Holly Childs is one of a growing number of American Red Cross volunteers who have decided there is no place like home, even when deploying to a disaster site.

              Childs recently joined a group of recreational vehicle owners known as DOVES, Disaster Operations Volunteer Escapees. It is a Texas-based organization comprised mostly of retirees living in RVs who take their homes with them to disaster relief operations (DROs) across the country.  Founded in 1978, the DOVES are a special interest group of the Escapees RV Club, which boast 70,000 active members in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Childs, like the DOVEs, is based out of Livingston, Texas.  She had worked as a mass care manager for the Red Cross Central Appalachian Region in her native West Virginia for about a year until she decided she would rather retire and become a volunteer who deploys to DROs.

              “It’s hard to get people excited about leaving their homes for two or three weeks to do sheltering at a disaster site,” Childs said. “I think it would be easier to recruit people who are ready to go out in their van after the disaster happens.

              “This way I can still do sheltering and sleep in my own bed,” she said.

              Even before she purchased her RV and joined the DOVEs, Childs had been very active responding to a dozen disasters during the past year, including those in Florida, North Carolina and Texas. She says she does it because of the personal connections she makes with fellow volunteers and the clients they serve.

              “I don’t want to be at headquarters, which, by the way, is very important work,” Childs said. “I would rather be in a shelter where I’m directly helping clients – direct one-on-one – helping people and changing people’s lives.

              “There is nothing that I have ever volunteered for before that has made me feel so much like I’m the one getting so much out of this,” she said

              Of course, there are some who wonder why Childs sold her home to live full-time in an RV. She said her parents asked, “Why would you do this?” Holly’s response was “Why not?” In addition to traveling to DROs for the Red Cross, living full-time in an RV allows her to travel all over the country to see family and friends. She was visiting family in North Carolina when she was interviewed, and said she has plans to travel to Texas, Arizona and Florida in the coming months.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information about volunteering or contributing to the Red Cross’s mission, please call 1-800-RED-CROSS, visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @RedCross.