Red Cross volunteer for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter, Pam Frigot follows in the footsteps of many humanitarians before her.

The Adams Township woman is a natural helper and has dedicated six years to assisting those in need through the Red Cross.

“I always think what if it was me, I’d want someone to help out. If there’s a need and I can somehow help, why wouldn’t I help someone if I had the capacity to do so?” Frigot said.

Frigot was inspired to volunteer for the Red Cross by a colleague at Slippery Rock University where she worked with international students.

“I was just so impressed with what she did with the Red Cross, that I thought I needed to pursue this,” Frigot said.

She signed up with her local chapter, which serves Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington counties. Frigot, 66, has no intention of stopping her volunteer work.

“I have the time, I get a small reward in knowing my efforts helped, and I enjoy what I do, so I keep coming back and hope to be able to continue doing so,” Frigot said.

Soon after completing her training, Frigot deployed with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team following Hurricane Michael, a destructive tropical cyclone with a Category 5 landfall that caused catastrophic damage in Bay County, Fla., and middle America.

The Disaster Action Team responds to emergency situations and meets immediate needs as well as ensures the families have support. This can last for extended periods of time during post catastrophe recovery.

“The day that I deployed to Panama City for Hurricane Michael, Saturday, Oct. 27, was the same day as the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh,” she said. “So, preparing and heading out for two weeks of disaster work was more intense than I had anticipated, with the realization of just how close to home unexpected tragedy can occur.”

Within 24 hours from volunteering to deploy, Frigot was out the door. Upon her arrival in Florida, Red Cross volunteers greeted her at the airport then transferred her to local headquarters where she stayed a night at a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) tent encampment on the edge of the airport property.

The next morning, Frigot was transferred to a FEMA encampment in Panama City, her home for the next two weeks. She recalls four dorms, with approximately 500 volunteers and workers from the Red Cross, Salvation Army, FEMA, Emergency Responders, Americorps, and more. Frigot was in a women’s dorm for the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

“It was row after row of cots, folks moving in and out each day... If you've seen TV reports of shelters for those escaping a disaster, you'll have a sense of how little personal space each volunteer had,” she said.

Frigot’s day started with breakfast, then she packed a lunch for the day.

“I recall the food service company was from Montana and the crews traveled around the country as needed. I had never realized that there were people that did such work as disaster housing or feeding as a full-time job. I met locals as well as volunteers that came in from all over the United States, including Alaska,” said Frigot.

She would then head to her shared vehicle and leave for her work base.

Frigot was assigned to Mobile Feeding. She and her partner’s transportation was the Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) that was used to take food into the areas that had no utility service and minimal clean-up done.

Frigot worked 12-hour workdays with only one day off during the two-week deployment.

“It was the hardest physical labor I ever did — and I was in my 60s by then — and by far the most rewarding,” she said. “Not once did we meet anyone who was not grateful. To say it was humbling is seriously an understatement.”

The damage on her feeding routes was noteworthy, but she said she was left speechless when seeing the destruction of Mexico Beach that she observed on her day off.

“While not quite accurate to say that it now seemed "normal" to see tree after tree toppled, mobile homes torn in pieces, roofs and walls ripped off more solid buildings, power lines and poles down, and businesses torn apart, we were in no way prepared to see vast parts of an Air Force base and the next town down the road wiped clean of any living or man-made thing,” she said.

They didn’t stay long at the beach, overwhelmed by the eerie sadness.

Towards the end of her deployment, food service operations consolidated. Frigot was grateful not to have to shift locations.

“For me, at least, I needed the familiarity of a home base and team, though I'm sure there were other volunteers who would be happy to have done something different or been in a different location every day.”

Staying right here in Butler County, Frigot has also volunteered for the Red Cross in many other capacities.

She has been a volunteer on the Care and Condolence Team, assisting with spiritual and financial support to families that were grieving the loss of a loved one. Currently, Frigot is on a virtual deployment as a caseworker offering post disaster support.

“Assisting a client in finding new housing after a fire has a huge impact on putting life back together again,” Frigot said. “It's also little things like just a phone call to listen that also matter.”

Her support focuses on empowering her clients to contact the various social service agencies and wrap around support that may be of assistance to them. She encourages her clients to take charge of their own recovery.

“I volunteer because I have the opportunity to do so. While I'm not spending 24/7 helping others, I sincerely believe that if you can help others, why wouldn't you?” she said. “It doesn't have to be big.”

Butler County is home to nearly 50 active American Red Cross volunteers. Frigot said the work is flexible. Some people will dedicate an hour a month to the cause while others may work the equivalent of a 40-hour work week.

Anyone interested in volunteering can do so at redcross.org/volunteer or donate at redcross.org/donate.

“Volunteering for the Red Cross has been an exceptional experience for me, and they definitely make me feel appreciated for all that I do on their behalf for those in need,” she said. “You can't just be a taker in life, you have to be a giver, too.”