When disaster strikes, when floodwaters rise, when families lose everything, when the world seems to fall apart, Fred Sanford shows up. Always calm. Always steady. Always ready to serve.

For more than 20 years, Fred has been a volunteer with the American Red Cross, giving not just his time, but his heart. He has logged thousands of volunteer hours—over 8,000 in one year alone—and still devotes 30 to 40 hours each week to the mission of helping others. A servant leader of remarkable humility and integrity, Fred has earned the admiration of everyone around him, from local volunteers to national leadership.

As Volunteer Partner to the Texas Gulf Coast Region CEO and Principal Administrator of Elected Officials Liaison, and Deputy Director for the National Incident Command Team, Fred leads with quiet strength and compassion. Yet, when you ask him about his accolades—including his 2024 US Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award—he’ll brush them off with a modest smile and say, “It’s not about recognition. It’s about people.”

At the core of all he does is the guiding purpose of the organization he loves: “to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.” Fred embodies this mission with every deployment, every late-night phone call and every person he comforts in a moment of loss.

Roots of a Servant’s Heart

Fred Sanford’s story begins in Los Angeles, where he was born and raised until the age of 13. After his parents divorced in the 1960s, his mother moved the children to Alleyton, Texas, a small town of about 2,000. Though Fred lived there only a few months before returning to Los Angeles to live with his father, those brief months left a lifelong impression. He continued to visit Alleyton over the years, always drawn back by family and the sense of community that defined the town.

Life in Alleyton was simple but full of lessons. His maternal grandparents, Carnelia and Hannibal Bolden, were cornerstones of their community—entrepreneurs who owned a restaurant, dance hall and liquor store, but more importantly, they were humanitarians.

“The community would come to them when they needed help,” Fred recalls. “If someone’s husband, for whatever reason, didn’t bring home his full paycheck, my grandmother would still make sure the wife could feed her family. If they butchered a pig or cow, every needy family in town got a piece of it.”

Fred didn’t fully understand it then, but those summers watching his grandparents feed the hungry and help the poor planted seeds of empathy and service that would grow deep roots. “That’s what I saw—pure generosity,” Fred recalls.

Back in Los Angeles, Fred’s father also owned liquor stores, and the household was full of life. Fred’s village became his father, his paternal grandparents, McKinley and Julia Sanford and his aunt and uncle and their 8 children.  “It was always active and fun,” Fred remembers. “Nine kids running around, always something happening. You learned to share, to cooperate and to speak up when you needed to.”

That environment, full of both structure and spontaneity, helped shape his easygoing leadership style, steady but adaptable, firm but kind. He delivered newspapers at dawn, scrubbed cars at the local car wash and saved every penny. “If I wanted something, I worked for it,” he says. “That’s just how it was.”

After completing four years as an intelligence specialist in the Air Force, Fred went on to earn an Economics degree from the University of Santa Clara and an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California, launching a successful career in banking and mergers and acquisitions in New York. But service—though dormant for a while—was never far from his heart.

Answering the Call: Hurricane Katrina

In 2002, Fred retired at age 56. Fred was watching news coverage of Hurricane Katrina when everything changed. “I had never really paid attention to disasters before,” he admits. “But when I saw those images—people who had lost everything—I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to do something.’”

He donated money to the Red Cross, but it didn’t feel like enough. So, he drove to the San Diego Chapter and said simply, “I want to volunteer. Send me to Louisiana.”

At first, they asked him to stay and help locally. With his banking background, Fred was a natural fit for a critical behind-the-scenes role: processing the flood of donation checks pouring in. He organized a team, set up operations in his former bank’s conference room and made sure every donor dollar of support was quickly deposited to the bank to reach the disaster response teams. His leadership was so effective that soon after, he was sent to Louisiana—this time as an ERV (emergency response vehicle) driver.

That experience transformed him. “Driving through neighborhoods, handing out food, talking with families—it was the most fulfilling work I’d ever done,” Fred says. “I thought, I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

From that moment on, Fred was all in.

Twenty Years of Service and Leadership

Since Katrina, Fred has deployed more than 60 disaster operations—from hurricanes in Louisiana and Texas, to tornadoes in Oklahoma, North Dakota and Alabama to many DAT (Disaster Action Team) response calls. His expertise quickly made him indispensable, ultimately leading him to direct national programs and serve as a Volunteer Partner for senior Red Cross officials—a role entrusted only to those who help drive the organization’s most critical, high-impact initiatives.

“He’s a true servant leader,” says Shawn Schulze, CEO of the Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast Region.  “Fred embodies the spirit of the Red Cross—selfless, dependable and deeply compassionate.”

When asked how he prepares to go into the field, Fred’s answer reveals both discipline and heart. “First, I make sure my family is taken care of. Then I study the community I’m going to—its customs, its foods, its traditions. You need to respect the people you’re serving.” He laughs quietly, recalling how much he’s learned about regional diets. “In Louisiana, it’s beans and rice. In Texas, it’s barbecue. You learn what matters to people—and that’s what should matter to you.”

But the biggest lesson? “Go in with your ears, not your mouth,” he says. “Listen to the clients. They’ll tell you what they need, what they’ve lost and what gives them hope. Your job is to hear them.”

The Spirit of Service

Fred’s humility belies the magnitude of his contributions. When praised for serving as much as 8,000 hours in one year, he points instead to the organization’s mission and its volunteers—who make up 90% of the Red Cross workforce nationwide.

“It can upset me a bit when I hear people criticize the Red Cross,” he admits. “Because I know how hard volunteers work—every meal served, every shelter opened, every life touched. We’re all there because we care.”

His work has also deepened his compassion. “Disasters don’t care how much money you have,” Fred says softly. “This work has made me more sensitive to those who can’t recover without help.”

A Life Well Lived

Today, at 79 years old, Fred is still going strong. He lives in both Texas and California with his wife, Jill, his partner in life and service—she, too, is a trained Red Cross volunteer. Together they travel often—from exploring the world for leisure, to spending time in San Diego, Portsmouth, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York City and Colorado Springs—visiting their children and grandchildren. Still, he has no intention of leaving the Red Cross any time soon.

When asked to describe the Red Cross family in a few words, Fred’s response is short and emphatic: “Servant’s heart.” It’s a fitting answer from someone who has spent a lifetime showing what service looks like—quietly, consistently and with unwavering commitment. Fred’s volunteerism is a reminder that one person’s dedication can ripple outward, leaving an indelible mark on people’s hearts. And there’s no doubt his service will keep shaping the future of those who, during their darkest moments, needed a helping hand, who found hope because Fred showed up.               

Story By: MaryJane Mudd