Ex. director of local Red Cross and dedicated volunteer helping relief efforts in Florida

Running a chapter for the American Red Cross is not always a desk job, as Brian McDaniel fully understands.

McDaniel, executive director of the Romeoville-based American Red Cross Illinois River Valley chapter, is serving a two-week deployment in Florida with Red Cross volunteer Chuck Massaro of Wheaton.

McDaniel and Massaro left Saturday morning in one of the Red Cross’ emergency response vehicles to join other volunteers assisting with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts. They passed through Georgia by Sunday and made it to their rally point near Orlando on Monday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, McDaniel and Massaro delivered food and water in Polk County. They expect to be assigned to Fort Myers, in Lee County, by the end of the week.

On Tuesday, they were out in the field in Polk County, Florida, delivering water and ready-to-eat meals in areas with the most need, McDaniel said. Meals came in family packs of 36 meals – four breakfasts, four lunches, four dinners – that could feed a family of four, Massaro said.

On Wednesday they delivered more than 1,000 meals in less than two hours at a fixed location where residents met them, McDaniel said. He said “things are very fluid” as far as shelters and food distribution centers go and that the volunteers’ schedules change as conditions and needs change.

“We are the first boots on the ground, so we expect chaos and have to be flexible,” McDaniel said.

[ Area Red Cross explains how to help Hurricane Ian relief efforts ]

McDaniel said the storm didn’t do as much damage in Central Florida as in other parts of the state. He said he and Massaro saw a lot tree and root damage.

But Massaro and he also went to motor home parks that are underwater, with people clearly in need. Some of those people lost electricity – and consequently all their food – twice, since they had re-stocked their refrigerators once power was restored.

Massaro said he and McDaniel not only provide direct services to people, but they report back to headquarters on the extent of the need, if more or less assistance is needed and how much food and water they distributed, they said.

“We’re providing our leadership at headquarters with an understanding of, ‘Hey, this area is a lot worse than you understand’ or sometimes it’s the other way around – ‘Hey, this area is not as bad as we thought’ – so that helps them with planning,” Massaro said.

McDaniel said that while providing food and shelter is a volunteer’s primary role, they also assess if other interventions are needed. These could be financial or even emotional support, he said.

Once he and Massaro reached Fort Myers, where several kitchens already are up and running, they will be assigned a kitchen. Then they will load up their vehicle with meals from that kitchen and deliver them, McDaniel said.

Massaro said he and McDaniel might go to a fixed location, such as a church, community center or a city hall. At other times, he and McDaniel will just head into neighborhoods looking for need, even announcing their presence over a speaker, McDaniel said.

“You can usually tell that they’re in need because we can see a lot of damage,” Massaro said. “We go up and down the streets announcing our presence.”

McDaniel said he and Massaro will typically stay in staffed shelters overnight, which could be in a church or a school. Or they even might wind up sleeping in the vehicle. It all depends on the situation, McDaniel said.

“We basically stay in the same conditions as the people who are affected,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel said he’s been deployed three times to disaster areas since he became executive director of the American Red Cross Illinois River Valley chapter in 2019.

He went to Louisiana in the summer of 2020 to assist those affected by Hurricane Laura. Then he and Massaro went to Louisiana in September 2021 to help the recovery efforts from recover Hurricane Ida.

McDaniel is the former deputy treasurer and chief investment officer for Will County Treasurer’s office, according to the Red Cross.

Connie Esparza, communications manager for the American Red Cross Illinois Region, said Massaro became involved with Red Cross in 2020. Massaro helped set up shelter for those affected by the tornado in Woodridge and Naperville in the summer of 2021.

Esparza said Massaro also volunteers for the Red Cross “Sound the Alarm” program, installing smoke alarms on weekends when he isn’t helping the Red Cross’ Disaster Action Team, Esparza said.

Massaro said he’s thankful he has the time and resources to help.

“I’m just glad I have the opportunity to give back to not only my community, but nationally,” Massaro said. “I’m grateful for that.”

McDaniel said he’s honored to help the efforts, especially in conjunction with the Red Cross, which has been a movement globally for more than 140 years, he said.

“It’s humbling to serve these people going through some of the most difficult days of their lives,” McDaniel said. “To be able to be part of their recovery is unique and humbling, and I’m sure Chuck feels the same way. It’s special work, but we need more people to do this.”

Massaro said volunteering for the Red Cross doesn’t necessarily mean being deployed to help hurricane victims. It means backfilling volunteer positions at home now that so many local volunteers are deployed.

McDaniel also stressed the need for donations and blood, especially with the cancelation of blood drives in areas affected by Hurricane Ian. The Red Cross said 1,000 blood and platelet donations were not collected as a result.

To donate financially, donate blood or volunteer, visit redcross.org.