched the World Trade Center buildings collapse on September 11th, 2001.

“I was staring at the building from one of the side streets, and it was the pile on fire with a piece of the side of the building sticking up,” reflected Mitchell. “And I said to myself then, ‘I’ve got to give back.’”

Twenty-three years and an estimated fifteen deployments later, he has found his calling to help with the American Red Cross. He joined the Red Cross in 2016 and primarily serves as a Disaster Action Team member on Long Island, helping his neighbors in need after they experience home fires or other disasters. He also frequently signs up to help when major disasters strike outside of his native New York, such as with the Lahaina wildfires in Hawaii.

Most recently, Mitchell joined the effort to help Texas residents impacted by storms and floods. A few days after he arrived, his phone dinged and a photo popped up – the underside of a forearm resting on a white table, with red band wrapped around just below the elbow.

The arm belonged to one of his daughters, Pam, a high school teacher currently living in Atlanta, Georgia. For at least the past three years, although neither she nor Mitchell remembers exactly when the tradition began, she has gone to donate platelets every time Mitchell (or her mother, Leslie) deploys with the Red Cross to help people impacted by disasters.

“I’m just so proud of them,” said Pam. “Once he retired, both of them were able to donate a lot more time and so this is a way that they can really help out a lot of people. So, it’s the least that the rest of us who aren’t directly helping [can do] – we can all be doing something a little bit at least, [even if it’s] just giving blood.”

For Mitchell, he says it makes it easier to deploy away from home during disasters to know that his daughter goes to donate platelets.

“It gives you a good feeling. There are some people who give money, there are some who give their time, and she gives platelets,” said Mitchell. “It makes me proud. She sent me the picture so that I knew that she continued the tradition of giving platelets, and it makes me feel really good to know that she cares like that.”

Help neighbors in need, whether experiencing disasters or needing life-saving blood products. Visit http://www.redcross.org/volunteer to find a volunteer opportunity that is right for you or visit http://www.redcrossblood.org to find a blood drive near you.

Story By: Frederic Klein